Blockchain: Trends and future opportunities

Abstract

Blockchain has been receiving considerable attention from the research community lately. Several research efforts have proposed the use of blockchain in many application domains. Not all of these application areas have received the same level of blockchain attention however and, for some of the applications, blockchain investigation has even stopped. Blockchain has the ability to shape the future, but not in all applications and topics. We explored those application areas that have not received much blockchain attention so that we can focus more on the application domains that have strong potential to reach the customer and have a high impact on the market. Based on our quantitative evaluation of blockchain applications and topics, we recommend those that need further investigation and implementation.