Bitcoin's Hidden Network: A Look at Its Decentralization

Bitcoin, the world's first cryptocurrency, has been around for over a decade. It's grown in popularity, catching the eye of both experts and regular people. But with so many transactions happening every day, it's been hard to get a clear picture of how decentralized Bitcoin really is. A recent study took a deep dive into Bitcoin's transaction network. They looked at data from the very first block, mined in March 2009, all the way up to May 2024. This massive dataset spans over 15 years of Bitcoin history.The study found that Bitcoin's network is quite complex. It's not just about the number of transactions. The way these transactions are connected to each other also matters. The researchers came up with new ways to measure how decentralized Bitcoin is. They discovered that understanding the network's structure is key to grasping Bitcoin's decentralization. This isn't just about theory. It has real-world implications for how Bitcoin works and how it might evolve in the future. The study also showed that having a complete dataset is crucial. It's not just about having data. It's about having the right data to ask the right questions. This can help us understand Bitcoin better and maybe even improve it.