Towards reference architecture for cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin architectural analysis

Israa Alqassem, Davor Svetinovic

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

30 Scopus citations

Abstract

Bit coin is a new protocol with a potential to revolutionize financial system. Bit coin has a complex structure, where several interacting components build a peer-to-peer currency and a payment system without relying on any trusted third party. Bit coin is continually improved by an open source community, and various Bit coin libraries, APIs, and alternative implementations are being developed. Nevertheless, there is no up-to-date protocol specification or architecture description since the official whitepaper was published back in 2008. In this paper, we provide an up-to-date protocol specification and architectural analysis of the Bit coin system. We perform this analysis as the first step towards specification of the crypto currency reference architecture. The future reference architecture will serve as a starting architectural point for the development of new systems that leverage Bit coin protocol in different contexts and for various purposes. We also discuss whether the current architecture satisfies the system's primary purpose, i.e., Providing a pure decentralized version of the crypto currency.

Original languageBritish English
Title of host publicationProceedings - 2014 IEEE International Conference on Internet of Things, iThings 2014, 2014 IEEE International Conference on Green Computing and Communications, GreenCom 2014 and 2014 IEEE International Conference on Cyber-Physical-Social Computing, CPS 2014
PublisherInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
Pages436-443
Number of pages8
ISBN (Electronic)9781479959679
DOIs
StatePublished - 12 Mar 2014
Event2014 IEEE International Conference on Internet of Things, iThings 2014, Collocated with 2014 IEEE International Conference on Cyber, Physical and Social Computing, CPSCom 2014 and 2014 IEEE International Conference on Green Computing and Communications, GreenCom 2014 - Taipei, Taiwan, Province of China
Duration: 1 Sep 20143 Sep 2014

Publication series

NameProceedings - 2014 IEEE International Conference on Internet of Things, iThings 2014, 2014 IEEE International Conference on Green Computing and Communications, GreenCom 2014 and 2014 IEEE International Conference on Cyber-Physical-Social Computing, CPS 2014

Conference

Conference2014 IEEE International Conference on Internet of Things, iThings 2014, Collocated with 2014 IEEE International Conference on Cyber, Physical and Social Computing, CPSCom 2014 and 2014 IEEE International Conference on Green Computing and Communications, GreenCom 2014
Country/TerritoryTaiwan, Province of China
CityTaipei
Period1/09/143/09/14

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