Data Analysis of Digital Currency Networks: Namecoin Case Study

Abstract

Financial transaction networks are some of the largest networks in existence. A relatively new type of financial networks is the digital (crypto) currency network, e.g., Bitcoin. Namecoin is an alternative crypto currency, based on Bitcoin, with additional features such as DNS. Namecoin network has more than 2 million nodes and almost 17 million edges. The analysis of such a crypto currency network can help us model or predict the future growth of the transaction networks. In order to analyze the transaction network graph over time, we analyzed the Namecoin blockchain data in 7 six months intervals. Our findings suggest different user behavior and developing pattern compared to Bitcoin.