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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Phys.
Sec. Social Physics
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fphy.2024.1305167

Patterns and Centralisation in Ethereum Based Token Transaction Networks

Provisionally accepted
Francesco Maria De Collibus Francesco Maria De Collibus 1,2*Carlo Campajola Carlo Campajola 2,3,4Guido Caldarelli Guido Caldarelli 5,6,7Claudio J Tessone Claudio J Tessone 1,2
  • 1 University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland
  • 2 UZH Blockchain Center, Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
  • 3 University College London, London, England, United Kingdom
  • 4 DLT Science Foundation, London, United Kingdom
  • 5 Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Venice, Veneto, Italy
  • 6 European Centre for Living Technology, Ca 'Foscari University of Venice, Venice, Veneto, Italy
  • 7 Institute of Complex Systems, Department of Physical Sciences and Technologies of Matter, National Research Council (CNR), Roma, Lazio, Italy

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    We explore patterns, regularities, and correlations in the evolving landscape of Ethereum based tokens, both ERC-20 (fungible) and ERC-721 (non fungible) with the aim of understanding the factors contributing to the rise of certain tokens over others. By applying network science methodologies, minimum spanning trees, econometric ARMA models, and the study of accumulation processes we are able to highlight a rising centralisation process. Not only "rich" tokens get richer, but past transactions also emerge as more reliable predictors of new transactions. Our findings are validated across different samples of tokens.

    Keywords: Ethereum, Blockchain, Cryptocurrencies, ERC-20, ERC-721, Token, DEFI, Network Science

    Received: 30 Sep 2023; Accepted: 24 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 De Collibus, Campajola, Caldarelli and Tessone. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Francesco Maria De Collibus, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.