[ZcF-general] Grant project report: platform for Zcash blockchain analysis

[Radosław Michalski]

Dear All,

This e-mail contains the final report on the Zcash blockchain analysis
platform (GrantProposals-2018Q2, grant proposal #39).

Throughout the project we created a platform (called Dru*) that
facilitates the process of analysing blockchain data for network
scientists and other researchers in a number of aspects:
- centralized and always up-to-date blocks repository (delivered by the
block engine component) provides the possibility to access the
blockchain data without the necessity to have a local cryptocurrency
client up and running,
- the API endpoints let to run a number of network science queries that
can be helpful in looking at the variety of aspects of blokchain data,
- by the NoSQL storage of blockchain data researchers can easily perform
their own queries if they cannot find suitable ones in the endpoints
repository,
- it is also possible to export the edges and import them to local
programs created by researchers.

The Dru platform consists of two main components: the block engine (MIT
license) and the analytical platform itself (GNU GPL v3 license). It is
contained in a Docker image, so it is portable among variety of
platforms. Dru provides a queuing engine, so each query is being
executed in the backend. After submitting it, the researcher gets a link
with the details on the status of the query and can be also notified by
e-mail about the status of it.

The platform is compatible with any RPC-based altcoin client, yet the
development and testing was made with Zcash.

The code of the platform is located here:
https://github.com/bergplace/Dru and the documentation is here:
https://dru.readthedocs.io. Within the Zcash grant we host also an
instance of Dru running on our server:
https://dru.readthedocs.io/en/docs/docs/server.html

The core developers of the platform are the following: Radosław
Michalski (PI & developer) Marcin Pieczka (lead developer), Wojciech
Puchta (developer) and Weronika Mrugała (developer).

Now, the Dru platform will be the main way of performing the blockchain
analyses by BERG (https://www.bergplace.org/) and further development of
endpoins is expected in upcoming months to make them adjusted to current
research directions of the group. However, all the blockchain
researchers are invited for cooperation and further development of Dru,
as well as to suggest any new endpoints we could implement. Any feedback
from the community is highly anticipated. We will be also promoting the
Dru platform at upcoming scientific events/conferences.

* - the name of the platform comes from the peak Aiguille du Dru in the
French Alps

Greetings,
Radoslaw Michalski & Team