Universal Patterns in the Blockchain: Analysis of EOAs and Smart Contracts in ERC20 Token Networks

Kundan Mukhia, Sr Luwang, Md. Nurujjaman, Tanujit Chakraborty, Suman Saha and Chittaranjan Hens

Papers from arXiv.org

Abstract: Scaling laws offer a powerful lens to understand complex transactional behaviors in decentralized systems. This study reveals distinctive statistical signatures in the transactional dynamics of ERC20 tokens on the Ethereum blockchain by examining over 44 million token transfers between July 2017 and March 2018 (9-month period). Transactions are categorized into four types: EOA--EOA, EOA--SC, SC-EOA, and SC-SC based on whether the interacting addresses are Externally Owned Accounts (EOAs) or Smart Contracts (SCs), and analyzed across three equal periods (each of 3 months). To identify universal statistical patterns, we investigate the presence of two canonical scaling laws: power law distributions and temporal Taylor's law (TL). EOA-driven transactions exhibit consistent statistical behavior, including a near-linear relationship between trade volume and unique partners with stable power law exponents ($\gamma \approx 2.3$), and adherence to TL with scaling coefficients ($\beta \approx 2.3$). In contrast, interactions involving SCs, especially SC-SC, exhibit sublinear scaling, unstable power-law exponents, and significantly fluctuating Taylor coefficients (variation in $\beta$ to be $\Delta\beta = 0.51$). Moreover, SC-driven activity displays heavier-tailed distributions ($\gamma

Date: 2025-08
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