Architecture Design of Blockchain-Based Applications

Abstract

Integrating blockchain into software solutions is not straightforward as it requires sophisticated architectural design to connect and orchestrate centralized elements, such as backend logic, with decentralized elements, such as blockchain ledgers and smart contracts. We systematically explore this design space and possible architectural solution approaches. More specifically, we provide architectural blue prints for applications with different degrees of decentralization, describe conceptional components as well as possible relations between them. Our research shows that an event-driven architecture incorporating a messaging framework, tethered to dedicated components for handling blockchain state-changing and state-collecting operations, is a prevalent approach for choreographing blockchain-dependent business logic in blockchain-based applications.