504 research outputs found
An empirical analysis of source code metrics and smart contract resource consumption
A smart contract (SC) is a programme stored in the Ethereum blockchain by a contract‐creation transaction. SC developers deploy an instance of the SC and attempt to execute it in exchange for a fee, paid in Ethereum coins (Ether). If the computation needed for their execution turns out to be larger than the effort proposed by the developer (i.e., the gasLimit ), their client instantiation will not be completed successfully.
In this paper, we examine SCs from 11 Ethereum blockchain‐oriented software projects hosted on GitHub.com, and we evaluate the resources needed for their deployment (i.e., the gasUsed ). For each of these contracts, we also extract a suite of object‐oriented metrics, to evaluate their structural characteristics.
Our results show a statistically significant correlation between some of the object‐oriented (OO) metrics and the resources consumed on the Ethereum blockchain network when deploying SCs. This result has a direct impact on how Ethereum developers engage with a SC: evaluating its structural characteristics, they will be able to produce a better estimate of the resources needed to deploy it. Other results show specific source code metrics to be prioritised based on application domains when the projects are clustered based on common themes
Tarzan and chain: exploring the ICO jungle and evaluating design archetypes
The phenomenon of a blockchain use case called initial coin offering (ICO) is drawing increasing attention as a novel funding mechanism. ICO is a crowdfunding type that utilizes blockchain tokens to allow for truly peer-to-peer investments. Although more than \$7bn has been raised globally via ICOs as at 2018, the concept and its implications are not yet entirely understood. The research lags behind in providing in-depth analyses of ICO designs and their long-term success. We address this research gap by developing an ICO taxonomy, applying a cluster analysis to identify prevailing ICO archetypes, and providing an outlook on the token value market performance for individual archetypes. We identify five ICO design archetypes and display their secondary market development from both a short-term and a long-term perspective. We contribute to an in-depth understanding of ICOs and their implications. Further, we offer practitioners tangible design and success indications for future ICOs
Evaluating Ethereum development environments
Abstract. Blockchain technology has been one of the hottest buzzwords in the early 2020s and one of the main reasons for that is the interest towards decentralized applications, which use the smart contracts located in the blockchain to serve the application’s business logic. Ethereum is the biggest platform for decentralized applications, and this study focuses on exploring what kind of support developers need for developing Ethereum based products. This is done by first examining the state of the art by conducting a semi-systematic literature review, followed by using a customized DESMET evaluation method, in which the requirements are mapped as features along with the evaluation criteria, to see how well the currently popular Ethereum development environments provide support for the developers. A total of three development environments by the names of Hardhat, Truffle, and Brownie are evaluated, and the achieved results are analysed to find the differences in the level of support they offer for the developers. At the end the findings of the study are summarized, the experiences from the customized DESMET evaluation method are reported, the validity towards the achieved results are inspected, and the possible directions to continue the work is discussed
Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies: a Classification and Comparison of Architecture Drivers
Blockchain is a decentralized transaction and data management solution, the
technological leap behind the success of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. As
the variety of existing blockchains and distributed ledgers continues to
increase, adopters should focus on selecting the solution that best fits their
needs and the requirements of their decentralized applications, rather than
developing yet another blockchain from scratch. In this paper we present a
conceptual framework to aid software architects, developers, and decision
makers to adopt the right blockchain technology. The framework exposes the
interrelation between technological decisions and architectural features,
capturing the knowledge from existing academic literature, industrial products,
technical forums/blogs, and experts' feedback. We empirically show the
applicability of our framework by dissecting the platforms behind Bitcoin and
other top 10 cryptocurrencies, aided by a focus group with researchers and
industry practitioners. Then, we leverage the framework together with key
notions of the Architectural Tradeoff Analysis Method (ATAM) to analyze four
real-world blockchain case studies from industry and academia. Results shown
that applying our framework leads to a deeper understanding of the
architectural tradeoffs, allowing to assess technologies more objectively and
select the one that best fit developers needs, ultimately cutting costs,
reducing time-to-market and accelerating return on investment.Comment: Accepted for publication at journal Concurrency and Computation:
Practice and Experience. Special Issue on distributed large scale
applications and environment
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) Projects: A Study of Key Performance Indicators in Terms of DeFi Protocols’ Valuations
Decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols use blockchain-based tools to mimic banking, investment
and trading solutions and provide a viable framework that creates incentives and conditions
for the development of an alternative financial services market. In this respect, they can be seen as
alternative financial vehicles that mitigate portfolio risk, which is particularly important at a time of
increasing uncertainty in financial markets. In particular, some DeFi protocols offer an automated,
low-risk way to generate returns through a “delta-neutral” trading strategy that reduces volatility.
The main financial operations of DeFi protocols are implemented using appropriate algorithms, but
unlike traditional finance, where issues of value and valuation are commonplace, DeFis lack a similar
value-based analysis. The aim of this study is to evaluate relevant DeFi performance metrics related
to the valuations of these protocols through a thorough analysis based on various scientific methods
and to show what influences the valuations of these protocols. More specifically, the study identifies
how DeFi protocol valuations depend on the total value locked and other performance variables, such
as protocol revenue, total revenue, gross merchandise volume and inflation factor, and assesses these
relationships. The study analyzes the valuations of 30 selected protocols representing three different
classes of DeFi (i.e., decentralized exchanges, lending protocols and asset management) in relation to
their respective performance measures. The analysis presented in the article is quantitative in nature
and relies on Granger causality tests as well as the results of a fixed effects panel regression model.
The results show that the valuations of DeFi protocols depend to some extent on the performance
measures of these protocols under study, although the magnitude of the relationships and their
directions differ for the different variables. The Granger causality test could not confirm that future
DeFi protocol valuations can be effectively predicted by the TVLs of these protocols, while other
directions of causality (one-way and two-way) were confirmed, e.g., a two-way causal relationship
between DeFi protocol valuations and gross merchandise volume, which turned out to be the only
variable that Granger-causes future DeFi protocol valuations
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