Revisiting Transactional Statistics of High-scalability Blockchains (2003.02693v5)

Abstract: Scalability has been a bottleneck for major blockchains such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. Despite the significantly improved scalability claimed by several high--profile blockchain projects, there has been little effort to understand how their transactional throughput is being used. In this paper, we examine recent network traffic of three major high-scalability blockchains--EOSIO, Tezos and XRP Ledger (XRPL)--over a period of seven months. Our analysis reveals that only a small fraction of the transactions are used for value transfer purposes. In particular, 96% of the transactions on EOSIO were triggered by the airdrop of a currently valueless token; on Tezos, 76% of throughput was used for maintaining consensus; and over 94% of transactions on XRPL carried no economic value. We also identify a persisting airdrop on EOSIO as a DoS attack and detect a two-month-long spam attack on XRPL. The paper explores the different designs of the three blockchains and sheds light on how they could shape user behavior.

• The paper reveals that most transactions on EOSIO, Tezos, and XRPL lack economic value, highlighting issues such as DoS attacks and spamming.
• It systematically analyzes seven months of throughput data, detailing metrics like 96% non-economic transactions in EOSIO, 76% consensus in Tezos, and 94% spam in XRPL.
• These findings underscore the need for better fee structures, congestion controls, and dynamic governance to ensure that blockchain throughput supports genuine economic activity.

Analysis of High-Scalability Blockchain Transactional Throughput

This paper presents an in-depth analysis of the transactional throughput of three major high-scalability blockchains: EOSIO, Tezos, and XRP Ledger (XRPL). The research systematically investigates the transaction patterns over a period of seven months to elucidate how the throughput of these blockchains is being utilized. Notably, the paper unveils that a significant proportion of the transactions across these blockchains do not involve actual value transfer, reflecting either the distinct operational mechanisms of the systems or potential misuse cases like denial-of-service (DoS) attacks and spamming behaviors.

Key Findings

The analysis reveals some startling figures about the utility of transactions across the studied blockchains:

• EOSIO: Approximately 96% of the transactions are related to the distribution (airdrop) of a valueless token, EIDOS. This systematic activity was identified as a persistent DoS attack that significantly impacted network resources and shifted the network into a congestion mode.
• Tezos: It was found that around 76% of the throughput was associated with consensus maintenance activities. This is largely attributed to its consensus mechanism, where endorsements for consensus consistently dominate the throughput metric.
• XRPL: Over 94% of the transactions did not carry any economic value. The blockchain exhibited two distinct periods of spam attacks, which drastically increased transaction counts without contributing meaningful utility.

Implications and Design Considerations

The findings in the paper indicate that the advertised capabilities of high-throughput blockchains may not truly reflect the practical and economically beneficial use. This discrepancy raises several implications for blockchain design and utilization:

1. Transaction Fees: The paper highlights the transaction fee dilemma—a balance must be struck between setting fee structures that are high enough to deter spam yet low enough to not obstruct legitimate usage.
2. Network Congestion: In the case of EOSIO, the congestion induced by the EIDOS airdrop exemplifies the challenge in free-to-use networks. The induced congestion hindered regular network activities, suggesting that better congestion control mechanics might be needed.
3. Utility vs. Capacity: Despite the theoretical capacity to process transactions, the real-world utility of throughput remains high only in terms of operational behaviors such as consensus and low-value actions rather than genuine economic activities.
4. On-chain Governance: The Tezos governance mechanism exhibits a reasonable process flow yet could benefit from a more efficient amalgamation of proposal and exploratory phases given current real-world usage patterns.

Future Directions

This comprehensive analysis sets the groundwork for more refined blockchain monitoring tools and strategies to detect and mitigate spam or DoS activities. It also invites further exploration into creating efficient technological solutions that can differentiate between economically valuable transactions and non-economic or potentially malicious activities.

The research further suggests that robust systems need dynamic, adaptable throughput methods that can optimally balance between high throughput potential against realistic operational utilization. Furthermore, as the paper focuses on three distinct systems, comparative frameworks that analyze other high-throughput blockchain systems could yield broader insights into scalable blockchain design and adoption in economic activities.

In conclusion, while the investigated blockchains display remarkable throughput capabilities, realizing their full potential requires addressing fundamental issues in transaction utility and network stability. A focused approach towards optimizing transaction fee schemes, scalability infrastructures, and economic utility assessment promises fertile ground for subsequent studies and technical advancements in blockchain technology.