Our vision

The EDI takes numerous metrics from different disciplines – such as economics, information theory and network science – and measures them across eight different layers of blockchain systems. We operate on data drawn by both operating full nodes (e.g., for Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Cardano) as well as via reliable sources such as Google’s BigQuery database.  

To facilitate reproducibility and transparency we utilize the Edinburgh International Data Facility (EIDF) to store datasets and make them available to everyone. 

The EDI project has secured trademarks in the UK, USA, and Switzerland, reinforcing our goal to establish the EDI as a trusted standard. 

We want anyone to be able to conduct an easy and systematic comparison of how decentralised each blockchain system is. Our aspiration is that for each blockchain of interest there will be an easy-to-understand quantitative assessment which can be accessed and verified transparently by anyone interested in making informed decisions.  

Regulators will be able to use EDI to help decide whether a cryptocurrency constitutes a financial instrument, blockchain users can decide which chain is safer for their transactions, and researchers can review and build upon the EDI’s methodology. The metrics can also be used to influence regulatory policies impacting adoption of future decentralised systems.  

Plus, the research that supports the EDI and the software that collects and parses the data is made freely available under an open source license, so that anyone can understand the theoretical foundations and reproduce the EDI's results. 

Furthermore, we are excited to announce the spin-out of EDI. Centralisation is a major security risk in modern digital ecosystems, creating single points of failure. As a spin-out, the EDI is expanding its scope to provide data-driven resilience assessments for security-critical domains beyond blockchain, including software supply chains, financial systems, and critical infrastructure.