Blockchain Papers

Muhammaddiyor Isamiddinov

As of 2024, 730 million people worldwide lacked electricity access, roughly eight in ten of them in sub-Saharan Africa. Closing this gap requires engineering approaches suited to the technical, financial, and institutional constraints of low-resource settings, not conventional grid extension alone. This paper reviews four engineering pathways expanding renewable energy access in developing countries — decentralized mini-grids, IoT-enabled pay-as-you-go (PAYG) solar financing, frugal engineering, and AI-assisted smart-grid digitalization — using case evidence from Kenya, India, and East Africa's PAYG sector.

Ar. Krishnasahani, Nagaraju Kaja

The construction industry is undergoing a significant transformation with the adoption of decentralized models, which leverage distributed decision-making, collaborative networks, and advanced technologies such as blockchain, digital twins, and artificial intelligence (AI). These innovations promise enhanced transparency, efficiency, and stakeholder engagement in high- rise building projects. However, decentralization introduces unique risks—spanning technical, social, economic, legal, and environmental domains—that challenge traditional risk management frameworks. This research systematically identifies and categorizes these risks, emphasizing their implications for decentralized high-rise construction. Key technical risks include design clashes and quality inconsistencies due to fragmented workflows, while social risks encompass labor disputes and community opposition. Economic risks arise from budget fragmentation and supply chain volatility, legal risks stem from contractual ambiguities and regulatory non- compliance, and environmental risks involve waste mismanagement and increased carbon footprints. To address these challenges, the study proposes a comprehensive risk management framework integrating emerging technologies. For instance, Building Information Modeling (BIM) and digital twins enable real-time clash detection and quality assurance, blockchain ensures transparent and automated contract execution, and AI-driven analytics predict safety hazards and cost overruns. The framework is validated through a case study of Skyline Towers in Dubai, where decentralized strategies reduced design errors by 45% and payment delays by 80%. The research employs a mixed-methods approach, combining a systematic literature review with empirical analysis of real-world projects. Findings highlight the critical role of stakeholder alignment, hybrid governance models, and sustainable practices in mitigating risks. The study concludes with actionable recommendations for policymakers and industry practitioners, advocating for standardized digital protocols, adaptive risk governance, and proactive environmental controls. By bridging the gap between technological innovation and risk management, this research contributes a forward-looking framework to enhance resilience and efficiency in decentralized high-rise construction, ensuring sustainable urban development in an increasingly complex industry landscape.

Aritrik Ghosh

No abstract is available for this record.

G. N. Girish, Ashutosh Sahoo, Ajay Bhat, Akshay SP · 7 authors

Incentive programs are central to user acquisition in decentralized finance, but many reward systems rely on raw volume, transaction count, and wallet count, making them vulnerable to bots and sybil operations. We present ZAPs, a reward attribution framework that combines economic contribution scoring with adversarial robustness. A composite activity score uses protocol-specific percentile normalization to limit whale dominance while preserving differentiation among users. A two-layer weighting mechanism combines protocol share within sector and sector share within the ecosystem, which reduces the profitability of farming small protocols. We show that the maximum reward obtainable from any protocol is bounded by that protocol's global volume share. ZAPs also introduces a four-layer defense stack consisting of transaction-level integrity checks, a parallel anomaly ensemble, post-distribution behavioral memory, and graph-based sybil clustering. The anomaly ensemble combines a one-class reconstruction model with an isolation forest and applies graduated rather than binary penalties. On 1,073 labeled malicious wallets covering 124,638 transactions, the ensemble achieves 0.923 +/- 0.013 ROC-AUC, compared with 0.891 +/- 0.016 for the reconstruction model alone, when the isolation forest is trained on benign wallets. Training it on the pooled population reverses its polarity and removes the ensemble gain. Controlled simulations reduce adversarial reward capture by 30-90 percent while legitimate-user scenarios change by 1-8 percent. Live campaigns recorded a 56 percent reduction in sybil allocation, a 49 percent increase in quality-wallet participation, and a 50 percent reduction in sell pressure.

Kaloyan Stoychev

This paper analyzes the institutional constraints on the effective implementation of the LEADER/Community-Led Local Development (CLLD) approach in Bulgaria and proposes a concrete institutional model for overcoming them. The study proceeds from the premise that the approach holds substantial potential as a territorially oriented instrument for local development, but that its effectiveness is limited by a structural contradiction between the decentralized conceptual logic of LEADER/CLLD and the centralized institutional framework of its national implementation in Bulgaria. The analysis shows that the current distribution of functions between the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, as Managing Authority, and the State Fund “Agriculture” – Paying Agency creates a structural asymmetry, whose measurable consequences are systemic delays in contracting and disbursing project funds, limited procedural flexibility, and insufficient specialized administrative capacity. As an institutional response to these deficits, the paper proposes the creation of a specialized executive agency under the Rural Development Programme, with functions covering the administrative management of projects, methodological support for Local Action Groups (LAGs), monitoring and evaluation, and coordination of multi-fund financing. Two options for the institutional positioning of the agency are examined — as an independent structure under the Ministry, or as a specialized unit within the existing administration — and these are compared with established European practices (Austria, Germany, Ireland). The study concludes that overcoming the structural contradiction requires not a change in the conceptual philosophy of the approach, but a targeted institutional reconfiguration aimed at increasing the autonomy of Local Action Groups.

Jean Chrysostome NDAYISABYE

No abstract is available for this record.

Victor Michelle, Natalie Michelle, Emilie Michelle, Elias Michelle

This paper introduces Prediction Assets — a fundamentally new class of financial instruments where the underlying asset is market consensus on probability itself. Unlike traditional prediction markets, where binary event contracts terminate abruptly upon resolution, Prediction Assets are engineered as perpetual financial instruments that evolve rather than expire. Upon event occurrence, the asset does not liquidate to zero or a fixed payout; instead, it programmatically transforms into a new functional asset form (such as a currency, index, or memory asset) via smart-contract-enforced conversion ratios, establishing an infinite lifecycle and continuous capital efficiency. Key Structural & Mathematical Contributions: Core Asset Pricing Model: Establishes the foundational pricing equation \(P_{asset} = P(E) \times M\) driven entirely by open order-book decentralized exchange (DEX/AMM) spot liquidity without reliance on subjective analytical oracles. Systemic Market Efficiency: Implements an exact arbitrage condition boundary constraint (\(\sum P_{asset,i} = M\)) to incentivize algorithmic market-making and eradicate structural price variance. Programmatic Post-Event Evolution: Introduces the deterministic conversion coefficient \(C(t, state)\) locked at genesis to handle automated migration profiles (Currency, Index, Memory, and Derivative states) with zero administrative discretion. Decentralized Governance: Outlines a 4-channel Multi-Chain Consensus Verification Layer (CVL) requiring a strict 3-of-4 quorum across official APIs, open-source replicas, academic mirrors, and market sentiment vectors. Regulatory Engineering: Delivers a comprehensive compliance analysis under the U.S. Securities Framework (Howey Test and Reves Test boundaries) and CFTC Event Contract frameworks, positioning the topology as a non-security utility asset. Prospective Implementation:The paper presents AIVA (Artificial Intelligence Valuation Asset) as the world's first prospective implementation tracking the global macro-consensus probability of achieving Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), which programmatically transforms into an operational settlement currency for autonomous multi-agent economic environments upon verification. Keywords: Prediction Assets, Probability Markets, Financial Instruments, AGI, AI Agents, Decentralized Finance, Synthetic Assets, Valuation Markets. Citation Note: This specification expands upon the sovereign fintech frameworks established in IP Stock Exchange v3.3-Evolution (DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.20687136).

Lumengo Bonga-Bonga, Bereket Abayneh Ataro

Against the backdrop of rapid technological innovation and the growing use of alternative investment instruments, this study examines the dynamic connectedness among decentralized finance assets, AI-based stocks, Islamic stocks and commodities. Covering the period from December 2019 to June 2022, we use the time-varying parameter vector autoregression (TVP-VAR) model to measure the magnitude, direction and evolution of return spillovers across Chainlink, Maker, Basic Attention Token, NVIDIA, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, DJIM World, DJIM EM, gold, crude oil and Global X Lithium and Battery Tech. The connectedness literature has examined spillovers across different asset classes during crisis periods. However, much of this literature focuses mainly on pairwise relationships among traditional asset classes, with limited attention to how emerging, alternative and technology-driven assets interact within a single network. We further assess the role of investor sentiment and network topology in identifying systemic transmitters and receivers. The results show strong interconnectedness, with an average total connectedness index (TCI) of 68.81%. Notably, AI-based stocks, especially Microsoft and NVIDIA, consistently emerge as net transmitters of return shocks, while commodities like gold and crude oil serve as absorbers of shocks. The portfolio results show that network centrality improves risk-adjusted performance by reducing volatility and downside risk. These insights have practical implications for policymakers and market participants, offering guidance for developing effective regulatory frameworks, investment strategies and risk management approaches in an increasingly interconnected financial landscape.

Niko Silitonga, Harya Widiputra, Fangky Antoneus Sorongan

Fiscal decentralization has been widely implemented to improve regional fiscal efficiency and strengthen local fiscal capacity. However, empirical evidence regarding its effectiveness remains inconclusive, particularly in developing countries with diverse institutional capacities. This study examines the associations between regional fiscal policy instruments and provincial fiscal performance in Indonesia, proxied by the growth of Locally Generated Revenue (PAD), while investigating the moderating role of fiscal decentralization. Unlike previous studies that examine fiscal instruments separately or focus mainly on macroeconomic outcomes, this research develops an integrated framework that evaluates financing allocation, development expenditure, transfer funds, and other legitimate revenues within a moderated panel-data model. Using panel data from 33 provincial governments during 2017–2024, the study applies a fixed-effects regression model with interaction terms. The results show that development expenditure is positively and significantly associated with provincial fiscal performance, indicating that productive public spending strengthens regional fiscal capacity. In contrast, financing allocation and transfer funds show no significant direct associations with fiscal performance. Other legitimate revenues demonstrate a positive but limited association. Fiscal decentralization plays a dual moderating role by strengthening the association between transfer funds and fiscal performance while weakening the effects of development expenditure and other legitimate revenues. These findings suggest that the effectiveness of fiscal decentralization depends on fiscal instruments and local institutional capacity rather than producing uniform outcomes. This study contributes to the fiscal decentralization literature by providing an interaction-based empirical framework and practical evidence to support more effective decentralization policies and improve provincial fiscal performance in Indonesia.

Yohanna Thresia Nainggolan, Bella Lisa Permatasari, Muh. Irfandy Azis, Irawati HM · 5 authors

Introduction: Blockchain technology has emerged as a transformative innovation in the financial sector by enhancing transparency, security, and operational efficiency. As academic interest in blockchain applications continues to grow, understanding the development, structure, and direction of research in this field has become increasingly important. Novelty: Although previous studies have examined blockchain broadly, limited research has specifically mapped the intellectual structure, thematic evolution, and collaboration patterns of blockchain research in finance, particularly regarding transparency and security. To address this gap, the present study provides a comprehensive bibliometric mapping of blockchain research in finance from the perspectives of transparency and security. Methods: This study applies a bibliometric analysis approach to 256 Scopus-indexed publications related to blockchain in finance. Data were analyzed using the Bibliometrix package in R to examine annual scientific production, keyword co-occurrence, thematic development, historiographic structure, and collaboration networks among authors, institutions, and countries. Results: The findings reveal a significant increase in blockchain-related publications, particularly after 2021, indicating growing scholarly attention. Major research themes include blockchain foundations, security and privacy, decentralized finance, regulation, and cross-sector applications. The analysis also demonstrates increasingly interconnected global collaboration networks led by several productive countries. Conclusion: Overall, the findings indicate that blockchain has become an increasingly prominent research domain within financial studies. This study contributes by providing a comprehensive mapping of research trends and offering insights for future studies and policy development related to transparency and security in digital financial systems.

Javid Majeed Pandith, Mohd Salim, Shakeb Akhtar, Sayeeduzzafar Qazi · 7 authors

While decentralized fintech platforms (DFPs) are a viable alternative to traditional financial systems, their widespread adoption is hindered by cybersecurity concerns. This study investigates the factors shaping user intentions to adopt DFPs amid these perceived cyber risks. Situated within the global challenge of financing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this research explores DFP adoption as a potential mechanism for enhancing financial inclusion (SDG 10), fostering innovation in financial infrastructure (SDG 9), and promoting inclusive economic growth (SDG 8). Using a hybrid model that merges the technology acceptance model with trust theory, we surveyed 554 business and engineering students across five Indian metropolitan hubs a demographic representing a tech-forward segment of Gen Z poised to be early adopters. Structural equation modelling reveals that while fintech literacy and risk tolerance are significant preconditions, adoption intention is most powerfully predicted by social influence (β = 0.271, p < 0.001) and perceived security in the underlying technology (β = 0.186, p < 0.000). This suggests that for these vanguard users, the decision to adopt is driven more by social validation and technological faith than by individual technical competency. Furthermore, trust moderates the relationship between fintech literacy, perceived security and risk tolerance on the intent to adopt. The paper contributes a comprehensive framework that clarifies users’ adoption motives, aiding researchers who study DFP user behavior in developing nations. The findings provide a critical roadmap for policymakers, developers, and international development agencies aiming to harness digital finance for the 2030 Agenda, demonstrating that building trusted, community-driven ecosystems is paramount to realizing the developmental potential of decentralized technologies.

Dr. Neha Kumar

The Financial Technology (FinTech) ecosystem has become a disruptive one which changed the face of the financial services industry with digital technology, innovative business models and new regulatory framework. The development, distribution and use of financial products and services have been revolutionized by technologies like artificial intelligence, blockchain, cloud, big data analytics, Internet of Things and open banking. This review paper aims to integrate and consolidate the available literature to gain an overview of the development of FinTech from Finance 1.0 to Finance 4.0, and their technological innovations as the backbone of the modern financial systems. It also explores some of the key FinTech business models like digital payments, digital lending, WealthTech, InsurTech and embedded finance, and the essential role of relevant government policies, digital public infrastructure and governance for responsible FinTech innovation. The paper also identifies relevant challenges in the fields of cybersecurity, data privacy, ethics in artificial intelligence, regulatory complexity and digital inclusion that remain to significantly impact the sustainable development of the FinTech ecosystem. Last but not least, new research opportunities are identified in the field of generative artificial intelligence, decentralized finance, green FinTech, and digital financial governance to be pursued by academia in the future. The multidisciplinary perspective employed in this review gives a comprehensive picture of the current developments in FinTech and can help researchers, practitioners and policymakers to understand the opportunities and risks associated with digital financial transformation.

Gabriel-André Exbrayat

Abstract Coral reefs across the Coral Triangle are experiencing unprecedented thermal stress, and the window for effective local mitigation of bleaching events is often measured in days, not months. Yet the standard reef-monitoring pipeline — collecting benthic imagery via divers or remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and manually annotating it for signs of bleaching — routinely takes weeks to complete, a delay we term the manual-annotation bottleneck. This paper presents CoralEye, a decentralized, edge-optimized computer vision framework that diagnoses coral health in real time and is designed to eventually run entirely offline on consumer-grade hardware. CoralEye uses an optimized MobileNetV2 architecture, quantized to INT8 for edge deployment, trained on a curated subset of the Benthic Habitat Data (BHD) dataset to classify reef imagery into a three-class triage system — Healthy, Bleached, and Dead. On a held-out test set of 636 images, the framework achieved an overall accuracy of 97% (weighted-average precision 0.98, recall 0.97, F1-score 0.97) while processing underwater imagery at an average latency of 177 milliseconds per frame (∼5.6 FPS), benchmarked in a Google Colab CPU-only cloud runtime as a proxy for offline, GPU-free edge hardware. Relative to established manual annotation workflows such as Coral Point Count (CPCe), this proxy benchmark suggests a reduction in per-image processing time of over 99%, though this comparison has not yet been validated on a physical field device. We argue that this combination of accuracy and CPU-only efficiency is a promising step toward a shift in marine conservation technology from post-mortem documentation toward real-time, actionable diagnostics — particularly for under-resourced reef managers in bandwidth-constrained coastal communities, pending further validation on physical field hardware.

David Michael Seagal

This CERN-style open-science briefing presents Version 3.0 of the Pure-Milk Green Finance Matrix, an integrated agritech framework designed to resolve the global tension between intensive dairy production and freshwater protection. Building on earlier versions, it introduces a four-stage on-farm water treatment architecture combining biomimetic hydrodynamic shearing, advanced materials, opto-acoustic cleaning, and magnetic water conditioning. The system captures nitrates and nutrients at the farm gate, recirculates them into decentralized aeroponic forage production, reduces enteric methane, and delivers purified water to livestock while eliminating chemical cleaning and frequent filter replacement. Powered by multi-source environmental energy harvesting (solar, thermoelectric, and triboelectric), the framework transforms environmental compliance from a cost burden into a high-yield, closed-loop asset class. It aims to protect New Zealand’s $28+ billion dairy export engine, eliminate multi-billion-dollar water cleanup liabilities, and position the country as an exporter of regenerative agritech intellectual property. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.21587166 Keywords Pure-Milk Green Finance Matrix Agritech Singularity Regenerative dairy farming On-farm nitrate capture Closed-loop nutrient cycling Biomimetic water filtration Aeroponic forage systems Methane reduction Sustainable intensification New Zealand dairy Green finance Water-energy-food nexus Zero-waste agriculture Carbon and nutrient recovery Precision agritech

Dyutiman Saunik

Why do local elected representatives facing similar institutional constraints choose different strategies? This dissertation develops a theory of strategy choice under incomplete decentralization, where municipal councilors remain electorally accountable but depend on bureaucratic and higher-level political actors for implementation, finance, and approval. Administrative, fiscal, and political constraints define the institutional setting, while leverage, the capacity to induce response, and cover, protection from sanction, capture councilors’ unequal positions within it. Drawing on more than 450 interviews, 67 municipal council meeting transcripts, and an original survey of 506 current and former councilors in urban India, I distinguish collaborative strategies based on coordination and follow-up from combative strategies based on public pressure and cost-imposition. Collaboration overwhelmingly dominates. Perceived bureaucratic discretion is the strongest correlate of movement toward combativeness, while leverage and cover do not reliably predict the binary shift between strategies. Instead, leverage more clearly distinguishes procedural from discretionary forms of collaboration. These findings show that incomplete decentralization does not eliminate local representation. It channels representation through continued dependence on actors councilors do not command and shifts attention from whether councilors collaborate to how they collaborate and when they escalate.

David Michael Seagal

Part 2: Enhanced Pure-Milk Green Finance Matrix – Toward Net-Positive Regenerative Dairy Systems builds upon the original prospectus (DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.21538664) by integrating abundant low-cost clean energy, advanced on-site CO₂ scrubbers, intelligent multi-functional greenbelts, and decentralized vertical hydroponics. This evolution transforms New Zealand dairy farms from environmentally sustainable operations into active net-positive regenerative systems that function as carbon sinks, biodiversity enhancers, and water quality producers, while maintaining or increasing economic output. By leveraging current technological convergence — including satellite virtual fencing, AI-driven optimization, renewable power, and closed-loop nutrient cycling — the model delivers accelerated ROI, greater resilience for smaller farms, and a scalable blueprint for global pastoral agriculture. The enhanced framework resolves long-standing tensions between productivity and environmental stewardship, positioning New Zealand as a leader in high-tech regenerative food systems for the 21st century. (Word count: 148 – suitable for presentations, funding proposals, or DOI metadata) Keywords (for search, tagging, academic indexing, or presentation metadata) Primary Keywords: Pure-Milk Green Finance Matrix Regenerative dairy farming Sustainable intensification Net-positive agriculture New Zealand dairy transformation Technical & Solution Keywords: Virtual fencing On-site Direct Air Capture (DAC) Decentralized vertical hydroponics Methane-scrubbing greenbelts Agritech closed-loop systems Renewable energy integration Carbon sequestration farming Strategic Keywords: Macroeconomic transformation Green finance KiwiSaver reinvestment Shared-equity sharemilking Global agritech IP export Climate-smart agriculture Net-zero dairy

Richmond Akwasi Atuahene

Digital assets, a broad term encompassing crypto-currencies, tokens and digital representations of value, have transformed the financial landscape over the past decade. Ghana has transitioned from an unregulated crypto-currency environment to a structured, licensed digital assets space following the passage of the Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP) Act 2025 Act 1154. Unlike traditional assets, digital assets exist exclusively in electronic form and are secured through cryptographic techniques, most notably blockchain technology. Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other crypto-currencies serve as prominent examples, alongside digital tokens used in decentralized finance (DeFi), security tokens, and stablecoins. They may serve a variety of functions, including use as a medium of exchange, for investment, or as a means of accessing goods, services, or applications within specific ecosystems. These assets include crypto-currencies, tokens, stablecoins, and other blockchain-based instruments. Global digital assets represent any item of value securely stored and managed via distributed ledger or blockchain technology. Encompassing cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, tokenized securities, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), the sector has rapidly expanded into mainstream finance, revolutionizing global payments, portfolio diversification, and record-keeping. This article discusses the challenges and opportunities of digital currencies and the way forward. This research shows that digital currencies have advantages like making transactions faster, cheaper, and more accessible and also reveals a lot of disadvantages like creating major risks concerning compliance with regulations, cybersecurity, and potential impacts on monetary policy. The review emphasizes the necessity for robust regulatory frameworks for digital assets. It supports both innovation and stability for the digital currencies. It suggests that policymakers and financial institutions should adapt to changes and face the challenges by integrating digital currencies with existing systems. Overall, this review highlights the potential of digital currencies to transform finance. It also stresses the importance of focusing on the challenges they pose to ensure they can coexist successfully with traditional financial systems. As digital currencies evolve, the Ghanaian traditional financial sector faces pressure to adapt, with CBDCs, in particular, being explored as a secure, regulated alternative to volatile crypto-assets. nThe findings revealed that the central bank must adopt robust regulatory and licensing frameworks must align with Virtual Assets Service Providers (VASP) (Act 2025 Act 1154) by enforcing strict licensing for exchanges and custodians while adhering to AML/CFT (Anti-Money Laundering) directives. Also, the Bank of Ghana and the Securities and Exchange Commission must develop a comprehensive public education programme on the digital assets in the financial ecosystem. Given the novelty of the trend of criminality in the digital asset space, the establishment of specialized cybercrime courts to be presided over by judges, proficient in digital law and cybercrime would be of immense benefit. The mandate of such courts could be to expedite trials and ensure thorough adjudication of complex cyber cases. This would have the combined effect of empowering the Ghana Police Service and Cyber-Security Authority to fully invest time, money, and human resources towards the investigation of cybercrime, as well as serve as a deterrent for criminal elements, ultimately protecting our citizens and providing justice for those seeking redress.

Rui Cao, Shaojing Fan, Zhimei Sui, Liming Fang · 7 authors

Blockchain and its killer applications, particularly decentralized finance (DeFi), are gaining widespread adoption, with over 5,200 DeFi projects deployed on mainstream blockchains as of January 2026. At the same time, security risks in DeFi are becoming increasingly serious. However, existing DeFi detection tools usually cover only specific attack types, exhibiting severely limited detection coverage. In this paper, we argue that an effective way to address this gap is to pre-screen vulnerable instances from large volumes of smart contract functions and call sequences. This is motivated by a key phenomenon we term "perilous temporal asymmetry". Inspired by this, we propose DeFiScreener, the first automated pre-screening framework for DeFi attacks that uses historical exploit cases to identify potentially vulnerable functions and call sequences. Given the full source code of a target project, DeFiScreener builds Function Call Trees (FCTs) and generates semantic embeddings for each function using a large language model (LLM), allowing both program structure and function intent to be analyzed together. It then applies a dual-level screening process. At the function level, function embeddings are matched against an Attack Pattern Library of historically exploited functions. At the sequence level, the proposed Attack Pattern Oriented Monte Carlo Tree Search (APO-MCTS) efficiently explores the FCTs and screens vulnerable call sequences. The identified candidates are ultimately passed to an LLM for further interpretive and security analysis. We empirically evaluate the DeFiScreener over datasets comprising 207 real-world DeFi attack incidents. Experimental results demonstrate that DeFiScreener achieves a remarkable 98.55% recall and 84.30% precision in attack pre-screening.

Nidhin Sreedas E, V. Madhusudanan Pillai, Hiran V. Nath

No abstract is available for this record.

Northon Salomao de Oliveira

Out of Time proposes a new philosophy of law for an age in which technological, environmental, and political change outpaces the legal institutions designed to govern it. Through the original concept of the "anachronism clause," Northon Salomão de Oliveira argues that every legal system silently depends on assumptions about the world that inevitably become outdated. The central challenge of twenty-first-century jurisprudence, therefore, is not merely to create valid rules, but to develop institutions capable of recognizing and correcting their own obsolescence before legal certainty becomes legal illusion. Drawing on the works of Hans Kelsen, H. L. A. Hart, Ronald Dworkin, Robert Alexy, Lon L. Fuller, John Finnis, and other leading legal philosophers, the book examines how this hidden structural problem emerges across the defining challenges of our century, including artificial intelligence, climate change, democratic legitimacy, biotechnology, international security, economic inequality, resource sustainability, mental health, disinformation, quantum computing, space governance, decentralized finance, longevity, and persuasive technologies. Rather than treating these issues as isolated fields of regulation, Out of Time reveals them as expressions of a single philosophical question: How can law remain legitimate when the world it was designed to govern no longer exists? Blending rigorous legal theory with philosophical reflection and memorable narrative, Out of Time offers an original framework for understanding the relationship between law, time, institutional adaptation, and the future of human civilization. It is a work intended for scholars, jurists, policymakers, and anyone interested in the future of legal thought in an era of accelerating change. Philosophy of Law Jurisprudence Legal Theory Institutional Adaptation Artificial Intelligence and Law Space Law Legal Obsolescence Philosophy of Law, Jurisprudence, Legal Theory, Legal Philosophy, Constitutional Theory, Constitutional Law, Rule of Law, Legal Positivism, Natural Law, Legal Interpretation, Comparative Law, International Law, Public Law, Global Governance, Democratic Legitimacy, Human Rights, Justice Theory, Institutional Design, Institutional Adaptation, Legal Certainty, Legal Innovation, Legal Reform, Legal Obsolescence, Institutional Resilience, Adaptive Governance, Future of Law, Emerging Technologies, Law and Technology, Artificial Intelligence, AI Governance, AI Regulation, Algorithmic Decision-Making, Digital Governance, Digital Rights, Digital Society, Cyber Law, Data Governance, Quantum Computing, Quantum Law, Evidence Law, Space Law, Space Governance, Outer Space Treaty, Extraterrestrial Resources, Climate Change Law, Environmental Law, Sustainability, Intergenerational Justice, Resource Governance, Biotechnology Law, Bioethics, Longevity, Mental Health Law, Disinformation, Information Integrity, Persuasive Technology, Behavioral Regulation, Economic Inequality, Decentralized Finance, Financial Regulation, Regulatory Theory, Institutional Trust, Political Philosophy, Ethics of Technology, Future Studies, Civilization Studies, Legal Systems, Normative Theory, Twenty-First Century Law, Northon Salomão de Oliveira Northon Salomão de Oliveira ORCID: 0009-0007-4038-0609 Biography Northon Salomão de Oliveira is a Brazilian writer and jurist specializing in communication law, whose intellectual career is distinguished by its interdisciplinary approach, integrating Law, Communication Studies, Advertising, Marketing, Philosophy, Anthropology, Psychology, Psychiatry, Organizational Theory, and Literature. His scholarly work explores the dynamic relationship between law, technology, culture, and society, addressing some of the defining challenges of the twenty-first century, including climate change, artificial intelligence and automation, global governance and democracy, biotechnology and human survival, international security, economic inequality, the sustainability of natural resources, mental health, disinformation, and the ethical, philosophical, and legal reconstruction of civilization. His editorial portfolio includes books published in different international markets by distinguished publishers such as the Portuguese-Brazilian Kotter Editorial and the British Camden House, in addition to worldwide digital distribution through platforms including Amazon KDP and Google Play Books. In July 2026, he published The Odyssey (English Edition) and A Odisseia (Brazilian Edition), companion collections featuring a curated selection of sixty works chosen by his readers. Beyond his books, he has authored more than 1,500 articles published in academic repositories, legal platforms, and major media outlets, including SSRN (Elsevier), SciELO, Academia.edu, Zenodo (CERN), Folha de S.Paulo, Administradores, Jus, and Jusbrasil.

Shen Xiaowang

Web3 represents a paradigm shift of the internet from “platform centralization” to “protocol decentralization,” with its core value lying in rebuilding the trust foundation and value distribution logic of the digital world through blockchain technology. In 2026, the global Web3 infrastructure market is projected to reach $9.74 billion, the Web3 social platform market is expanding at a CAGR of 52.1%, and the decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePIN) market is estimated to reach $85 billion. However, the governance dilemma of Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs)——token voting leading to power concentration, frequent governance attacks, and low decision-making efficiency——is exposing the deep paradox of “code is law.” DeFi total value locked fell from $115 billion in January 2026 to $70 billion in June, a 39% decline; 121 security incidents caused $942 million in losses, reflecting the systemic fragility of decentralized finance. Meanwhile, global regulatory frameworks are accelerating——the EU MiCA is fully applicable, the U.S. GENIUS Act has taken effect, and Hong Kong‘s Stablecoin Ordinance has been implemented——marking Web3’s transition from “regulatory vacuum” to the “compliance era.” Based on the eight-dimensional framework of Prim-Lex Theory——Prim-Unity·Prim-Fire (Web3 network energy metabolic efficiency), Two Principles·Yin-Yang (dynamic balance between decentralization and effective governance), Three Realms·GC⁴A (cross-scale integration from technological infrastructure to application ecosystems to global governance), Four Phenomena·Four Colors (four-phase differentiated strategies for the Web3 lifecycle), Five Elements·Five Models (coupling of computational deficit/phase-transition early warning/spatial zoning/crypto balance sheet/systemic resilience), Six Dimensions·Six Directions (six-directional spatial layout of global Web3 infrastructure and the digital divide), Seven Luminaires·Seven Rhythms (synchronization between technological iteration cycles and governance response cycles), and Eight Trigrams·Eight Information (Web3 information network entropy and on-chain governance transparency)——this paper constructs, for the first time, an eight-dimensional quantitative assessment system for Web3 governance. It elaborates, dimension by dimension, the calculation principles, mathematical formulas, parameter meanings, and data sources. Using three empirical anchors——DAO governance attacks and reform experiments, DeFi protocol risk evolution, and the formation of global regulatory frameworks——this paper demonstrates the application pathway of the eight-dimensional framework in identifying “phase differences” and “critical windows” in Web3 governance, and proposes the “Web3 Governance Health Index” (Ψ_Web3), providing a quantifiable, programmable, and auditable mathematical language and governance tool for the transition of global Web3 from a “decentralized utopia” to an “eight-dimensional coherent state.”

Weiye Xi, Ciamac C. Moallemi

We provide a large-scale empirical audit of DEX routing using 2.98 million WETH-USDC swaps on Ethereum. Comparing realized routes with optimized benchmarks, we measure an average shortfall of 2.02 bps per trade or \$24 million. To attribute losses, we introduce three reproducible optimal benchmarks: a Support-Constrained Optimum (SCO) that evaluates split quality conditional on the pools actually used; a Full-Venue Optimum (FVO) that considers all available pools to quantify the value of broader pool access; and a Gas-Aware FVO (G-FVO) that augments FVO with gas costs to capture the trade-off between additional pool usage and gas expenditure. Computing these benchmarks at scale is enabled by a bisection-based algorithm for optimal routing across multiple pools for the same token pair. Two regularities emerge. First, information timeliness is crucial: moving from execution-time state to one-block lagged state optimization significantly raises mean shortfall and additional delays further degrade performance, albeit with diminishing increments; evaluated on the same stale snapshots, realized routes lie closer to optimal, indicating timing-mismatch as a key component. Second, inefficiency is heterogeneous and heavy-tailed: small trades suffer higher percentage losses, while a few extreme outliers dominate the aggregate dollar shortfalls. Finally, we demonstrate that sandwiching attacks drive a significant fraction of routing sub-optimality. Our benchmark protocol and algorithm offer a rigorous, reproducible basis for evaluating and improving information-timely, gas-aware routing.

Carter James

The pseudonymous nature of blockchain transactions, combined with the rise of encrypted DNS protocols such as DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH) and DNS-over-TLS (DoT), has created a new frontier for sophisticated tax evasion. Malicious actors can now exfiltrate transaction details and coordinate transfers by encoding data within the payloads of encrypted DNS queries, effectively bypassing traditional network monitoring and forensic analysis. This paper proposes a novel detection framework that leverages a hybrid deep learning architecture to identify such covert, tax-evading activities. Our system integrates a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) for its superior ability to extract spatial and sequential patterns from raw network flow data and encrypted payload characteristics, with a Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) network to model the temporal dynamics of blockchain interactions and DNS query sequences. By fusing these two paradigms, the hybrid model can distinguish between benign encrypted DNS traffic and malicious payloads used for illicit financial coordination. We evaluate our framework using a synthetically generated dataset that simulates realistic tax-evasion strategies, including micro-transaction splitting and delayed transaction relaying. Preliminary results indicate that our approach achieves a significantly higher detection rate and lower false-positive rate compared to conventional signature-based or single-model machine learning methods. This research demonstrates the efficacy of hybrid neural networks in preserving financial integrity and provides a critical tool for regulatory agencies to enforce tax compliance in the age of encrypted communications and decentralized finance.

YINKA ADERIBIGBE

The convergence of agricultural digitalization and decentralized finance presents critical opportunities for mitigating carbon-related financial risks in emerging markets. However, the integrity of environmental, social, and governance reporting is frequently undermined by information asymmetries and inadequate audit trust. This paper introduces a cloud-native architectural framework utilizing Amazon Web Services to construct a real-time, blockchain-verified carbon disclosure pipeline. By deploying distributed Python middleware integrated with serverless computational nodes, the system programmatically extracts agricultural carbon intensity metrics and cross-references them against immutable blockchain ledgers. This methodology structurally eliminates manual reporting friction, providing rural credit institutions and multinational enterprises with deterministic, verifiable environmental data. Preliminary architectural evaluations confirm that integrating high-velocity Application Programming Interfaces with decentralized ledgers significantly reduces information asymmetry, establishing a highly scalable foundation for green finance and rural revitalization.