Interesting quotes from the first section of the paper:
"We first document that 90% of transaction volume on the Bitcoin blockchain is not tied to economically meaningful activities but is the byproduct of the Bitcoin protocol design as well as the preference of many participants for anonymity."
"We show that the Bitcoin mining capacity is highly concentrated and has been
for the last five years. The top 10% of miners control 90% and just 0.1% (about 50
miners) control close to 50% of mining capacity. Furthermore, this concentration of
mining capacity is counter cyclical and varies with the Bitcoin price."
"We show that the balances held at intermediaries have been steadily increasing
since 2014. By the end of 2020 it is equal to 5.5 million bitcoins, roughly one-third of
Bitcoin in circulation. In contrast, individual investors collectively control 8.5 million
bitcoins by the end of 2020. The individual holdings are still highly concentrated:
the top 1000 investors control about 3 million BTC and the top 10,000 investors own
around 5 million bitcoins."
I haven't read the methods yet, but the idea that the authors were able to do this analysis is fascinating.
"We first document that 90% of transaction volume on the Bitcoin blockchain is not tied to economically meaningful activities but is the byproduct of the Bitcoin protocol design as well as the preference of many participants for anonymity."
"We show that the Bitcoin mining capacity is highly concentrated and has been for the last five years. The top 10% of miners control 90% and just 0.1% (about 50 miners) control close to 50% of mining capacity. Furthermore, this concentration of mining capacity is counter cyclical and varies with the Bitcoin price."
"We show that the balances held at intermediaries have been steadily increasing since 2014. By the end of 2020 it is equal to 5.5 million bitcoins, roughly one-third of Bitcoin in circulation. In contrast, individual investors collectively control 8.5 million bitcoins by the end of 2020. The individual holdings are still highly concentrated: the top 1000 investors control about 3 million BTC and the top 10,000 investors own around 5 million bitcoins."
I haven't read the methods yet, but the idea that the authors were able to do this analysis is fascinating.