Coinbase has introduced a new metric, the h-index, in an effort to address distortions caused by airdrop-related activities and Sybil attacks. This change has made it more challenging for analysts to track ecosystem adoption as more applications are launched. Traditional network metrics like total transactions or daily active addresses can be impacted by these distortions, according to Coinbase.
The h-index is designed to balance the depth and breadth of onchain adoption by counting the number of addresses receiving transactions from at least the same number of unique sending addresses. In other words, an h-index of 100 means that 100 different receiving addresses had received transactions from at least 100 unique sending addresses over a given time frame. When applied, the h-index showed Ethereum and Base networks with the most widespread user activity for the week ending Jun 6, followed by Arbitrum and Polygon based on Coinbase’s findings.
Additionally, Coinbase acknowledges that the influence of exchange or other smart contract wallets could also distort numbers, as this activity can create numerous false accounts or addresses to inflate transaction volumes or user activity artificially. In summary, the introduction of the h-index as a new metric aims to mitigate distortions in network metrics caused by airdrop-related activities and Sybil attacks. While providing a more accurate measure of onchain adoption, it also addresses the challenges posed by traditional network metrics in tracking ecosystem adoption.