Publication

SoK: Unified Blockchain Data Structure

Marco Mattavelli
2025

Abstract

Over the last 15 years, blockchain technologies have evolved into a heterogeneous ecosystem with numerous practical applications. The diversity of blockchain data models ranging from UTxO-based to account-based systems and evolving towards smart contract platforms - has led to fragmentation in how blockchain data is stored, accessed, and analysed. This heterogeneity hinders interoperability, complicates cross-chain analytics, and limits reproducibility in blockchain research. In this paper, we present a comprehensive study of blockchain data unification, covering a wide range of academic and commercial approaches. We examine their underlying data structures and identify key limitations in existing solutions. Building on these insights, we propose a unified data model that abstracts and flattens token transfer data while capturing the semantics of both UTxO and account-based paradigms. We conclude by outlining future research directions to further validate and extend this model across diverse blockchain ecosystems.

Official source

https://infoscience.epfl.ch/entities/publication/d2816ffa-6abd-43b3-acad-8e0f87048985

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Marco Mattavelli
2025

Abstract

Official source

https://infoscience.epfl.ch/entities/publication/d2816ffa-6abd-43b3-acad-8e0f87048985

About this result

Related concepts (22)

Blockchain

A blockchain is a distributed ledger with growing lists of records (blocks) that are securely linked together via cryptographic hashes. Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, a timestamp, and transaction data (generally represented as a Merkle tree, where data nodes are represented by leaves). Since each block contains information about the previous block, they effectively form a chain (compare linked list data structure), with each additional block linking to the ones before it.

Cardano (blockchain platform)

Cardano is a public blockchain platform. It is open-source and decentralized, with consensus achieved using proof of stake. It can facilitate peer-to-peer transactions with its internal cryptocurrency, ADA. Cardano's development began in 2015, led by Ethereum co-founder Charles Hoskinson. The project is overseen and supervised by the Cardano Foundation based in Zug, Switzerland. When launched in 2017, it was the largest cryptocurrency to use a proof-of-stake blockchain, which is seen as a greener alternative to proof-of-work protocols.

Smart contract

A smart contract is a computer program or a transaction protocol that is intended to automatically execute, control or document events and actions according to the terms of a contract or an agreement. The objectives of smart contracts are the reduction of need for trusted intermediators, arbitration costs, and fraud losses, as well as the reduction of malicious and accidental exceptions. Smart contracts are commonly associated with cryptocurrencies, and the smart contracts introduced by Ethereum are generally considered a fundamental building block for decentralized finance (DeFi) and NFT applications.

Related publications (1)

SoK: Unified Blockchain Data Structure

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