Sitara Karim, Shahnawaz Khan, Hana Bawazir, Mustafa Raza Rabbani ¡ 5 authors
The purpose of this study is to explore the possibility of applying smart contracts in Islamic finance transactions and to explore the application of smart contracts in Mudaraba contract. Mudaraba financing is an ancient Islamic contract where one party known as Rabb-Ul-Maal provides the fund to the other party known as Mudarib to do the business on his behalf and share the profit on agreed terms and conditions. The study is an exploratory in nature as it explores the possibility of Islamic finance tool 'Mudaraba' to fight the adversities of COVID-19. Based on the extensive review of literature, the study proposes a Fintech model based on smart contract for Mudaraba transactions. The study will help in better understanding and application of smart contract in Islamic finance. It will also help the users of Islamic finance services to grab the opportunity and adopt the smart contract technology in their business practices. The proposed model can be a useful tool in fighting the adverse effects of disasters like COVID-19, war and earthquake, etc., and it will help in uplifting the standard of living of the poor by creating employment opportunities and contributing to the GDP.
The cryptocurrency market has ignited heated debates since its large fluctuation during 2013. This project first discusses a brief connection in certain representative cryptocurrency assets, with certain properties raising from the fields of behavior finance. Then I study the link between behaviors in cryptocurrency market with these properties using event study analysis. In order to proxy such behaviors, I extract confidence and uncertainty index which is a proxy of fully rational measurement and any deviations would imply the space of behavior finance theories. I discuss how such measurements could explain various individuals' reactions to cryptocurrencies both quantitatively and qualitatively.
Manuel Pereira Lamela, JesĂşs RodrĂguez-Molina, Margarita MartĂnez, Juan Garbajosa
The possibilities that Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLTs) offer for cooperation, development, and achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are remarkable. This is because DLTs enable several key features, such as sharing complete information about every data transaction in the distributed system that participants belong to, the immutability of the recorded data transactions, or consensus among what data can be regarded as true, of great usefulness for the implementation of the SDGs. As far as developing countries are concerned, this information could be useful in trading locally produced goods, as it could enhance the reputation and profitability of Small-Scale Producers (SSPs). Unfortunately, it is rare to find a digitalized marketplace that has been specifically implemented for this application domain. This paper puts forward a blockchain-based marketplace that makes use of Smart Contracts and offers information about how the sold goods were produced and can be traced to their very origin. Besides, cloud computing has been conceived to be used in this development from the beginning to reduce the computational resources required by end user operations. An implementation with cloud computing facilities, software components running on the Ethereum blockchain and a web front end have been tested with satisfactory performance results.
Due to the presence of multiple participants and tiers in the supply chain network there lies a high risk of data corruption and authenticity, resulting in lack of data transparency and responsiveness. However, there are several methods that are being practiced to establish more secure supply chain networks. The emergence of block-chain technology has created several paths for potential innovations in business industries making the management easier. Therefore combining traditional supply chain services with the block-chain technologies can help create an efficient supply chain management network. In this project, we have proposed an idea of âDecentralized Supply Chain Management Smart Contract Using Block-chainâ which is a small step of making the supply chain a trust-worthy network. We proposed a block-chain based framework with the use of associated technology, i.e. Smart contracts, to experience the practical application of supply chain process design. The Smart contract is designed to ease the management, in which the manufacturer provides complete details of the products, while the consumer has the real time access to details of products and status of transaction. Details of each product is a non-fungible token which ensures that the data is immutable.
The advent of blockchain technology has revolutionized the way decentralized applications (dApps) and smart contracts are developed and deployed. However, the barrier of gas fees continues to hinder mass adoption, especially in resource-constrained environments. This paper proposes a novel, practical model for gasless smart contract transactions by integrating facial recognition technology within blockchain ecosystems. Our approach leverages zero-knowledge proofs and meta-transaction protocols to enable trustless authentication and transaction signing through biometric facial data, thereby eliminating the need for users to maintain a cryptocurrency balance for transaction execution. The proposed model is built on a multi-layered architecture that incorporates a decentralized identity (DID) framework, a biometric verification engine, and a relayer network that pays the gas on behalf of the user. Using facial recognition as a biometric key, users can trigger and authorize smart contract functions without direct wallet interaction or private key exposure. The system enhances security by utilizing advanced liveness detection and encrypted facial signature hashing, preventing spoofing and ensuring that only legitimate users gain access to the network. Furthermore, it supports user onboarding via identity verification processes that comply with global KYC (Know Your Customer) standards, thus bridging the gap between user accessibility and regulatory requirements. A simulation environment was developed using Solidity, OpenZeppelin libraries, AWS Rekognition for facial analysis, and the Biconomy SDK for meta-transactions. Performance metrics indicate significant improvements in user onboarding time, cost-efficiency, and fraud prevention compared to traditional models. The model also reduces environmental impact by lowering the computational overhead associated with repeated gas-based authentication. This paper provides a blueprint for developers, policymakers, and fintech stakeholders to adopt gasless blockchain frameworks supported by biometric security. It presents a scalable and user-friendly solution that could unlock broader blockchain adoption in finance, healthcare, and identity management sectors. The fusion of facial recognition with smart contract automation signifies a leap towards a more inclusive, secure, and cost-efficient decentralized future.
Tom Barbereau, Johannes Sedlmeir, Reilly Smethurst, Gilbert Fridgen ¡ 5 authors
Abstract Art and collectibles markets tend to involve lower liquidity and higher fees than public equity markets. Distributed ledger technology can tokenize artworks and collectibles, so that claims to these assets can be exchanged digitally without intermediaries. Tokenization offers investors access to a global market plus a digitized paper trail, as well as new options for the fractional ownership of artworks, art-collateralized loans, and yield-bearing art assets. The main challenge for tokenization researchers and platform developers is to simultaneously satisfy regulatorsâ demands for transparency and auditability as well as art investorsâ demands for privacy. New technological solutions are required that enable market participants to disclose the absolute minimum amount of information that is demanded by regulators. We investigate how distributed ledger technology, cryptography, and digital identity management can help address this challenge.
As a peerâtoâpeer âP2Pâ distributed ledger, the blockchain has the advantages of decentralization, no trust, open autonomy, and nontampering. Therefore, many users are willing to conduct transactions in blockchain cryptocurrency systems such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. However, the throughput of traditional blockchain is extremely low, and the transaction is so delayed. The payment channel network is the most promising solution to expand the blockchain for widespread use. Achieving secure instant payment on the payment channel can significantly increase transaction throughput and reduce transaction delays. When the payment channel is closed, the balance in the channel will be returned to an account on the blockchain. In this paper, we discuss the design and the implementation of a multiparty payment channel network based on smart contracts. Where a twoâparty payment channel is designed based on blockchain and smart contracts, a new multiparty payment channel is established on the basis of the payment channel. A detailed definition and description are given, and the creation, update, and closing functions of the multiparty payment channel are designed. Moreover, we design a multiparty payment channel smart contract, deploy it to the local private blockchain, and conduct simulation and testing. The delay time of different transaction methods is counted, and the network topology type, transaction amount, and other factors are studied. The impact of transaction success rate and the gas consumption of different transaction methods are analyzed through multiple sets of experimental statistics.
Amila Saputhanthri, Chamitha de Alwis, Madhusanka Liyanage
The ever-growing smart applications will expand the Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem to connect over 75 billion devices by 2025. IoT ecosystems comprise sensors that act as data suppliers and applications where monetary transactions are required to compensate the data producers. This signifies the importance of IoT payments and marketplaces to facilitate micro-transactions of billions of connected devices in the IoT ecosystem, which is heterogeneous, decentralized, and diverse. However, realizing such an ecosystem raises multiple challenges such as overcoming poor inter-operability, resource constraints, and security and privacy vulnerabilities of IoT devices and platforms. Blockchain is a Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) that can be identified as a potential solution to overcome the challenges in realizing IoT payments and marketplaces. This is due to the characteristics of blockchain such as decentralization, traceability, immutability, and non-repudiation. This paper presents a comprehensive survey on blockchain-based IoT payments and marketplaces. This paper provides a brief introduction to the concepts of IoT payments and IoT marketplaces. Then the technical challenges involved in realizing IoT payment and marketplaces are discussed by highlighting the blockchain-based solutions. Furthermore, blockchain-based smart applications which use IoT marketplace and IoT payment concepts are presented marking the role of blockchain in each of the application. Subsequently, the paper discussed the integration challenges while also highlighting possible solutions. It is envisaged that this paper would shed light on the development of blockchain-based solutions to realize IoT payments and marketplaces.
This article examines banksâ de-risking practices inside Hong Kong's Anti-Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regime, a problem that has created considerable tension between the demands of AML/CFT prevention and those of financial inclusion. It unravels the public policy tensions stemming from a multitude of financial reform causes, namely the facilitation of AML/CFT regulatory compliance, the promotion of financial technology (FinTech) innovation and an ultimate expansion in financial inclusion. The article argues that tiered account services are an important first step towards financial inclusion, culminating in the introduction of simple bank accounts by some banks to mitigate the effect of de-risking. While proposed solutions such as the know-your-client utility system and central data repository may contribute to a digital financial inclusion framework, they are not tailored to solve a specific problem (de-risking). The article therefore proposes and evaluates whether FinTech and blockchain-based smart contracts qualify as alternative solutions to de-risking. The article aims to address those policy tensions and contribute to the regulatory policy formulation and the rule-making for financial law and regulation intended to facilitate financial inclusion.
Amiya Karmakar, Pritam Ghosh, Partha Sarathi Banerjee, Debashis De
The health insurance industry requires a secure data management architecture characterized by reliable information processing and fast response. Classical health insurance management system runs on a manually controlled centralized architecture which leverages a vulnerable single point failure and requires frequent human intervention. This makes the model prone to human errors and security attacks. The existing system also lacks the flexibility to choose appropriate health insurance policies for different consumers. To this end, we propose an Ethereum blockchain-based framework, ChainSure, to address this problem. With the power of TOPSIS and smart contracts, ChainSure provides an automated, tamperproof, transparent, scalable system that takes care of all the major functional blocks in a medical insurance environment. We have used the TOPSIS method in this proposed model to help the users to find an insurance policy that best suits their needs. ChainSure works in a decentralized environment and provides an interactive interface for the user. The proposed model is implemented on the Ethereum test network and its performance has been compared empirically with other state-of-art models. ChainSure is found to outperform others in terms of service integrity, latency and cost.
Aim/Purpose: This paper identified and explored the factors influencing Bitcoin adoption and use in South Africa. Background: Since its introduction in 2008, the value and popularity of Bitcoin has risen exponentially. Captivating the eyes of the world, from regulators to economists, Bitcoin promises to revolutionize the digital currency space. Despite being over 10 years old, the concept of cryptocurrency is fairly new in South Africa, a developing country. South Africanâs interest in Bitcoin continues to grow with the country constantly ranking within the top 10 in online searches for âBitcoinâ and âcryptocurrencyâ on Google. The primary objective of this research was to identify adoption factors amongst South African citizens, an area that has not received much research focus in the past. In addition to this, the study aimed to identify how Bitcoin is primarily used in South Africa. Methodology: A survey-based questionnaire was utilized to obtain responses from adopters of Bitcoin in South Africa. The quantitative survey was completed by 204 respondents. Contribution: This research contributes to the body of knowledge relating to Bitcoin adoption, specifically from a developing country. Adoption factors are identified that can be utilized by businesses that intend to adopt cryptocurrency, to strategically prepare for the potential risks or opportunities brought about by Bitcoin and cryptocurrency in general. Findings: The findings of this study indicate that while perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, subjective norms, and facilitating conditions positively influence intention to adopt Bitcoin, trust was the only construct that is statistically significant and hence is the greatest driver of adoption in South Africa. In terms of its primary use in South Africa, the study revealed that Bitcoin is used as a speculative instrument for short-term trading in South Africa followed by being used as a long-term investment in the crypto-asset class. No respondent indicated that they utilize Bitcoin as a payment method in South Africa. Recommendations for Practitioners: When developing crypto-based investment products, custodians of assets must ensure that a minimum-security protocol is followed to safeguard these assets. This will enhance the trust that potential investors and customers have in their systems and products. Recommendation for Researchers: This study focused on adoption factors for South African citizens. Future studies should be conducted to identify adoption factors by businesses in South Africa. Impact on Society: Bitcoin offers an alternate trading instrument and investment option, with the possibility of large gains over a relatively short period. Bitcoin also presents the possibility of cross-border transactions at a significantly lower cost compared to traditional cross-border transfers of funds. Future Research: Studies should be conducted to explore the factors influencing the adoption of altcoins to determine if the technological differences influence the adoption of one currency over the other. Research should also be conducted comparing the taxation of cryptocurrency in various countries around the world.
The blockchain technology is considered as the most secure and decentralized way to manage your payments with cryptocurrencies. Furthermore, with the advent of NFT's which are a way to make owning digital art a possibility we can see how blockchain has multiple purposes. Blockchain gained traction because of its attributes such as security, immutability, expandability and decentralism. We can see blockchain being used more and more for non-financial applications. On the topic of electronic medical records which need to be secure and be accessed globally, it is still being stored locally or on the cloud which is confined to an organization or a group of organizations. We can observe that healthcare is a field that can benefit massively from blockchain technology. It can make electronic medical records be securely accessed in case of emergencies using smart contracts making the system effectively be used hand in hand with conventional database systems. Smart contracts can be used to manage the accessibility of electronic medical data by third party organizations globally without the data being tampered, manipulated or misused. The system can be used with the current database as it is interoperable. With the successful implementation of this system, it will give access to patients, health care organizations and other third parties the ability to view and manage the electronic medical data.
Because of its unique decentralization, encryption, reliability, and tamperâproof, the block chain system makes smart contracts break through the shackles of the lack of trusted environment, and its application field keeps expanding. We read the source code and official documents of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Hyperledger to explore the operation principle and implementation mode of smart contract. By analyzing the evolution process of smart contracts in blockchain and the sequence of its function expansion, according to the multirole business process of supply chain, we design a semipublic smart contract chain model based on Ethereum and Hyperledger in order to provide useful inspiration and help for the future research of smart contracts in blockchain applied in supply chain.
In view of the current chaotic structure of smart contracts and no unified definition of smart contracts, the implementation of smart contracts for the same business in the same field is quite different due to different development institutions and operating platforms, resulting in a low level of smart contract sharing and high development costs, hindering the development of smart contracts. Combined with the intellectual property transaction scenario, this paper proposes a blockchainâbased intellectual property transaction smart contract form specification, designs the overall structure and process specification of the smart contract in the intellectual property transaction process, formulates a standard for the standardization of smart contract writing in intellectual property transaction scenarios, and solves the current chaotic structure of intellectual property transaction smart contracts, which is conducive to the collaborative development of scholars in various fields.
Blockchain smart contracts are emerging research area among Industrial communities and academics. Blockchain enabled Smart contracts provide automatic processing, security in decentralized environment and removes the barrier of trusted third party. Insurance industry is one of the targeted areas for hackers, and takes more time for processing. The Insurance industry will change dramatically when integrating with Blockchain technology, with high degree of security, real time working and minimum processing cost. Writing smart contracts are very challenging task as Blockchain is secure itself, but sometimes blockchain enabled smart contracts leads to vulnerabilities, have to face scalability & privacy issues also. Authors gives overview of Hyperledger Fabric as it is standard platforms for implementing smart contracts for permissioned blockchain, and proposed a research framework for smart contracts use cases in insurance sector. Second, the technical and legal challenges, as well as the current research are discussed. This paper is aimed to provide guidance for future research in Blockchain smart contracts in insurance industry.