SmartShift: A Secure and Efficient Approach to Smart Contract Migration

Abstract

Blockchain and smart contracts have emerged as revolutionary technologies transforming distributed computing. While platform evolution and smart contracts' inherent immutability necessitate migrations both across and within chains, migrating the vast amounts of critical data in these contracts while maintaining data integrity and minimizing operational disruption presents a significant challenge. To address these challenges, we present SmartShift, a framework that enables secure and efficient smart contract migrations through intelligent state partitioning and progressive function activation, preserving operational continuity during transitions. Our comprehensive evaluation demonstrates that SmartShift significantly reduces migration downtime while ensuring robust security, establishing a foundation for efficient and secure smart contract migration systems.