Bitcoin onchain transfers vary sixfold in BIS study

A Bank for International Settlements working paper has found that estimates of Bitcoin onchain transfer value can differ by as much as sixfold depending on how researchers treat transaction outputs. Summary BIS researchers found Bitcoin onchain transfer estimates can vary sixfold depending on transaction measurement methodology. Bitcoin market capitalization has at times measured four times realized capitalization during sharp price surges. Researchers classified 13 million Ethereum contracts while more than 54 million remained outside study categories. USDT smart-contract holdings exceeded 20% on Ethereum, while Tron remained near 1% most periods studied. Visa filters bots, bridge routing and exchange activity when calculating adjusted stablecoin transaction volume estimates. The Bank for International Settlements working paper, titled Hidden by complexity? Measuring stablecoin, crypto and decentralised finance ecosystems, was written by Timothy Aerts, Ronald Heijmans, Jan Paulick and Violeta Vuletic and published in September 2026. The research uses data from Bitcoin, Ethereum and Tron collected through Mercurius, a project operated by De Nederlandsche Bank and developed with the...