Smart contract testing

Abstract

Blockchain technologies have found important and concrete applications in the real world. Active solutions leverage Smart Contracts for the management of cryptocurrencies, sensitive data, and other valuable assets. One of the core objectives of blockchain-oriented software engineering (BOSE) is ensuring that Smart Contracts receive adequate pre-release testing to guarantee the deployment of reliable code. However, the novelty and the complexity of the blockchain environment pose new challenges to the validation and verification of Smart Contract based software. In this paper, we analyze the aforementioned challenges to foster the discussion on the specific topic of Smart Contract testing and identify relevant research directions.