Blockchain Data Management and SmartCards

Abstract

Managing cryptographic keys remains a major barrier to blockchain adoption, especially for non-technical users. This paper presents a smart cardbased solution for secure and user-friendly key management, offering physical isolation of private keys and PIN-protected access via NFC. In a comparative study with the Waves Keeper browser extension, 33 participants completed blockchain-related tasks and rated both solutions in different categories of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) such as Perceived Usefulness, Ease of Use, and Result Demonstrability. The smart card system showed clear advantages in usability and perceived security. In general, the results highlight the potential of hardware-based approaches to improve blockchain accessibility and acceptance, with implications for Web3 applications and future research on usability and security integration.