Applying Social Network Analysis to Model and Handle a Cross-Blockchain Ecosystem
In recent years, the huge growth in the number and variety of blockchains has prompted researchers to investigate the cross-blockchain scenario. In this setting, multiple blockchains coexist, and wallets can exchange data and money from one blockchain to another. The effective and efficient manageme...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-02-01
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| Series: | Electronics |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9292/12/5/1086 |
| _version_ | 1797615547367555072 |
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| author | Gianluca Bonifazi Francesco Cauteruccio Enrico Corradini Michele Marchetti Domenico Ursino Luca Virgili |
| author_facet | Gianluca Bonifazi Francesco Cauteruccio Enrico Corradini Michele Marchetti Domenico Ursino Luca Virgili |
| author_sort | Gianluca Bonifazi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In recent years, the huge growth in the number and variety of blockchains has prompted researchers to investigate the cross-blockchain scenario. In this setting, multiple blockchains coexist, and wallets can exchange data and money from one blockchain to another. The effective and efficient management of a cross-blockchain ecosystem is an open problem. This paper aims to address it by exploiting the potential of Social Network Analysis. This general objective is declined into a set of activities. First, a social network-based model is proposed to represent such a scenario. Then, a multi-dimensional and multi-view framework is presented, which uses such a model to handle a cross-blockchain scenario. Such a framework allows all the results found in the past research on Social Network Analysis to be applied to the cross-blockchain ecosystem. Afterwards, this framework is used to extract insights and knowledge patterns concerning the behavior of several categories of wallets in a cross-blockchain scenario. To verify the goodness of the proposed framework, it is applied on a real dataset derived from Multichain, in order to identify various user categories and their “modus operandi”. Finally, a new centrality measure is proposed, which identifies the most significant wallets in the ecosytem. This measure considers several viewpoints, each of which addresses a specific aspect that may make a wallet more or less central in the cross-blockchain scenario. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T07:28:05Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-dc4bc963d77448e28be47a378bece113 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2079-9292 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T07:28:05Z |
| publishDate | 2023-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Electronics |
| spelling | doaj.art-dc4bc963d77448e28be47a378bece1132023-11-17T07:31:29ZengMDPI AGElectronics2079-92922023-02-01125108610.3390/electronics12051086Applying Social Network Analysis to Model and Handle a Cross-Blockchain EcosystemGianluca Bonifazi0Francesco Cauteruccio1Enrico Corradini2Michele Marchetti3Domenico Ursino4Luca Virgili5Department of Information Engineering, Polytechnic University of Marche, 60121 Ancona, ItalyDepartment of Information Engineering, Polytechnic University of Marche, 60121 Ancona, ItalyDepartment of Information Engineering, Polytechnic University of Marche, 60121 Ancona, ItalyDepartment of Information Engineering, Polytechnic University of Marche, 60121 Ancona, ItalyDepartment of Information Engineering, Polytechnic University of Marche, 60121 Ancona, ItalyDepartment of Information Engineering, Polytechnic University of Marche, 60121 Ancona, ItalyIn recent years, the huge growth in the number and variety of blockchains has prompted researchers to investigate the cross-blockchain scenario. In this setting, multiple blockchains coexist, and wallets can exchange data and money from one blockchain to another. The effective and efficient management of a cross-blockchain ecosystem is an open problem. This paper aims to address it by exploiting the potential of Social Network Analysis. This general objective is declined into a set of activities. First, a social network-based model is proposed to represent such a scenario. Then, a multi-dimensional and multi-view framework is presented, which uses such a model to handle a cross-blockchain scenario. Such a framework allows all the results found in the past research on Social Network Analysis to be applied to the cross-blockchain ecosystem. Afterwards, this framework is used to extract insights and knowledge patterns concerning the behavior of several categories of wallets in a cross-blockchain scenario. To verify the goodness of the proposed framework, it is applied on a real dataset derived from Multichain, in order to identify various user categories and their “modus operandi”. Finally, a new centrality measure is proposed, which identifies the most significant wallets in the ecosytem. This measure considers several viewpoints, each of which addresses a specific aspect that may make a wallet more or less central in the cross-blockchain scenario.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9292/12/5/1086cross-blockchain ecosystemSocial Network Analysisuser behaviorwallet centralitycross-blockchain money swapscross-blockchain data transfer |
| spellingShingle | Gianluca Bonifazi Francesco Cauteruccio Enrico Corradini Michele Marchetti Domenico Ursino Luca Virgili Applying Social Network Analysis to Model and Handle a Cross-Blockchain Ecosystem Electronics cross-blockchain ecosystem Social Network Analysis user behavior wallet centrality cross-blockchain money swaps cross-blockchain data transfer |
| title | Applying Social Network Analysis to Model and Handle a Cross-Blockchain Ecosystem |
| title_full | Applying Social Network Analysis to Model and Handle a Cross-Blockchain Ecosystem |
| title_fullStr | Applying Social Network Analysis to Model and Handle a Cross-Blockchain Ecosystem |
| title_full_unstemmed | Applying Social Network Analysis to Model and Handle a Cross-Blockchain Ecosystem |
| title_short | Applying Social Network Analysis to Model and Handle a Cross-Blockchain Ecosystem |
| title_sort | applying social network analysis to model and handle a cross blockchain ecosystem |
| topic | cross-blockchain ecosystem Social Network Analysis user behavior wallet centrality cross-blockchain money swaps cross-blockchain data transfer |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9292/12/5/1086 |
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