Abstract The creation of blockchain-based software applications requires today considerable technical knowledge, particularly in software design and programming. This is regarded as a major barrier in adopting this technology in business and making it accessible to a wider audience. As a solution, low-code and no-code approaches have been proposed that require only little or no programming knowledge for creating full-fledged software applications. In this paper we extend a review of academic approaches from the discipline of model-driven engineering as well as industrial low-code and no-code development platforms for blockchains. This includes a content-based, computational analysis of relevant academic papers and the derivation of major topics. In addition, the topics were manually evaluated and refined. Based on these analyses we discuss the spectrum of approaches in this field and derive opportunities for further research.
Digital Products Passports (DPPs) are digital documents accompanying individual product items and carrying data pertaining to product's life cycle; material and methods used in manufacturing, product distribution network, carbon footprint and environmental impact, context and time of use, and other. DPPs were first introduced in the EU Green Deal and are envisioned as a tool to facilitate the transition to a Circular Economy. Data stored and carried on DPPs will help inform policy making as well as consumer behavior. However, the wide scope of use cases and market sectors under consideration pose significant challenges in deriving a generic DPP system design. This makes difficult the development of corresponding standards, which in turn hinders market stakeholders from onboarding the use of DPPs. We address this problem by means of a DPP use case framework that captures the core underlying structure of DPP use cases that is common in its many application areas. We also present a technical architecture for DPP systems based on Distributed Ledger Technologies and Smart Contracts and provide the code for a working prototype. We conclude by discussing future extensions of this work, particularly with respect to evaluating the performance of our implementation.
Abstract Blockchain has been one of the key innovations in information technology in the last 15 years. An important aspect of applying blockchain technology is the creation of so-called non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Although the name resembles cryptocurrencies because of the word token, in practice, NFTs do not represent electronic money but a digital certificate of ownership of an asset. They effectively behave like tokens whose total supply is one, and it is immutable. Considering their technical and conceptual basis, NFTs can be defined as digital certificates of ownership based on blockchain technology, the possession of which proves the indisputable ownership of the purchased digital asset. The subject of this paper is the conceptual basis of NFTs and the scope of their application in digital business. It aims to determine the value factors of NFTs and whether an expansion of their use can be expected in the future. The results of our research show that the essential advantage that NFTs bring to digital business is authentication. NFTs also enable the continuous collection of royalties by the author. The last, but potentially most powerful value generator of NFTs, is the creation of an ecosystem, where an online community is formed based on the initial forms of digital assets. Without standardization and regulation by states, NFTs will remain in the market niche of intensive Internet users.
In spite of all the hype, media attention, and explosion in market valuations, cryptocurrencies have so far failed to find wide acceptance as a means of payment. This has led to a wealth of literature investigating why cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin failed to establish themselves widely. However, these investigations have generally focused on specific cryptocurrencies and did not highlight which features of cryptocurrencies help or hinder adoption. This paper helps close this gap by conducting a qualitative user study with 960 respondents representative of the German population, obtaining freeform answers on the main adoption factors as well as the main obstacles for cryptocurrencies from both existing and potential users. We identify 33 reasons for and against cryptocurrency adoption, distributed into financial, ideological, benefits-based, technical, acceptance-based, and security-based categories. The contribution of this paper is threefold: We go beyond positive reasons and explicitly consider obstacles to cryptocurrency adoption inside a unified framework. We also identify additional payment system features that differ between different cryptocurrencies and influence their adoption. Thirdly, we identify adoption factors based on perceptions and personalities rather than just measurable features. Therefore, this paper also adds to the ongoing systematization of cryptocurrencies in the current stream of literature on the topic.
We examine whether business model concepts, that demonstrate significant convergence to Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) attributes, fit to DLT ecosystem characteristics and identify similarities and deflections. We answer the question whether the appropriate DLT business model is totally unique or adjustable and what conditions need to be met. The study follows a conceptual approach that is based on critical examination of three business model types that demonstrate similarities to the business model that an organization needs to adopt in order to fit in DLT ecosystem characteristics. Although each one of the network, digital and information business model types demonstrate similarities to DLT business model and reveal some resemblance with it, there are critical parameters that are neither addressed nor partially met. The main contribution of study is the exploration of the adjustable nature of the DLT business. Moreover, we highlighted the challenge for DLT ecosystem sustainability, defined and reviewed the conditions that need to be considered for DLT business model design.
Carolyn Guthoff, Simon Anell, Johann Hainzinger, Adrian Dabrowski · 5 authors
Key management is an integral part of using distributed ledger technology (DLT). Previous work has primarily focused on key management for single-user scenarios on Bitcoin. Over the last decade, DLT has evolved to commercial and financial sectors; for example, a new German law allows the trading of a variety of financial securities via DLT. Instead of a single-user paradigm, financial institutions follow a multi-user paradigm. Combining multi-user key management with single-user key management solutions leads to unique challenges with usability and security. We extend current research through a two-stage qualitative interview study with 13 finance professionals. We investigate how the technical reality contrasts with perceptions of key management practices in corporate financial organizations. Our interdisciplinary study shows, among other things, that DLT does not meet real-world requirements in this particular domain. Moreover, it introduces additional challenges in terms of authentication and auditing. Our findings suggest that corporate financial institutions strongly support the adoption of blockchain solutions. However, to comply with regulatory and operational requirements, they face additional usability and security challenges, e.g., authentication and access control. Better mechanisms or novel design approaches are required to cover professional environments. This includes how multiple users can access the same assets and approve joint transactions.
The rising popularity of e-commerce has led to the widespread adoption of electronic coupons (e-coupons) due to their convenience and portability. However, traditional e-coupon services that rely on centralized servers often face security concerns. Centralization can result in issues like counterfeit e-coupons, difficulties in proving ownership, and the possibility of double-spending on expired e-coupons. In order to address these challenges, we have developed an innovative e-coupon service that harnesses the power of blockchain technology to enhance security. Our approach involves the creation of a dedicated server that facilitates the e-coupon service and interacts seamlessly with the blockchain system. To ensure the integrity of the e-coupon business logic and implementation information, we have developed a smart contract on an Ethereum-based blockchain system. By leveraging this blockchain infrastructure, we can establish a trustable and transparent environment for e-coupon transactions. Through rigorous experimentation and analysis , we have demonstrated that our proposed service significantly bolsters security while incurring only minimal performance impact when compared to existing e-coupon services. By integrating blockchain technology, we provide a robust solution that effectively addresses the concerns surrounding e-coupon security, paving the way for a more reliable and trustworthy e-commerce experience.
Platforms are giants in today’s operations. Companies like Amazon and eBay are huge enterprises which belong to top enterprises in the world. In this article, we discuss platform supply chain innovations in the blockchain era. We first search the literature and identify the level of popularity of the topic over the past years. Next, we review some closely related studies in the literature and introduce the featured papers in this IJPR special issue. After that, we identify research gaps, present the ABCDE framework and propose a future research agenda.
The development of Web3 — a stack of decentralised technologies underpinned by blockchains — isn’t simply a technical or financing challenge, it is also a problem of innovation and entrepreneurial discovery. In this paper we apply the lens of user innovation toolkit theory to the development of Web3. Toolkits are an organizational design solution to an innovation problem with sticky and local information. Our aim is to explore how toolkits theory applies to Web3 innovation, proposing that Web3 innovation is being organized through toolkits (e.g., blockchains, token standards, DAO frameworks) that enable efficient organization of sticky information to facilitate innovation. The contribution of this paper is the first application of toolkits theory to Web3, reframing its development as a problem of entrepreneurship and innovation in the context of distributed information. We provide implications for the role of developers as user innovators, the economic problem of emergent toolkit stacking, and the design of toolkit business models.
Este artigo analisa a ideologia, os usos e as implicações do NFT (Non-Fungible Token) para a economia da música. O NFT resgata a ideologia da desintermediação das relações econômicas ao prometer retornos financeiros mais altos ao artista, decorrentes de sua conexão direta com o consumidor. A tecnologia, no entanto, reorienta a carreira dos artistas, bem como sua relação com os fãs. Informado pela filosofia anarcocapitalista, o uso do NFT tem condicionado artistas a verem suas obras como ativos valorizáveis, cabendo aos fãs o papel de investidores. A partir da análise bibliográfica, investigamos: (1) a ideologia da desintermediação na economia da música, (2) a inspiração anarcocapitalista no desenvolvimento de tecnologias financeiras, como o NFT, (3) o uso do NFT no mercado de música e (4) o papel dos fãs em uma economia da música financeirizada. Como conclusão, apontamos como o uso de tecnologias como o NFT faz parte de outro momento da indústria da música que pode ser rotulado como pós-streaming.
Thomas Brzustowski, Alkis Georgiadis-Harris, Balázs Szentes
This paper reconsiders the problem of a durable-good monopolist who cannot make intertemporal commitments. The buyer’s valuation is binary and his private information. The seller has access to dynamic contracts and, in each period, decides whether to deploy the previous period’s contract or to replace it with a new one. The main result of the paper is that the Coase conjecture fails: the monopo-list’s payoff is bounded away from the low valuation irrespective of the discount factor. (JEL D42, D82, D86, L12)
Vincent Gramlich, Tobias Guggenberger, Marc Principato, Benjamin Schellinger · 5 authors
Abstract While decentralized finance (DeFi) has the potential to emulate and, indeed, outperform existing financial systems, it remains a complex phenomenon yet to be extensively researched. To make the most of this potential, its practitioners must gain a rigorous understanding of its intricacies, as must information systems (IS) researchers. Against this background, this study uses a multivocal literature review to capture the state of research in DeFi. Thereby, we (1) present a consolidating definition of DeFi as we (2) analyze, synthesize, and discuss the current state of knowledge in the field of DeFi. We do so while adapting the blockchain research framework proposed by (Risius and Spohrer, Business & Information Systems Engineering 59:385–409, 2017). Furthermore, we (3) identify gaps in the literature and indicate future research directions in DeFi. Even though our findings highlight several shortcomings in DeFi that have prevented its widespread adoption, our literature review shows a large consensus on DeFi’s many promising features and potential to complement the traditional financial system. To that end, this paper is presented to encourage further research to mitigate the current risks of DeFi, the payoff of which will be an enriched financial ecosystem.
Abstract The audiovisual media content (AMC) industry, focused on film and television drama production, is confronted with a broken business model due to the dominance of centralized streaming platforms. The top platforms dominate global distribution but only offer slices of produced and heritage content. In addition, they compete with the AMC industry by producing a majority of content distributed. This leaves fewer gatekeepers deciding on the content to be distributed and less diverse content easily accessible to audiences Consequently, audiences are compelled to engage in pirating movies despite a willingness to pay. Recent blockchain innovations towards the so-called Web3 promise to restore this broken business model by re-establishing direct contact between the producers of films and their audiences. The benefits of networks (peer-to-peer or community based) in combination with Web3 follow the principle of decentralized disintermediation while comprising elements such as FIAT to crypto-payment mechanisms, self-sovereign identity authentication, blockchain oracles, decentralized autonomous organizations (DAO), and so on. A gap exists with regard to methodological designs of Web3 decentralized applications (DApp) and their ecosystems for restoring a viable AMC business model that not only eliminates the need for piracy activities but even the need for platforms. The DApp architecture designs for the film- and media industry ecosystem creation in this paper allow, on the one hand, for a legal compliance check ahead of a costly deployment. On the other hand, the DApp designs of this paper also allow for a tailored blockchain technology stack development. Ultimately, this research is a continuation of an earlier whitepaper to establish a participatory economy in the film industry from peer-to-peer streaming.
Jorge Saldivar, Elena Martínez-Vicente, David Rozas, María Cruz Valiente · 5 authors
Upon its arrival, the Ethereum blockchain promised to introduce a new paradigm of Internet-based applications that would revolutionize multiple fields, from finance to IoT to the public sector. Until now, scientific efforts have been primarily focused on theoretical discussions about the implications of the technology and on technical proposals to improve and consolidate the underlying infrastructure, neglecting the experience of people using blockchain-based systems. However, for this technology to permeate the mainstream, blockchain technology should be easily accessible to the general public. This paper reports on evaluations conducted with first-time blockchain users of two Internet-mediated communities using prototype applications built on Ethereum. Results unveil that even users familiar with technology experienced severe difficulties using blockchain-based apps. Also, we saw how blockchain metaphors and transaction-mediated interactions challenge established mental models for modern applications, imposing heavy workloads on users. We conclude the paper by discussing design implications resulting from blockchain’s paradigm change.
Tanusree Sharma, Yujin Potter, Kornrapat Pongmala, Henry E. Wang · 7 authors
Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) have emerged as a novel way to coordinate a group of (pseudonymous) entities towards a shared vision (e.g., promoting sustainability), utilizing self-executing smart contracts on blockchains to support decentralized governance and decision-making. In just a few years, over 4,000 DAOs have been launched in various domains, such as investment, education, health, and research. Despite such rapid growth and diversity, it is unclear how these DAOs actually work in practice and to what extent they are effective in achieving their goals. Given this, we aim to unpack how (well) DAOs work in practice. We conducted an in-depth analysis of a diverse set of 10 DAOs of various categories and smart contracts, leveraging on-chain (e.g., voting results) and off-chain data (e.g., community discussions) as well as our interviews with DAO organizers/members. Specifically, we defined metrics to characterize key aspects of DAOs, such as the degrees of decentralization and autonomy. We observed CompoundDAO, AssangeDAO, Bankless, and Krausehouse having poor decentralization in voting, while decentralization has improved over time for one-person-one-vote DAOs (e.g., Proof of Humanity). Moreover, the degree of autonomy varies among DAOs, with some (e.g., Compound and Krausehouse) relying more on third parties than others. Lastly, we offer a set of design implications for future DAO systems based on our findings.
Aggelos Kiayias, Ηλίας Κουτσουπιάς, Philip Lazos, Giorgos Panagiotakos
Blockchain systems come with the promise of being inclusive for a variety of decentralized applications (DApps) that can serve different purposes and have different urgency requirements. Despite this, the transaction fee mechanisms currently deployed in popular platforms as well as previous modeling attempts for the associated mechanism design problem focus on an approach that favors increasing prices in favor of those clients who value immediate service during periods of congestion. To address this issue, we introduce a model that captures the traffic diversity of blockchain systems and a tiered pricing mechanism that is capable of implementing more inclusive transaction policies. In this model, we demonstrate formally that EIP-1559, the transaction fee mechanism currently used in Ethereum, is not inclusive and demonstrate experimentally that its prices surge horizontally during periods of congestion. On the other hand, we prove formally that our mechanism achieves stable prices in expectation and we provide experimental results that establish that prices for transactions can be kept low for low urgency transactions, resulting in a diverse set of transaction types entering the blockchain. At the same time, perhaps surprisingly, our mechanism does not necessarily sacrifice revenue since the lowering of the prices for low urgency transactions can be covered from high urgency ones due to the price discrimination ability of the mechanism.
Lennart Ante, Florian Fiedler, Fred Steinmetz, Ingo Fiedler
With ownership estimates of up to 25%, Turkey is at the forefront of cryptocurrency adoption, rendering it an interesting example to study the proclaimed use cases of cryptocurrencies. Using exploratory factor analysis based on a sample of 715 Turkish cryptocurrency owners, we identified 3 different owner groups and their underlying motives. The first group (payment users) looks at cryptocurrency as an option for payments, thereby disregarding its speculative element, while the second group (crypto investors) can best be described as experienced investors holding cryptocurrency as part of their investment strategy. The third group (crypto traders) consists of risk-tolerant traders. Further analyses show that groups not only differentiate by demographics, income and education, but also by factors such as ideology, purchase intention and the use of domestic or foreign exchanges. The results contribute to the understanding of Turkish cryptocurrency owners, their intrinsic and extrinsic motivations and can be incorporated into the pending regulatory processes in the country. The findings suggest that cryptocurrencies have outgrown the use case of mere speculation in Turkey. Those in the group of Turkish payment users are identified as potential lead users whose current needs may represent common needs for crypto users in similar markets in the future. These findings motivate further research on the diffusion and usage patterns of cryptocurrency in emerging markets and innovation in general in the context of lead markets.
As the Blockchain technology develops, more and more cryptocurrencies were invented after Bitcoin. This paper introduces the technology of Blockchain, including the basic concept of Blockchain and how Blockchain works to allow decentralization of trades; The system of Ethereum and the cryptocurrency Ether (ETH), how it was invented, what was the central mission of its invention, as well as how it differs from Bitcoin and how can it allow more decentralized application to be developed, which in turn illustrates what it means and where its values lie. As all cryptocurrency markets have a huge fall in value in the year 2022, as shown in figure 1, many people are losing faith in cryptocurrency. Many believe that since it is entirely digital and non-government based, it has no actual value, that the entire cryptocurrency market is a bubble. Meanwhile, cryptocurrencies introduce a very revolutionary concept, which is the decentralization of applications, and this decentralization can apply to many things, leading to a great technological structure modification, even for social structures. Because of its anonymous and democratic nature, there is also always going to be demand for cryptocurrencies. Thus, this paper also analyzes the expectations of cryptocurrency, mainly Ether, and the predictions of its future development.
Abstract Presently data are indispensably important as cities consider data as a commodity which can be traded to earn revenues. In urban environment, data generated from internet of things devices, smart meters, smart sensors, etc. can provide a new source of income for citizens and enterprises who are data owners. These data can be traded as digital assets. To support such trading digital data marketplaces have emerged. Data marketplaces promote a data sharing economy which is crucial for provision of available data useful for cities which aims to develop data driven services. But currently existing data marketplaces are mostly inadequate due to several issues such as security, efficiency, and adherence to privacy regulations. Likewise, there is no consolidated understanding of how to achieve trust and fairness among data owners and data sellers when trading data. Therefore, this study presents the design of an ecosystem which comprises of a distributed ledger technology data marketplace enabled by message queueing telemetry transport (MQTT) to facilitate trust and fairness among data owners and data sellers. The designed ecosystem for data marketplaces is powered by IOTA technology and MQTT broker to support the trading of sdata sources by automating trade agreements, negotiations and payment settlement between data producers/sellers and data consumers/buyers. Overall, findings from this article discuss the issues associated in developing a decentralized data marketplace for smart cities suggesting recommendations to enhance the deployment of decentralized and distributed data marketplaces.
Asan Nainar, Vigneshwaran, S. Surya, Saran Kumar · 5 authors
This blockchain-based decentralized ecommerce project aims to create a platform that enables buyers and sellers to interact and transact directly without the need for intermediaries. The project utilizes blockchain technology to ensure security, transparency, and immutability of transactions, and also incorporates Firebase and Moralis Web3 to provide seamless integration with existing web platforms. Firebase is a cloud-based platform that offers various services, including authentication, real-time database, and hosting, which are crucial in providing a secure and efficient e-commerce experience. Moralis Web3, on the other hand, provides a backend-as-a-service for web3 applications, allowing developers to interact with the Ethereum blockchain easily. In summary, this blockchain-based decentralized e-commerce project offers an efficient, secure, and cost-effective platform for buyers and sellers to engage in transactions without intermediaries. The integration of Firebase and Moralis Web3 enhances the platform's usability, making it accessible to a wider audience.
The paper discusses the issues of legal regulation of decentralized financial services (DeFi). The purpose of the work is to form a systematic understanding of the direction and scope in which they can be regulated based on the DeFi technological features and the nature of the relationships that arise between digital platforms and their users. The methodological basis of the study is determined by the range of tasks and is focused on the analysis of decentralized finance simultaneously in technological, socio-cultural, political and legal aspects. Structural functional, taxonomic, constructive, situational, innovative, targeted and program-targeted methods form the complexity of the study. Taken together, they allowed us to study DeFi in their systemic unity and formulate the following conclusion. Decentralized finance is an independent model of finance organization both in terms of a set of technical characteristics (the use of distributed registry technology, smart contract protocols, oracles, etc.) and in terms of the nature of relations between the parties (horizontal P2P communications). The identified features allow us to consider them as a separate object of legal regulation. At the same time, it is important to take into account that the matrix of DeFi regulation at the national and international levels should be built in accordance with their taxonomy and assume simultaneous balanced consideration of technological features and product affiliation of services. The legal regulation of decentralized finance in the Russian Federation should primarily be focused on minimizing the risks associated with user identification, as well as determining the legal status of decentralized autonomous societies (DAOs), organizing centralized examination of protocols and preventing cyber attacks.
Federico Casolari, Mariarosaria Taddeo, Aina Turillazzi, Luciano Floridi
Abstract The article analyses the role of smart contracts in the architecture of the European Union’s Data Act proposal. It identifies five difficulties: lack of flexibility in terms of both content and operation; dependence on oracles which could lead to errors; vulnerability to bugs and changes in architecture; immutability and privacy; and problems of enforcement. It then offers some recommendations about how to address them to improve the Data Act.
Mikel Cortes-Goicoechea, Tarun Mohandas-Daryanani, José L. Muñoz, Leonardo Bautista-Gomez
Like most modern blockchain networks, Ethereum has relied on economic incentives to promote honest participation in the chain's consensus. The distributed character of the platform, together with the “randomness” or “luck” factor that both proof of work (PoW) and proof of stake (PoS) provide when electing the next block proposer, pushed the industry to model and improve the reward system of the system. With several improvements to predict PoW block proposal rewards and to maximize the extractable rewards of the same ones, the ultimate Ethereum's transition to PoS applied in the Paris Hard-Fork, more generally known as “The Merge”, has meant a significant modification on the reward system in the platform. In this paper, we aim to break down both theoretically and empirically the new reward system in this post-merge era. We present a highly detailed description of the different rewards and their share among validators' rewards. Ultimately, we offer a study that uses the presented reward model to analyze the performance of the network during this transition.
Abstract Distributed Ledger technology (DLT) has recently emerged as a disruptive system with a wide range of applicability, with prospect to improve societal interactions at large. In virtual enterprise (VE) context researchers and practitioners have started to investigate the deployment of DLT to automate the processing of data and implementation of decisions to support the provision of digital services. Although academic interest in this domain is growing, a practical analysis of DLT from a governance perspective is still lacking to date. Accordingly, this study aims to fill this gap and provide implications related to decentralized governance of DLT. This article develops an architectural governance-by-design framework that defines the governance of DLT as a combination of architectural layers and governance of DLT dimensions. Design science is employed, and IOTA tangle an open-source DLT which employs a decentralized asynchronous network is deployed to evaluate the applicability of the developed architectural governance-by-design framework through qualitative interviews and literature inquiry. The findings confirm the developed architectural governance-by-design framework and offer a shared discussion and insight surrounding the topic of governance of DLT. The findings also identify limitations associated with governance of DLT solutions and proposes policy recommendations to be used as guidelines for practitioners to improve the adoption of DLT to accelerate VE digitalization.