Researchers at the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) found that Bitcoin transaction volume estimates can vary by up to six times depending on the calculation methodology. The discrepancy stems from the blockchain's UTXO model, where change returned to the sender is often indistinguishable from payments to recipients.
The study analyzed approximately 100 billion records across Bitcoin, Ethereum, and TRON. Beyond transaction volume, the authors noted that standard market capitalization can be up to four times higher than realized capitalization during periods of rapid price growth, as realized cap accounts for the price at the time of the last UTXO movement.
The report also highlighted challenges in categorizing Ethereum smart contracts. Out of 67.5 million active contracts, over 54 million could not be classified. Furthermore, the use of identical tickers for different assets, such as the USDT label appearing on approximately 6,900 distinct token contracts, complicates data interpretation.
Usage patterns for stablecoins also differ significantly by network. In 2022, over 20% of USDT on Ethereum was held in smart contracts, likely for DeFi purposes, compared to approximately 1% on TRON. The BIS suggests that analysts should use ranges and disclose underlying assumptions rather than relying on single, unadjusted on-chain metrics.
