Bitcoin and Beyond: A Technical Survey on Decentralized Digital Currencies

TLDR

Bitcoin has revolutionized digital currencies, attracting a billion‑dollar economy and sparking scientific interest. The survey aims to organize and analyze the extensive research and future directions in decentralized digital currencies. The authors review Bitcoin’s protocol, its building blocks, and related contributions to map the design space and derive core structures and insights. They conclude that many of Bitcoin’s key ideas are transferable to other domains, extending its influence beyond the cryptocurrency realm.

Abstract

Besides attracting a billion dollar economy, Bitcoin revolutionized the field of digital currencies and influenced many adjacent areas. This also induced significant scientific interest. In this survey, we unroll and structure the manyfold results and research directions. We start by introducing the Bitcoin protocol and its building blocks. From there we continue to explore the design space by discussing existing contributions and results. In the process, we deduce the fundamental structures and insights at the core of the Bitcoin protocol and its applications. As we show and discuss, many key ideas are likewise applicable in various other fields, so that their impact reaches far beyond Bitcoin itself.