CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATIONS OF ON-CHAIN ANALYSIS OF DIGITAL ASSET MARKETS
Abstract
The growing transparency of blockchain infrastructures has created new methodological conditions for analysing cryptocurrency markets using transaction-level data. The aim of the study is to clarify the conceptual foundations, analytical functions and structural role of on-chain analysis within the system of financial market research. The study systematises the principal types of on-chain analytical procedures and proposes a hierarchical classification based on micro-, meso- and macro-level analytical dimensions. The results demonstrate that on-chain analysis represents an independent methodological component complementing fundamental and technical analysis and improving interpretation of capital flows, behavioural transformations and network-level economic activity in decentralised digital asset ecosystems.
References
Celig, T., Ockenga, T. A., & Schoder, D. (2025) Distributional equality in ethereum? on-chain analysis of Ether Supply Distribution and Supply Dynamics. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, vol. 12(1). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-04728-9
Ciaian, P., Kancs, d’Artis, & Rajcaniova, M. (2026) On- and off-chain demand and supply drivers of Bitcoin Price. Economics, vol. 20(1). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/econ-2025-0169
Xia, L., Zhu, T., Jing, Z., Wang, Q., Ma, Z., Huang, Z., & Yin, Z. (2025). A two-layer transaction network-based method for virtual currency address identity recognition. Cryptography, vol. 9(4). DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/cryptography9040065
Chowdhury, M. A. F., Abdullah, M., Alam M., Abedin, M. Z. & Shi, B. (2023) NFTs, DeFi, and other assets efficiency and volatility dynamics: An asymmetric multifractality analysis. International Review of Financial Analysis, vol. 87. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.irfa.2023.102642
Metelsk,i D. & Sobieraj, J. (2022) Decentralized Finance (DeFi) Projects: A Study of Key Performance Indicators in Terms of DeFi Protocols’ Valuations. International Journal of Financial Studies, vol. 10(4). DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijfs10040108
Zhao, Y., Kang, X., Li, T., Chu, C. K. & Wang, H. (2022) Toward Trustworthy DeFi Oracles: Past, Present, and Future. IEEE Access, vol. 10. pp. 60914–60928. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2022.3179374
Schär, F. (2022). Decentralized finance: on blockchain-and smart contract-based financial markets. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Review, vol. 103(2), pp. 153–174. DOI: https://doi.org/10.20955/r.103.153-74
Grassi, L., Lanfranchi, D., Faes, A. & Renga, F. M. (2022) Do we still need financial intermediation? The case of decentralized finance – DeFi. Qualitative Research in Accounting and Management, vol. 19(3), pp. 323–347. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/QRAM-03-2021-0051
Jensen, J. R., von Wachter, V. & Ross, O. (2021) An Introduction to Decentralized Finance - DeFi. Complex Systems Informatics and Modeling Quarterly, vol. 26, pp. 46–54. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7250/csimq.2021-26.03
Kitzler, S., Victor, F., Saggese, P. & Haslhofer, B. (2023). Disentangling Decentralized Finance (DeFi) Compositions. ACM Transactions on the Web, vol. 17(2). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3532857
Schueffel, P. (2021) DeFi: Decentralized Finance - An Introduction and Overview. Journal of Innovation Management. Universidade do Porto - Faculdade de Engenharia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.24840/2183-0606_009.003_0001
Arkham. (2026) A Complete Guide to On-Chain Analysis. Available at: https://info.arkm.com/research/on-chain-analysis-guide#author
Celig T., Ockenga T. A., Schoder D. Distributional equality in ethereum? on-chain analysis of Ether Supply Distribution and Supply Dynamics. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications. 2025. Vol. 12(1). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-04728-9
Ciaian P., Kancs d’Artis, Rajcaniova M. On- and off-chain demand and supply drivers of Bitcoin Price. Economics. 2026. Vol. 20(1). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/econ-2025-0169
Xia L., Zhu T., Jing Z., Wang Q., Ma Z., Huang Z., & Yin Z. A two-layer transaction network-based method for virtual currency address identity recognition. Cryptography. 2025. Vol. 9(4). DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/cryptography9040065
Chowdhury M. A. F., Abdullah M., Alam M., Abedin M. Z., Shi, B. NFTs, DeFi, and other assets efficiency and volatility dynamics: An asymmetric multifractality analysis. International Review of Financial Analysis. 2023. Vol. 87. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.irfa.2023.102642
Metelski D., Sobieraj J. Decentralized Finance (DeFi) Projects: A Study of Key Performance Indicators in Terms of DeFi Protocols’ Valuations. International Journal of Financial Studies. 2022. Vol. 10(4). DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijfs10040108
Zhao Y., Kang X., Li, T., Chu C. K., Wang H. Toward Trustworthy DeFi Oracles: Past, Present, and Future. IEEE Access. 2022. Vol. 10. P. 60914–60928. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2022.3179374
Schär F. Decentralized finance: on blockchain-and smart contract-based financial markets. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Review. 2022. Vol.103(2). P. 153–174. DOI: https://doi.org/10.20955/r.103.153-74
Grassi L., Lanfranchi D., Faes A., Renga F. M. Do we still need financial intermediation? The case of decentralized finance – DeFi. Qualitative Research in Accounting and Management. 2022. Vol. 19(3). P. 323–347. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/QRAM-03-2021-0051
Jensen J. R., von Wachter V., Ross O. An Introduction to Decentralized Finance - DeFi. Complex Systems Informatics and Modeling Quarterly. 2021. Vol. (26). P. 46–54. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7250/csimq.2021-26.03
Kitzler S., Victor F., Saggese P., Haslhofer B. Disentangling Decentralized Finance (DeFi) Compositions. ACM Transactions on the Web. 2023. Vol. 17(2). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3532857
Schueffel P. DeFi: Decentralized Finance - An Introduction and Overview. Journal of Innovation Management. Universidade do Porto - Faculdade de Engenharia. 2021. DOI: https://doi.org/10.24840/2183-0606_009.003_0001
A Complete Guide to On-Chain Analysis. Arkham. 2026. URL: https://info.arkm.com/research/on-chain-analysis-guide#author
Copyright (c) 2026 Вероніка Ганусич

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

