Cryptocurrency Networks: A New P2P Paradigm

P2P networks are the mechanism used by cryptocurrencies to disseminate system information while keeping the whole system as much decentralized as possible. Cryptocurrency P2P networks have new characteristics that propose new challenges and avoid some problems of existing P2P networks. By characteri...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Sergi Delgado-Segura, Cristina Pérez-Solà, Jordi Herrera-Joancomartí, Guillermo Navarro-Arribas, Joan Borrell
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Hindawi Limited 2018-01-01
Series:Mobile Information Systems
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2018/2159082
Description
Summary:P2P networks are the mechanism used by cryptocurrencies to disseminate system information while keeping the whole system as much decentralized as possible. Cryptocurrency P2P networks have new characteristics that propose new challenges and avoid some problems of existing P2P networks. By characterizing the most relevant cryptocurrency network, Bitcoin, we provide details on different properties of cryptocurrency networks and their similarities and differences with standard P2P network paradigms. Our study allows us to conclude that cryptocurrency networks present a new paradigm of P2P networks due to the mechanisms they use to achieve high resilience and security. With this new paradigm, interesting research lines can be further developed, both in the focused field of P2P cryptocurrency networks and also when such networks are combined with other distributed scenarios.
ISSN:1574-017X
1875-905X