IPv4 and IPv6 for Blockchain Networks: a Comparative Analysis

Blockchain technology enables new possibilities for the peer-to-peer exchange of both monetary value and information. A key challenge when designing high-performance blockchain networks is to ensure their scalability and capacity to support many concurrent users and applications. Blockchain networks are typically implemented on top of the TCP/IP stack, offering a choice between the IPv4 and IPv6 protocols. While most blockchain networks have not achieved significant scale, recent improvements in blockchain implementations offer increasing levels of transaction throughput. The improving capacity of such blockchains warrants an examination of the relative applicability of IPv4 and IPv6 in supporting scalable blockchain infrastructure. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive comparative analysis of IPv4 and IPv6 with respect to the requirements and properties of high-performance blockchains. We find that IPv6 is more suitable for such networks regarding privacy, security, and scalability. Moreover we outline how IPv6 offers additional functionalities over IPv4 by supporting diverse peer-to-peer payment mechanisms and advanced identity-management using cryptographically generated addresses.