Blockchain and distributed ledger technologies are disrupting the world as we know it. Cryptocurrencies are increasingly been adopted not only by a large number of retail investors but financial institutions and even countries are embracing them. Nonetheless, there is a significant number and types of cryptocurrencies and, their treatment will likely depend on their legal status, use, and nature. Some jurisdictions may equate the legal status of cryptocurrencies to commodities or property, others may consider them to be digital currencies or legal tenders, while others may treat them as securities, financial instruments, or as a different asset class such as digital assets. Consequently, countries may regulate a cryptocurrency in different legal categories and might be overseen by a range of authorities depending on their use case and nature. This article aspires to shed some light on legal grey areas by studying how cryptocurrencies are regulated in a variety of jurisdictions and how their legal status is defined.
Decentralization, stability, security, and immutability are all features of blockchain technology. Blockchain, as the underlying technology of Bitcoin's digital monetary system, is currently sweeping the globe. Blockchain is a revolutionary decentralized database technology that employs encryption, a timestamp chain data structure, a distributed consensus mechanism, and other technologies to achieve decentralization, tamper resistance, easy tracking, and programmable smart contracts. In the face of rising financial technology, we must maintain inclusive, technological, and invasive regulatory principles that not only foster financial innovation, but also conduct dynamic supervision to avoid systemic financial hazards. The consensus algorithm is one of the main blockchain technologies that has a direct impact on the system's functioning. As a result, in this paper, we propose a blockchain-based development and supervision method for financial technology, as well as an application of this technology to commercial settlement, which can significantly reduce data complexity, time consumption, and the structural chain phenomenon in existing transaction settlement. We bring the idea of pow competition into DPoS, construct a consensus algorithm with an upgrade mechanism, and call it delegated proof of work, based on an in-depth investigation of the working principle of pow (proof of work) (dDPoS). The blocking efficiency of the dDPoS consensus method is around one block every 10 seconds, which is significantly higher than the blocking efficiency of the POW and POS consensus algorithms. As a result, it offers a potential answer to traditional centralized institutions' concerns of high brokerage costs and insecure central storage, as well as a wide range of application possibilities.
Malaysian banks and financial organisations urgently require a secure authentication mechanism. However, there is a lack of research on the factors that drive blockchain authentication technology adoption, notably in Malaysian banks. This study identified the factors impacting adopting blockchain authentication technology in Malaysia. This document will be a roadmap for replacing existing technology utilizing the traditional transaction authorization code (TAC) via a short messaging service (SMS). In addition, this study looks into the elements that influence the new blockchain authentication technology's acceptability in Malaysia. The data was gathered from articles and research papers written by other scholars on blockchain authentication. To examine and categorise the aspects that influence the acceptance of blockchain authentication technology, we used risk management in technology (RMiT) standards to map them. Based on the result, security risk, regulatory support, technology latency, and technology complexity have been established as components of blockchain authentication adoption factors that can be a guideline to implement blockchain authentication in banking and financial institutions in Malaysia. In addition, the findings can contribute as a reference for future researchers to develop models or guidelines for blockchain authentication methods in banking and financial institutions.
Abstract Blockchain technology originally finding applications in Fintech and supply chain management is rapidly expanding applications to other industries as well as the public sector. “Blockchain has been compared to the invention of the internet and its comprehensive impact on almost every industry.” R. Beck and B. Markey-Towler (2017) A recent study by PWC (2020) found that, “Blockchain technology has the potential to boost global gross domestic product by $1.76 trillion USD over this decade.” It has been argued that the digital revolution has favored more developed nations and that has helped create a “digital divide” with less developed nations. Business and governmental infrastructure in developing nations have lagged that of more developed nations. Some of these challenges faced by developing nations include the registration of property ownership, financial systems, modern efficient supply chains often accompanied by a lack of trust and the ability to verify and audit organizational processes rapidly and economically. Blockchain technology has the promise to address many of the critical needs of developing countries internally and in external trade relationships to help enable them to be more competitive. This paper will review the literature and examine the impact of Blockchain technology on how its adoption may ameliorate many of these critical challenges for developing nations helping to improve governance and economic benefits that are shared more equitably. Potential for both positive and negative impacts with be discussed along with policy implications for public policy makers and private enterprises.
Saba mohammed mostafa Alboul, Hayel Abd-alHafeez Yousef Dawood
Objectives: The research aims to clarify the ruling on forming smart contracts using the blockchain technology, and the related conditions and pillars of legality. Methods: The researchers used a descriptive approach to describe smart contracts and the pillars on which they are based, an inductive approach by extrapolating the scientific material related to the topic of research from ancient fiqh books, contemporary books, and an analytical approach to clarify the legality of smart contracts using the blockchain, its pillars and related conditions. Results: The study concluded that the concept of smart contracts that are formed using blockchain is a contemporary technological term, and there is no agreement on an overarching definition of it. This is because the technology through which these contracts are formed is constantly evolving. The study also found that blockchain technology is the infrastructure for implementing smart contracts, and it is a special type of decentralized database. It also concluded that the pillars of the smart contract, such as the formulation, the contracting parties, and the subject of the contract are in essence compatible with the pillars of the contract in Islamic jurisprudence. The legality of smart contracts used in the blockchain is determined by the smart contract through which they are made, and the legal ruling for conducting contracts using the blockchain follows the contract that is done through it. The principle in these contracts and the contractual conditions based on them is that they are permissible as long as they do not violate Shari’a when concluding them via blockchain. Conclusions: The researchers recommend examining the possibility of benefiting from blockchain technology in developing financing formulas in Islamic banks.
Rong Han, Zheng Yan, Xueqin Liang, Laurence T. Yang
In a blockchain-based system, the lack of centralized control requires active participation and cooperative behaviors of system entities to ensure system security and sustainability. However, dynamic environments and unpredictable entity behaviors challenge the performances of such systems in practice. Therefore, designing a feasible incentive mechanism to regulate entity behaviors becomes essential to improve blockchain system performance. The prosperous characteristics of blockchain can also contribute to an effective incentive mechanism. Unfortunately, current literature still lacks a thorough survey on incentive mechanisms related to the blockchain to understand how incentive mechanisms and blockchain make each other better. To this end, we propose evaluation requirements in terms of the properties and costs of incentive mechanisms. On the one hand, we provide a taxonomy of the incentive mechanisms of blockchain systems according to blockchain versions, incentive forms, and incentive goals. On the other hand, we categorize blockchain-based incentive mechanisms according to application scenarios and incentive goals. During the review, we discuss the advantages and disadvantages of state-of-the-art incentive mechanisms based on the proposed evaluation requirements. Through careful review, we present how incentive mechanisms and blockchain benefit with each other, discover a number of unresolved issues, and point out corresponding potential directions for future research.
The decentralization of power generation driven by the rise in the adoption of distributed energy resources paves the way for a new paradigm in grid operations. P2P energy trading is beneficial to the grid as well as the connected peers. A blockchain-based smart contract is well suited to transparently facilitate trades between energy consumers and producers without the services of intermediaries. In this paper, Ethereum-based smart contracts that facilitate double energy auction and spinning reserve trading are developed with Solidity, compiled, and deployed within the Remix IDE. Willing energy sellers/buyers submit offers/bids to a contract that implements the double auction procedure. In order to fulfil energy supply obligations, sellers are also able to purchase spinning reserves via another smart contract. The smart contracts’ effectiveness in performing the auction procedure and making payments is confirmed using an energy/reserve market scenario. The proposed scheme encourages further adoption of distributed energy resources and participation in local P2P energy trading.
Peter Fratrič, Giovanni Sileno, S. Klous, Tom van Engers
Fraudulent actions of a trader or a group of traders can cause substantial disturbance to the market, both directly influencing the price of an asset or indirectly by misinforming other market participants. Such behavior can be a source of systemic risk and increasing distrust for the market participants, consequences that call for viable countermeasures. Building on the foundations provided by the extant literature, this study aims to design an agent-based market model capable of reproducing the behavior of the Bitcoin market during the time of an alleged Bitcoin price manipulation that occurred between 2017 and early 2018. The model includes the mechanisms of a limit order book market and several agents associated with different trading strategies, including a fraudulent agent, initialized from empirical data and who performs market manipulation. The model is validated with respect to the Bitcoin price as well as the amount of Bitcoins obtained by the fraudulent agent and the traded volume. Simulation results provide a satisfactory fit to historical data. Several price dips and volume anomalies are explained by the actions of the fraudulent trader, completing the known body of evidence extracted from blockchain activity. The model suggests that the presence of the fraudulent agent was essential to obtain Bitcoin price development in the given time period; without this agent, it would have been very unlikely that the price had reached the heights as it did in late 2017. The insights gained from the model, especially the connection between liquidity and manipulation efficiency, unfold a discussion on how to prevent illicit behavior.
A smart contract that is deployed to a blockchain system like Ethereum is, under reasonable circumstances, expected to be immutable and tamper-proof. This is both a feature (promoting integrity and transparency) and a bug (preventing security patches and feature updates). Modern smart contracts use software tricks to enable upgradeability, raising the research questions of how upgradeability is achieved and who is authorized to make changes. In this paper, we summarize and evaluate six upgradeability patterns. We develop a measurement framework for finding how many upgradeable contracts are on Ethereum that use certain prominent upgrade patters. We find 1.4 million proxy contracts which 8,225 of them are unique upgradeable proxy contracts. We also measure how they implement access control over their upgradeability: about 50% are controlled by a single Externally Owned Address (EOA), and about 14% are controlled by multi-signature wallets in which a limited number of persons can change the whole logic of the contract.
Cryptocurrencies (e.g., Bitcoin, EOS, Etherum, Litecoin, and others) are disrupting the traditional banking and financial systems. The cryptocurrencies are based on a set of technologies commonly referred to as blockchain technology. The potential effect of blockchain technology on institutional economics is profound. Already, blockchain technology-based applications in supply chain management, marketing, and finance are decen- tralizing and streamlining vital institutional functions. In this paper, I examine the economics of blockchain technologies as it pertains to transaction costs in startup financing. I try to draw upon the theory of transaction cost economics and the transactional nature of blockchain technology to propose a model to demonstrate how and why blockchain technology based applications are effective. I then apply the model to demonstrate how blockchain technology can be used to overcome many problems inherent in startup financing. For example, information asymmetry and transaction costs involved with matching an entrepreneur with an investor and the terms of the financing deal are some of the fundamental issues in entrepreneurial financing. I try to explain how a financing system based on blockchain technology can ameliorate the problems and lead to a more effective and decentralized entrepreneurial financing process.
Abu Naser Mohammad Saif, K. M. Anwarul Islam, Afruza Haque, Hamida Akhter · 8 authors
1. Introduction The present age is filled with science and technology. Today’s modern civilization is the gift of seamless and robust technological development. Therefore, we are going through an innovative flow of amazing technology that spreads among various sectors, like manufacturing, retail, and financial services (Chang et al., 2019; Hou et al., 2020). Blockchain is a
There have been increasing concerns regarding the cryptocurrency market for several reasons, regarding its decentralized system, and impact on the current financial market. Thus, the introduction of a regulated cryptocurrency market has sparked the public’s interest. This research study aimed to evaluate Indian respondents’ knowledge of cryptocurrencies and their receptivity (on the basis of several factors) towards the introduction of a regulated cryptocurrency market in India by conducting an online survey using a mixed-method research approach. Among the eight different factors examined, the study found the level of liquidity to be the highest-rated factor amongst respondents in influencing their receptivity. This finding suggests that the Indian public prefers a fast-flowing and smooth trading market, like the cryptocurrency market. Another top-rated factor was the level of security, possibly due to the increasing concern of cyberattacks in the financial markets.
 Conversely, anonymous usage, inflation risk, and operation cost were the least influential, highlighting the Indian public’s unique characteristics. Data revealed that respondents who were finance professionals and had IT experience were generally more receptive to the idea of a regulated cryptocurrency market in India. As a result, additional nuanced marketing strategies targeted at different sectors, especially the finance and IT sectors, as identified through the results include: introducing a regulated cryptocurrency market to the Indian public by highlighting their concern for the level of security and attracting them by highlighting how its regulation by authorities would keep in check the threats it poses.
IntroductionNew technologies are emerging and changing all over the world. The accessibility of an internet connection with smartphone-enabled services has made simple access to high-speed technological advancements for a wide range of people. The notion of Industry 4.0 (Brettel et al.; Davies 2015; Sheng, 2018; Mekinjić, 2019; Badr Machkour, 2020; Yulius et al.
Mohammad Monirujjaman Khan, Nesat Tasneem RoJa, Faris A. Almalki, Maha Aljohani
The days of storing data manually are behind us. We are opting for the online form of data storage and transfer. The new era of data digitization comes with its own perks and detriments. Cybersecurity is still a crucial concern today. As more data transfer occurs through an online medium, the risks of a breach and cyberattacks are inevitable. The whole foundation of e-commerce is based on the online transfer of goods and transactions without the need to travel. Transferring transactional data and transactions in e-commerce are prone to cyber threats. Our research’s major objective is to develop a system that protects against such mishaps, especially during the transfer of transactional data, and also implement an automated system that ensures these transactions occur without any errors. To implement this, we are taking advantage of new emerging technologies called blockchain and smart contract. Blockchain allows a decentralized, immutable digital ledger to safely store and transfer data across the network. Blockchain technology is used in e-commerce to transfer transactions in a safe, secure, and faster way. Blockchain enables a peer-to-peer transaction system and data encryption that enables the safe transfer of transactional data. Blockchain is used to transfer transactional data. A smart contract is a special program that enables, verifies, and enforces the terms of a contract digitally. It provides transactional security as the contact is in place. The blockchain, coupled with smart contracts, will revolutionize the future of e-commerce. We have combined blockchain technology to ensure data security and user privacy with smart contracts to ensure that the protocol for the transaction is maintained. The results are presented by building and implementing the proposed system that provides the solution for transactional data privacy.
Crowdfunding has emerged as a popular method for raising capital in various domains, providing a platform for entrepreneurs and innovators to access funds from a broad audience. This paper explores the application of Ethereum blockchain technology to enhance crowdfunding processes, emphasizing decentralization, transparency, and security. Ethereum's smart contract capabilities enable the creation of decentralized crowdfunding platforms, offering a trustless environment where contributors and project creators interact directly without relying on intermediaries. The use of Ethereum's native cryptocurrency, Ether(ETH), facilitates seamless, borderless transactions, eliminating the need for traditional banking systems and reducing transaction costs. Decentralized crowdfunding on the Ethereum blockchain enhances transparency through the immutability of transactions recorded on the blockchain. Contributors can verify the allocation offunds, ensuring that they are used as intended by the project creators.
This paper discusses the money and financial system from both the conventional and Islamic points of view. To further elucidate this topic, some aspects of the conventional financial system are discussed on the applicability from an Islamic perspective. Firstly, the advancements of technology that had led to the invention of cryptocurrency and how the Islamic financial system can evaluate the determinants of the adoption of such cryptocurrencies were reviewed. Secondly, the use of digital wallet and how it is encouraged by the government to increase transparency in the financial system and finally, the applicability of a dual-currency model, which covers the idea of revitalizing the dinar and the dirham as well as the implementation of a dual-currency regime in a nation and how it benefits the economy and prevents the failures of the financial system are discussed along the way. The paper reviews scholarly work conducted by both contemporary conventional and Islamic economic scholars. In addition to that, this paper incorporates the views from the classical Islamic scholars such as al-Ghazali, as well as reviewing the money, banking, and financial systems that were conducted during the early Islamic reign, which would be deemed helpful in formulating an Islamic monetary system that could be pre-eminent in today’s world.
Fake News has become a huge alarming issue since the previous few years.It can be used to influence people on any political, economical or social topics and change people’s thoughts on a particular subject. We’re using a blockchain based technique to overcome this problem. More specifically the proposed approach uses concepts of customized proof of authority and proof of truthfulness consensus algorithm serving as an incentive mechanism to determine the integrity of fake news. As Blockchain is a decentralized system no one will be able to tamper with the original news. Also, we are maintaining the reputation score of each organization. Due to fear of lowering credibility score, no one will produce fake news and the probability of fake news getting viral will be reduced. This platform which is a blockchain based Decentralized application can provide normal readers on the platform with a reliable way of verifying the content and the source by which it gets published. Our work demonstrates that the solutions proposed in this paper ensure data integrity, data security, data transparency, and data traceability by consideration of such a blockchain-based framework for tackling fake news. Key Words: Decentralized Applications, Decentralised Autonomous Organisation, Decentralized Exchange, Peer To Peer, Ethereum Virtual Machine
Bitcoin, with its ever-growing popularity, has demonstrated extreme price volatility since its origin. This volatility, together with its decentralised nature, make Bitcoin highly subjective to speculative trading as compared to more traditional assets. In this paper, we propose a multimodal model for predicting extreme price fluctuations. This model takes as input a variety of correlated assets, technical indicators, as well as Twitter content. In an in-depth study, we explore whether social media discussions from the general public on Bitcoin have predictive power for extreme price movements. A dataset of 5,000 tweets per day containing the keyword `Bitcoin' was collected from 2015 to 2021. This dataset, called PreBit, is made available online. In our hybrid model, we use sentence-level FinBERT embeddings, pretrained on financial lexicons, so as to capture the full contents of the tweets and feed it to the model in an understandable way. By combining these embeddings with a Convolutional Neural Network, we built a predictive model for significant market movements. The final multimodal ensemble model includes this NLP model together with a model based on candlestick data, technical indicators and correlated asset prices. In an ablation study, we explore the contribution of the individual modalities. Finally, we propose and backtest a trading strategy based on the predictions of our models with varying prediction threshold and show that it can used to build a profitable trading strategy with a reduced risk over a `hold' or moving average strategy.
Healthcare data is highly sensitive and must be safeguarded. Personal and sensitive data, such as names and addresses, is stored in Encrypted Electronic Health Records (EHRs). This paper proposes a Blockchain-based distributed application platform for Bangladesh’s public and private healthcare service providers. The proposed application framework enables users to create secure digital agreements for commerce or collaboration by leveraging data immutability and smart contracts. As a result, all stakeholders can collaborate securely over the same Blockchain network, taking advantage of their data’s openness and read/write nature. The proposed application is made up of various application interfaces for various stakeholders. The proposed solution employs Hyperledger Fabric and Blockchain to ensure data integrity, privacy, permissions, and service availability. In the application portal, each user has a profile. The creation of a unique identity for each user, as well as the establishment of digital information centers across the country, has greatly aided the process. This application collects health data from each user in a systematic manner, which is useful for research institutes and healthcare-related organizations. For this application, a national data warehouse in Bangladesh is feasible, and various healthcare-related analyses can be performed using the collected data, assisting the strategy and planning department in making informed decisions regarding the healthcare sector in Bangladesh. Because Bangladesh has both public and private healthcare providers, a simple digital strategy is essential for all organizations to accomplish their services. This study proposes a solution to achieve this goal.
Farjana Khanam Nishi, Mahizebin Shams-E-Mofiz, Mohammad Monirujjaman Khan, Abdulmajeed Alsufyani · 7 authors
An electronic health record (EHR) is a technology that allows you to keep track of your health information. It keeps computerized records of several healthcare organizations. Records are exchanged via enterprise-wide data systems as well as other networking technologies and exchanges. Patients nowadays expect immediate access to their health information. However, the health sector comes with immediate access to data, and there are worries about the privacy and security of medical records of patients. As a result, a blockchain-based solution can assist in resolving this issue. The blockchain has the potential to beat the conventional centralized system, which suffers from a severe lack of accessibility. This is a decentralized technology that has recently been presented to provide a new viewpoint on data security and system efficiency. This paper presents a blockchain-based system that helps the patient’s data be managed and secured into a single record held by the patient. This system was developed using the Ethereum network using Ganache, as well as programming languages, tools, and techniques such as Solidity and web3.js. The measured approach suggested in this paper uses this platform to store patients’ data and execute functions in a decentralized system using blockchain smart contracts. Transactions are communicated through the smart contract once it has been launched, providing security and privacy features. Furthermore, the transaction’s desired alterations can be verified and transmitted to the entire distributed network. There is also a cryptocurrency wallet (MetaMask) that holds a centrally controlled, private information system in which records can be quickly accessed and secured by authorities. Doctors and patients can access the system through the wallet. Moreover, all the data of the doctor and patient will be secured and managed through this system. This proposed system is aimed at doing things such as the following: blockchain technology allows users to obtain the same data at the same time, increasing efficiency, developing credibility, and reducing barriers. It enables the secure storage of data by setting specific access for users. Additionally, this proposed system facilitates the secure transfer of patient medical records. Finally, this paper describes a health-record system and a new protocol that are quick and secure to use. It allows greater openness and ownership of sensitive data to be recorded and secured and also promotes the healthcare sector with blockchain.
This article examines the compatibility of the Global Conference on Criminal Finances and Cryptocurrencies with a sharing economy model. The analysis is based on the claims presented in Europol documents and public statements of Europol executives that this initiative serves as a platform for knowledge exchange and building professional networks between public and private actors to tackle crypto-laundering. The article investigates the validity of these statements with the most prominent sharing economy concepts: low barrier accessibility, transaction cost and trust-building. The article employs each sharing economy concept on two beneficiaries of the platform—law enforcement agencies (LEAs) and non-governmental organizations—while scaling the platform’s sharing economy level. Based on Europol documents, an expert interview and participant observation of the 5th Global Cryptocurrency Conference, the article’s core argument is that these cryptocurrency conferences can be categorized as a ‘partial’ sharing economy platform. They reduce the transaction cost for public and private actors to share knowledge about the latest trends and threats about crypto-laundering and reduce transaction costs for networking. However, co-founders should consider integrating robust trust-building mechanisms that allow low barrier entry to the conference, which will facilitate more inclusive and optimized public–private partnerships (P3).
The adoption of cryptocurrencies is uneven across businesses, industries, and countries. Different forces drive cryptocurrency adoption (CA) dependent on the national level of development. We empirically assess the relationship between certain macro-national developmental indicators and cryptocurrency deployment across 137 countries. Linear regressions determine specific associations with cryptocurrency adoption. We report that CA correlates positively and in decreasing order with Education, the Human Development Index, the Network Readiness Index, the Gini index, Democracy, Regulatory Quality, and Gross Domestic Product, and negatively and in decreasing order with Control of Corruption, the Corruption Perception Index, and the Economic Freedom Index. We draw on our findings to point to policy implications tied to the usage of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies more widely and identify further research possibilities.
Abstract: Real estate is one of the most trusted investments that people have preferred. It provides a steady source of income which can be in the form of rent as well as lease. There are a number of advantages, but one of the key disadvantages of real estate investments is illiquidity. Although the global real estate investments are twice the size of investments in the equity markets, the number of investors in the real estate market is remarkably lower. Blockchain technology has real potential to solve the issues of illiquidity and transparency, and most importantly, it opens this very market to the retail investors as well. By creating Security Tokens, which are backed by real-world assets, real estate can be made more liquid with the help of Special Purpose Vehicles. These security tokens, which represent fractional ownership of the real estate can be traded by a trader / investor and these tokens can be listed on legitimate secondary exchanges. The robustness of Smart Contracts can be very efficient in transferring of tokens and also provide a seamless distribution of earnings amongst the investors / traders. This work describes Ethereum blockchain based solutions has the potential to make the existing Real Estate investment system much more efficient and reliable. Keywords: Tokenization , Blockchain , Fungible Assets, Tokens, Special Purpose Vehicle, Smart Contracts, Liquidity, Security Tokens,
Himank Goel, Harshit Gupta, M L Sharma, K C Tripathi
Abstract: Blockchain technology is an evolving technology which is revolutionizing the IT industry by providing better security and efficiency. This technology can help to solve different kinds of problems in the industrial sphere, such as trust, transparency, security and reliability of data processing. I theory, the use of Blockchain technology shows great and positive results. Ethereum is the most widely used blockchain platform because of its unlimited block size. Many sophisticated problems with smart contracts can be solved with Ethereum and the removal of any third party organization which may interfere in transactions and it is easier to implement compared to other blockchain technologies. In this paper the benefits and drawbacks of wallet based on Ethereum blockchain are analyzed. Many already implemented wallets on Blockchain technology were studied, as well as affected success or problems factors during the implementations. This paper aims to analyze conveniences and difficulties related to the Blockchain integration to a wallet and implementation in the different fields of modern industry