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Deciphering Bitcoin Blockchain Data by Cohort Analysis

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  • Yulin Liu
  • Luyao Zhang
  • Yinhong Zhao

Abstract

Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer electronic payment system that has rapidly grown in popularity in recent years. Usually, the complete history of Bitcoin blockchain data must be queried to acquire variables with economic meaning. This task has recently become increasingly difficult, as there are over 1.6 billion historical transactions on the Bitcoin blockchain. It is thus important to query Bitcoin transaction data in a way that is more efficient and provides economic insights. We apply cohort analysis that interprets Bitcoin blockchain data using methods developed for population data in the social sciences. Specifically, we query and process the Bitcoin transaction input and output data within each daily cohort. This enables us to create datasets and visualizations for some key Bitcoin transaction indicators, including the daily lifespan distributions of spent transaction output (STXO) and the daily age distributions of the cumulative unspent transaction output (UTXO). We provide a computationally feasible approach for characterizing Bitcoin transactions that paves the way for future economic studies of Bitcoin.

Suggested Citation

  • Yulin Liu & Luyao Zhang & Yinhong Zhao, 2021. "Deciphering Bitcoin Blockchain Data by Cohort Analysis," Papers 2103.00173, arXiv.org, revised Jan 2022.
    • Handle: RePEc:arx:papers:2103.00173
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    File URL: http://arxiv.org/pdf/2103.00173
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Rainer Böhme & Nicolas Christin & Benjamin Edelman & Tyler Moore, 2015. "Bitcoin: Economics, Technology, and Governance," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 29(2), pages 213-238, Spring.
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    Cited by:

    1. J. Zhu & L. Zhang, 2023. "Educational Game on Cryptocurrency Investment: Using Microeconomic Decision-Making to Understand Macroeconomics Principles," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 49(2), pages 262-272, April.
    2. Haoyang Yu & Yutong Sun & Yulin Liu & Luyao Zhang, 2023. "Bitcoin Gold, Litecoin Silver:An Introduction to Cryptocurrency's Valuation and Trading Strategy," Papers 2308.00013, arXiv.org.
    3. Chemaya, Nir & Cong, Lin William & Joergensen, Emma & Liu, Dingyue & Zhang, Luyao, 2023. "Uniswap Daily Transaction Indices by Network," OSF Preprints ube2z, Center for Open Science.
    4. Yulin Liu & Luyao Zhang, 2022. "Cryptocurrency Valuation: An Explainable AI Approach," Papers 2201.12893, arXiv.org, revised Jul 2023.
    5. Quan, Yutong & Wu, Xintong & Deng, Wanlin & Zhang, Luyao, 2023. "Decoding Social Sentiment in DAO: A Comparative Analysis of Blockchain Governance Communities," OSF Preprints bq6tu, Center for Open Science.
    6. Jiasheng Zhu & Luyao Zhang, 2023. "Educational Game on Cryptocurrency Investment: Using Microeconomic Decision Making to Understand Macroeconomics Principles," Papers 2301.10541, arXiv.org, revised Feb 2023.
    7. Zhang, Luyao & Sun, Yutong & Quan, Yutong & Cao, Jiaxun & Tong, Xin, 2023. "On the Mechanics of NFT Valuation: AI Ethics and Social Media," OSF Preprints qwpdx, Center for Open Science.
    8. Yutong Quan & Xintong Wu & Wanlin Deng & Luyao Zhang, 2023. "Decoding Social Sentiment in DAO: A Comparative Analysis of Blockchain Governance Communities," Papers 2311.14676, arXiv.org.
    9. Nir Chemaya & Lin William Cong & Emma Jorgensen & Dingyue Liu & Luyao Zhang, 2023. "Uniswap Daily Transaction Indices by Network," Papers 2312.02660, arXiv.org.

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