Analyzing Reward Dynamics and Decentralization in Ethereum 2.0: An Advanced Data Engineering Workflow and Comprehensive Datasets for Proof-of-Stake Incentives

Tao Yan, Shengnan Li, Benjamin Kraner, Luyao Zhang and Claudio J. Tessone

No 6ceuz, OSF Preprints from Center for Open Science

Abstract: Ethereum 2.0, as the preeminent smart contract blockchain platform, guarantees the precise execution of applications without third-party intervention. At its core, this system leverages the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism, which utilizes a stochastic process to select validators for block proposal and validation, consequently rewarding them for their contributions. However, the implementation of blockchain technology often diverges from its central tenet of decentralized consensus, presenting significant analytical challenges. Our study collects consensus reward data from the Ethereum Beacon chain and conducts a comprehensive analysis of reward distribution and evolution, categorizing them into attestation, proposer, and sync committee rewards. To evaluate the degree of decentralization in PoS Ethereum, we apply several inequality indices, including the Shannon entropy, the Gini Index, the Nakamoto Coefficient, and the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI). Our comprehensive dataset is publicly available on Harvard Dataverse, and our analytical methodologies are accessible via GitHub, promoting open-access research. Additionally, we provide insights on utilizing our data for future investigations focused on assessing, augmenting, and refining the decentralization, security, and efficiency of blockchain systems.

Date: 2024-02-17
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-pay
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://osf.io/download/65d01161c3ab4903b446bcdf/

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:osf:osfxxx:6ceuz

DOI: 10.31219/osf.io/6ceuz

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in OSF Preprints from Center for Open Science
Bibliographic data for series maintained by OSF ().