<blockquote>
  <p>Is it possible to extract the following data from the bitcoin ledger: (time, sender, amount, receiver)?</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Something like that would be possible, you could run your own bitcoin node and query the data from that, or use an API from a site like blockchain.info, which provides transaction data. Here's an example of a transaction from blockchain.info:
<a href="https://blockchain.info/rawtx/a196032e52c0a9d7a9737ffa212f029bceb9618d0bff5c6dde99ecac4e28bf06" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://blockchain.info/rawtx/a196032e52c0a9d7a9737ffa212f029bceb9618d0bff5c6dde99ecac4e28bf06</a></p>

<p>Note that transactions do not have times encoded into them, the time such a site gives would just be the time that site received the transaction first.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>the address can be used to approximate unique users? Is this correct?</p>
</blockquote>

<p>This is not correct in general, while some users may reuse the same address for every transaction (one-to-one), other users generate new addresses for every transaction they receive, so there is a many-to-one relationship between addresses and users. In the more uncommon case, there are also multisignature addresses, which often involve more than one person approving any spends from that address, so that you sometimes have a one-to-many relationship between the address and the users. All addresses of that type start with a '3' or 'bc1' though. So its a lot more complicated to make assumptions about users than it is to just look at addresses.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-10-28T08:41:35.403Z
2017-10-28T08:41:35.403Z
meshcollider
<p>I am interested in analysing patterns in transfers between bitcoin users. Is it possible to extract the following data from the bitcoin ledger:</p>

<ul>
<li>time</li>
<li>sender</li>
<li>amount</li>
<li>receiver</li>
</ul>

<p>I don't need the real identity of sender/receiver. I understand that the address can be used to approximate unique users? Is this correct?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-10-27T19:37:13.790Z
Welcome to Bitcoin SE!  Is your question about how to get the blockchain?  How to read it?  How to understand transactions?  It's unclear, which makes this question grounds for closing.  Please revise to ask a specific question.  Also feel free to ask multiple questions, since that makes the site better for everyone.
Jestin
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-10-28T03:56:47.717Z
Jestin- hope my q is more specific now
fq1
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-10-29T15:38:56.573Z
Thanks.  Ultimately, it's up to the community to decide if it's specific enough.  Otherwise, it will be closed.
Jestin
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-10-30T13:16:54.257Z
You may read the following article on visualizing bitcoin transactions as well as blocks. There are few very good websites enlisted which have helped me to learn a lot as well. https://datalion.com/visualizing-blockchain-7-beautiful-informative-bitcoin-visualizations/
siddharth
<blockchain>
Access Bitcoin Blockchain to analyze transfer patterns
fq1
# Access Bitcoin Blockchain to analyze transfer patterns

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-10-27)

I am interested in analysing patterns in transfers between bitcoin users. Is it possible to extract the following data from the bitcoin ledger:

* time
* sender
* amount
* receiver

I don't need the real identity of sender/receiver. I understand that the address can be used to approximate unique users? Is this correct?

**Tags:** blockchain

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Welcome to Bitcoin SE!  Is your question about how to get the blockchain?  How to read it?  How to understand transactions?  It's unclear, which makes this question grounds for closing.  Please revise to ask a specific question.  Also feel free to ask multiple questions, since that makes the site better for everyone.  
> **username_0**: username_1- hope my q is more specific now  
> **username_1**: Thanks.  Ultimately, it's up to the community to decide if it's specific enough.  Otherwise, it will be closed.  
> **username_2**: You may read the following article on visualizing bitcoin transactions as well as blocks. There are few very good websites enlisted which have helped me to learn a lot as well. https://datalion.com/visualizing-blockchain-7-beautiful-informative-bitcoin-visualizations/  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2017-10-28. Score: 1

> Is it possible to extract the following data from the bitcoin ledger: (time, sender, amount, receiver)?

Something like that would be possible, you could run your own bitcoin node and query the data from that, or use an API from a site like blockchain.info, which provides transaction data. Here's an example of a transaction from blockchain.info:
<https://blockchain.info/rawtx/a196032e52c0a9d7a9737ffa212f029bceb9618d0bff5c6dde99ecac4e28bf06>

Note that transactions do not have times encoded into them, the time such a site gives would just be the time that site received the transaction first.

> the address can be used to approximate unique users? Is this correct?

This is not correct in general, while some users may reuse the same address for every transaction (one-to-one), other users generate new addresses for every transaction they receive, so there is a many-to-one relationship between addresses and users. In the more uncommon case, there are also multisignature addresses, which often involve more than one person approving any spends from that address, so that you sometimes have a one-to-many relationship between the address and the users. All addresses of that type start with a '3' or 'bc1' though. So its a lot more complicated to make assumptions about users than it is to just look at addresses.


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