BIS research finds on-chain crypto metrics vary by up to six times depending on method
A BIS working paper dismantles the assumption that public blockchain data yields clean measures of crypto and DeFi activity. For anyone using on-chain metrics to size markets, assess counterparties or inform supervisory thinking, it sets out exactly where the numbers diverge and why the same stablecoin means different things on different chains.
- Bitcoin transaction values vary by up to a factor of six depending on the measurement approach used.
- Authors classified 13 million active smart contracts, including about 1.4 million tokens, with trading concentrated around stablecoins.
- The same stablecoin behaves differently across chains: tied to smart contracts on Ethereum, held outside them on Tron.
Executive summary
The Bank for International Settlements published Working Paper 1377, "Hidden by complexity? Measuring stablecoin, crypto and decentralised finance ecosystems," on 15 September 2026. The 28-page paper, authored by Timothy Aerts, Ronald Heijmans, Jan Paulick and Violeta Vuletic, addresses a paradox:…
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Source documents
https://www.bis.org/publications/working-paper-1377-hidden-complexity-measuring-stablecoin-crypto-and-decentralised-finance-ecosystemsRead by Regulus 15 Oct 2026 at 09:06 UTC
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