The proliferation of Internet of Things (IoT) applications in safety-critical domains, such as healthcare, smart transportation, and industrial automation, demands robust solutions for data integrity, traceability, and security that surpass the capabilities of centralized databases. This paper analyzes how blockchain technology can be integrated with core IoT service functions—including data management, security, device management, group coordination, and automated billing—to enhance immutability, trust, and operational efficiency. Our analysis identifies practical use cases such as consensus-driven tamper-proof storage, role-based access control, firmware integrity verification, and automated micropayments. These use cases showcase blockchain’s potential beyond traditional data storage. Building on this, we propose a novel framework that integrates a permissioned distributed ledger with a standardized IoT service layer platform through a Blockchain Interworking Proxy Entity (BlockIPE). This proxy dynamically maps IoT service functions to smart contracts, enabling flexible data routing to conventional databases or blockchains based on the application requirements. We implement a Dockerized prototype that integrates a C-based oneM2M platform with an Ethereum-compatible permissioned ledger (implemented using Hyperledger Besu) via BlockIPE, incorporating security features such as role-based access control. For performance evaluation, we use Ganache to isolate proxy-level overhead and scalability. At the proxy level, the blockchain-integrated path achieves processing latencies (≈86 ms) comparable to, and slightly faster than, the traditional database path. Although the end-to-end latency is inherently governed by on-chain confirmation (≈0.586–1.086 s), the scalability remains high (up to 100,000 TPS). This validates that the architecture secures IoT ecosystems with manageable operational overhead.
This paper develops computational methods for optimizing revenue recognition in machine learning platforms operating on cloud computing infrastructure. We analyze how Artificial Intelligence as a Service (AIaaS) platforms leverage distributed computing architectures, containerization technologies (Docker, Kubernetes), and microservices patterns to deliver AI capabilities, creating complex revenue recognition challenges under IFRS 15. Our research employs algorithmic analysis to examine five critical technical challenges: (1) computational resource allocation tracking across multi-tenant cloud environments, (2) real-time transaction price determination using usage metering APIs and consumption-based billing algorithms, (3) automated revenue allocation across platform components using distributed ledger technologies, (4) temporal revenue recognition optimization through event-driven architectures and streaming data processing, and (5) network effect quantification using graph algorithms and data analytics.
En el caso de los smart contracts, nos encontramos ante un contrato que más bien concebimos como una nueva forma de realizarlo. Son escasos los marcos legales existentes y por sus características propias poseen una gran incidencia en el derecho internacional privado. Actualmente se están haciendo marcos normativos y referenciales, como por ejemplo en la CNUDMI. El resto queda librado a las legislaciones comunitarias, como en el caso de Europa, o interna de los países, con dificultades a la hora de aplicar las normas tradicionales de conflicto. La lex mercatoria en la materia llamada Lex Cryptographia nos parece útil. Estamos ante nuevas soluciones de resolución de conflictos no jurisdiccionales. Las relaciones de consumo plantean mayores desafíos.
This paper examines spillover dynamics, hedging effectiveness, and portfolio optimisation across tourism, cryptocurrency, and Fintech markets within a time-varying connectedness framework that incorporates traditional financial markets. We document pronounced time-varying spillovers, peaking during the COVID-19 pandemic, with traditional finance emerging as the dominant shock transmitter and the tourism sector as a key net receiver. Transmission-channel evidence suggests that total connectedness increases with credit stress and is positively correlated with market uncertainty and tourism mobility, with these effects intensifying during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cryptocurrencies offer the least costly but weakest hedges, while tourism assets hedge crypto exposure more effectively, albeit with greater downside risk. Dynamic portfolio weight strategies outperform hedge-ratio strategies, and the minimum connectedness portfolio (MCoP) delivers the highest risk-adjusted returns. Diebold–Mariano tests indicate no significant differences in return predictability, whereas Jobson–Korkie results show that minimum correlation portfolio (MCP) and MCoP significantly outperform the minimum-variance portfolio (MVP). Downside risk measures highlight the superior performance of MCoP at the cost of deeper drawdowns. These findings underscore the value of connectedness-based strategies for portfolio design in increasingly integrated markets.
Darlington Chizema, Ramos E. Mabugu, Christelle Meniago
This study examines the effect of renewable energy consumption on energy poverty across 43 Sub-Saharan African countries from 2002 to 2021. Using a dynamic panel data approach and a two-step System GMM estimator, it addresses endogeneity concerns in energy poverty analysis. Results show energy poverty is persistent, reflecting deep institutional and infrastructural challenges. While renewable energy consumption is positively associated with energy poverty, the modest impact suggests current investments are concentrated in urban or grid-connected areas, with limited benefits for rural populations. This highlights the need for inclusive, decentralized energy strategies. Human capital emerges as a key factor in alleviating energy poverty, emphasizing the importance of integrating energy access with education and health initiatives. Conversely, GDP per capita, institutional quality, and population density show no significant effects, challenging assumptions that economic growth alone can resolve energy deprivation. The lack of a declining trend in energy poverty underscores the urgency for targeted, long-term interventions. The study advocates pro-poor energy policies, innovative financing, and multi-sectoral approaches linking energy access to broader development goals to advance Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG 7). Future research should explore subnational disparities and the varied impacts of renewable technologies to inform context-specific solutions.
Developments and changes in technology play a significant role in addressing climate change, one of which is decentralized finance, which is currently expanding, and it is still unclear whether it has a dynamic relationship with climate change. This study employs the TVP-VAR Connectedness model with the aim of analyzing the dynamic relationship between the decentralized finance operations and CO2 emissions, the impact of shocks from DeFi operations (Total Value Locked, Volume, Returns, Fees, and Revenues) dynamically increasing CO2 emissions, as well as to assess the role of DeFi returns in strengthening the transmissions of DeFi activity to CO2 emissions. The results show that DeFi operations have a dynamic relationship with CO2 emissions at a moderate level through shocks transmitted by DeFi operational indicators. It was also found that TVL acts more as a net receiver than a net transmitter, unlike Volume, Fees and Revenues. Returns do not significantly transmit shocks to CO2 emissions and are more exogenous in nature, while both TVL and Returns are predominantly influenced by internal idiosyncratic shocks. These findings emphasize the importance of integrating Green FinTech policies to ensure sustainable DeFi growth. The findings also provide important implications for regulators, industry practitioners and academics in their efforts to balance the advancement of DeFi with environmental sustainability.
Elif Nur Kucur, Tolga Büyüktanır, Muharrem Ugurelli, Kazım Yıldız
Privacy-preserving machine learning (PPML) constitutes a core element of responsible AI by supporting model training and inference without exposing sensitive information. This survey presents a comprehensive examination of the major cryptographic PPML techniques and introduces a unified taxonomy covering technical models, verification criteria, and evaluation dimensions. The study consolidates findings from both survey and experimental works using structured comparison tables and emphasizes that recent research increasingly adopts hybrid and verifiable PPML designs. In addition, we map PPML applications across domains such as healthcare, finance, Internet of Things (IoT), and edge systems, indicating that cryptographic approaches are progressively transitioning from theoretical constructs to deployable solutions. Finally, the survey outlines emerging trends—including the growth of zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs)-based verification and domain-specific hybrid architectures—and identifies practical considerations that shape PPML adoption in real systems.
Consider a social-choice function (SCF) is chosen to decide votes in a formal system, including votes to replace the voting method itself. Agents vote according to their ex-ante belief over what decisions are considered, and whether they prefer them to be decided by the incumbent SCF or the suggested replacement. The existing SCF then aggregates the agents' votes and arrives at a decision of whether it should itself be replaced. An SCF is self-maintaining if it can not be replaced in such fashion by any other SCF. Our focus is on the implications of self-maintenance for centralization. For this purpose, unlike [Barbera and Jackson, 2004], we do not generally restrict attention to anonymous SCFs. We also do not restrict attention to neutral SCFs, unlike [Koray, 2000]. We present results considering optimistic, pessimistic and i.i.d. approaches with respect to agent beliefs, different tie-breaking rules, and different SCF domains. To highlight two of the results, (i) for the i.i.d. unbiased case with arbitrary tie-breaking and general Boolean functions, we prove an Arrow-Style Theorem for Dynamics: We show that only a dictatorship is self-maintaining, and any other SCF has a path of changes that arrives at a dictatorship. (ii) With a pessimistic approach, tie-breaking that prefers the status quo, and WMGs, we provide a tight characterization of the self-maintaining rules, which are exactly all games with minimal winning coalitions of size at most 2. We then consider two extensions, (i) forward-looking voters, (ii) Where the voter utility depends on wisdom of the crowd effects. In both cases, less centralized SCFs become self-maintaining. All in all we provide a basic framework and body of results for centralization dynamics and stability, applicable for institution design, especially in formal De-Jure systems, such as Blockchain Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs).
Aso Mohammad Darwesh, Atefeh Nekouie, Mohammad Hossein Moattar, Parisa Khoshvaght · 7 authors
Abstract Electronic Health Record (EHR) management is one of the challenging problems in digital healthcare and is related to several issues such as data security, privacy, scalability, interoperability, and ownership which are very crucial for reliable exchange of information. This review discusses the recent trend and technological solutions for the mentioned challenges. These solutions mainly focus on cloud-based infrastructures, attribute-based encryption (ABE), blockchain frameworks, and Non-Fungible Token (NFT)-based data ownership. This study highlights the strengths and limitations of each approach using comparative analysis and evaluations. Also, this review introduces a conceptual integration framework that combines graph neural networks (GNNs), multi-reference attribute-based encryption (MA-ABE), blockchain, and NFTs. The proposed model integrates predictive artificial intelligence, decentralized mechanism, immutable auditing, and verifiable ownership in a multi-layered architecture to address the issues and challenges of HER systems. Quantitative analysis of the reviewed literature reveals a clear upward trend in research activity, with more than 80 peer-reviewed studies published between 2017 and 2024, representing an approximate 250% growth in blockchain-, ABE-, and NFT-based EHR solutions. Among these, 41% focus on security and privacy, 27% on scalability, and 19% on interoperability, underscoring the field’s growing emphasis on decentralized and intelligent healthcare systems. This article not only contributes to a comprehensive review of the previous researches, but also provides a perspective on how the future of healthcare systems will be reshaped by intelligent and decentralized technologies.
Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs), powered by blockchain technology and smart contracts, have opened new avenues for addressing corporate governance challenges, such as effectively reducing contract risks and mitigating other organizational management issues. However, as a typical complex system that integrates both social and engineering complexities, DAOs still face problems in governance practice, including insufficient decentralization and low member participation. In particular, the liquid democracy design in their voting mechanisms-intended to allow members to flexibly switch between direct voting and delegated proxy-often leads to the phenomenon of “delegation equals abstention,” which is particularly acute in Product and Service DAOs, resulting in declining overall participation rates and excessive concentration of governance power among a few individuals. To address these challenges, this paper employs the ACP method (Artificial Systems + Computational Experiments + Parallel Execution) and proposes a dual-token governance mechanism that couples governance rights with an incentive layer. This mechanism moderately decouples governance rights from utility rights, encouraging ordinary members to shift from passive delegation to active participation in governance. At the same time, we introduce an SBT-based reputation system grounded in cumulative contributions, which dynamically constrains the upper limit of delegated receipts, thereby institutionally curbing the unchecked expansion of power by super delegates. Through case analysis combined with computational experiments, the effectiveness of this mechanism in enhancing the degree of governance decentralization and member participation is validated, providing both technical pathways and theoretical references for DAO governance optimization.
In modern conditions of functioning, healthcare institutions in Ukraine are undergoing a period of profound transformations, which are associated with the activation of the European vector of state development, military aggression from Russia, the challenges of the pandemic, migration mines and changes in state policy priorities. Based on this, it can be argued that the functioning of the healthcare sector takes place in a period of dynamic changes and variability of the external and internal environment. A feature of the organizational support of the functioning of healthcare institutions is the change in the management model - from centralized and inertial to autonomous, which is aimed at results. In accordance with the implemented medical reforms, some healthcare institutions have acquired the status of municipal non-profit enterprises, which has expanded the scope of independence in making management decisions in matters of organization and financing of institutions [1, 2]. However, the implementation of such changes requires time and appropriate organizational support, which in the conditions of the security and economic situation is a difficult task. From the point of view of financial support, the changes made according to the principle of "money follows the patient" should stimulate the competitiveness of healthcare institutions within the framework of cooperation with the National Health Service of Ukraine, but led to uneven conditions for the functioning of institutions in regional distribution, especially in rural areas. The reform of decentralization of power, which aimed to optimize the healthcare sector, which in practice was implemented in the reduction of healthcare institutions in rural areas and impaired the ability to receive medical services among the population of such territories, also made its corresponding adjustments. Therefore, the issue of organizational and economic support for the effective functioning of healthcare institutions in the context of transformational challenges is an urgent task for the authorities today. The greatest destruction and losses for the sphere of functioning of healthcare institutions were caused by the full-scale invasion, which led to significant destruction of facilities throughout the country, especially in border areas and zones of active hostilities. At the same time, part of the health facilities was destroyed by the war, part suffered significant damage and losses, which affected the ability of thousands of citizens to receive the necessary medical care. In addition to the physical losses of facilities, the challenge was the relocation of part of the health facilities from the territories of temporary occupation to safer regions, which affected the preservation of the material and technical base.
Introduction: The study examined how Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) can play a role in business ethics and how the ethical conduct of business can help consumers have more confidence in the global supply chain. It further explored how the adoption of Ethical Sourcing Practices (ESP) mediates the relationship between DLT adoption and consumer confidence in the Saudi Arabian context. Methods: A purposive sampling approach was followed in accordance with a positivist approach. In order to gather the information among 355 respondents, an online survey was distributed, and the data have been analysed with the help of partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) in SmartPLS 4.0. Results: The findings of the PLS-SEM established that DLT significantly predicted Ethical Sourcing Practices (0.641, p < 0.001) whereas ethical sourcing practices also had significant and positive impact on perceived consumer trust (0.518, p < 0.001). The direct effect of DLT on perceived consumer trust was significantly positive (β = 0.325, p < 0.001). The model explains 41% of ESP and 59% of trust. Additionally, a significant indirect effect of DLT on perceived consumer trust via ethical sourcing practices was confirmed, indicating partial mediation (β = 0.331, p < 0.001). Conclusion: This research combined model that correlates DLT adoption, ethical sourcing practices, and perceived consumer trust using the TOE and signalling theories. It uses data on multi-industry supply chains from multi-industry surveys (Saudi Vision 2030) to illustrate the capacity of blockchain-enabled sourcing capabilities and turn it into a trust gain. The research involves the cross-sectional survey data, which would allow finding statistical correlations but would not allow to establish the causality. Additionally, the results may not apply to all individuals in the industry.
Khang Wen Goh, Burhan Ul Islam Khan, Abdul Raouf Khan, Dwi Sudarno Putra · 6 authors
Blockchain systems built on classical cryptography face immediate risks from large-scale quantum computers, while purely quantum-based blockchains often rely on a single Private Key Generator (PKG) and incur heavy resource overheads. To overcome these issues, this paper proposes a hybrid quantum and post-quantum blockchain approach that removes single points of trust by using Distributed Key Generation and a dual-layer signature mechanism. This method integrates quantum digital signatures, rooted in the Fully Flipped Permutation problem, with classical post-quantum (lattice-based) cryptography, enabling users to switch between quantum and classical signatures according to security requirements and channel conditions. Delegated Proof-of-Stake with node behavior and Borda count has been incorporated to manage consensus, ensuring that witness nodes are regularly re-elected and malicious actors are penalized by distributing secret shares among multiple rotating witnesses. We eliminate the central vulnerability of a sole PKG while maintaining rigorous resistance to collusions. Our analytical model indicates that a fraction of transactions can use quantum signatures without system-wide bottlenecks, while the remaining transactions follow classical PQC paths with throughput approaching classical baselines under our modeling assumptions. Consequently, this hybrid method offers higher scalability, robust collusion resistance, and long-term security even under quantum-capable adversaries. This paper presents extensive theoretical analyses, probability models, and algorithmic complexities, demonstrating that our design provides resilient infrastructure that meets the key performance and security requirements of next-generation blockchain systems.
Md Motaleb Hossen Manik, Md Zabirul Islam, Ge Wang
Modern vision--language models (VLMs) are increasingly used to interpret and generate educational content, yet their semantic outputs remain challenging to verify, reproduce, and audit over time. Inconsistencies across model families, inference settings, and computing environments undermine the reliability of AI-generated instructional material, particularly in high-stakes and quantitative STEM domains. This work introduces SlideChain, a blockchain-backed provenance framework designed to provide verifiable integrity for multimodal semantic extraction at scale. Using the SlideChain Slides Dataset-a curated corpus of 1,117 medical imaging lecture slides from a university course-we extract concepts and relational triples from four state-of-the-art VLMs and construct structured provenance records for every slide. SlideChain anchors cryptographic hashes of these records on a local EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine)-compatible blockchain, providing tamper-evident auditability and persistent semantic baselines. Through the first systematic analysis of semantic disagreement, cross-model similarity, and lecture-level variability in multimodal educational content, we reveal pronounced cross-model discrepancies, including low concept overlap and near-zero agreement in relational triples on many slides. We further evaluate gas usage, throughput, and scalability under simulated deployment conditions, and demonstrate perfect tamper detection along with deterministic reproducibility across independent extraction runs. Together, these results show that SlideChain provides a practical and scalable step toward trustworthy, verifiable multimodal educational pipelines, supporting long-term auditability, reproducibility, and integrity for AI-assisted instructional systems.
The development of blockchain technology has brought significant innovation to the financial sector, including the management of Shariah-compliant finance, by enhancing transparency, security, and efficiency of financial transactions in accordance with Shariah principles. This technology utilizes distributed ledger technology (DLT) and smart contracts to ensure authenticity and fairness in transactions, thereby strengthening trust and accountability within the Shariah financial system. This study aims to analyze the effectiveness of blockchain implementation in Shariah finance and identify various challenges faced in the digital era, such as immature regulations, limited digital infrastructure, and low levels of technological literacy among industry players. The research method includes a literature review of relevant journals and reports, as well as case studies of blockchain implementation in Shariah financial institutions. The findings indicate that blockchain plays a crucial role in increasing trust and transparency, but its success heavily depends on the synergy among regulators, Shariah financial institutions, and other stakeholders to overcome these obstacles. These results emphasize the importance of collaborative and innovative strategies to support the sustainable growth of the Shariah financial system in the digital age.
Este boletim quinzenal gratuito visa analisar o comportamento do Bitcoin, um ativo financeiro digital, oferecendo notícias, análises gráficas e informações sobre as mais recentes novidades, softwares e aplicativos relacionados a essa criptomoeda. Nosso objetivo é enriquecer as discussões em torno da cultura do Bitcoin, colaborando com a Amauta, uma instituição de economia criativa que busca disseminar conhecimento sobre inovação, educação e finanças na comunidade acadêmica e empresarial. Esperamos que este trabalho represente uma contribuição valiosa para o debate. Reconhecemos a importância do Bitcoin e seu impacto na economia global, motivo pelo qual nos dedicamos a fornecer informações atualizadas aos nossos leitores. Acreditamos que ao promover discussões e compreensão sobre o Bitcoin, podemos incentivar a adoção e o uso responsável dessa tecnologia disruptiva. Para além das análises e informações sobre o Bitcoin, incentivamos ativamente nossos leitores a se educarem sobre finanças pessoais e investimentos. Acreditamos que, munidos do conhecimento adequado, todos podem tomar decisões financeiras inteligentes e bem informadas. Comprometemo-nos a fornecer informações de alta qualidade e precisas, esforçando-nos para manter nossos leitores atualizados sobre as últimas tendências e desenvolvimentos no mundo do Bitcoin. Esperamos que este relatório seja do seu agrado e contribua para uma compreensão mais aprofundada do Bitcoin e das finanças pessoais em geral.
Prof. Sampada S. Kapse, Nithin C, Nithin C, Pavan Adithya V · 5 authors
Abstract In recent years, the protection and management of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) have become challenging due to the rapid growth of digital content, ownership disputes, and lack of transparency in traditional systems. Most existing IPR management frameworks rely on centralized authorities and manual verification processes, which are inefficient, time-consuming, and vulnerable to tampering. This paper introduces IPR Management Using Blockchain, a decentralized system designed to securely register and manage intellectual property assets. The system uses blockchain technology to ensure immutability, transparency, and tamper-proof ownership records. Smart contracts are employed to automate IP registration, ownership verification, licensing, and royalty distribution without third-party involvement. The proposed system enables creators to securely register digital assets and provides verifiable proof of ownership through cryptographic hashing and distributed ledgers. Experimental evaluation shows improved security, transparency, and efficiency compared to traditional IPR management approaches. The blockchain-based IPR system offers a scalable and reliable solution for modern digital rights protection. Keywords: Blockchain; Intellectual Property Rights; Smart Contracts; Digital Ownership; Decentralized Ledger chatbot
Ridwan Yusuf, Andreas Perdana, Febri Sugandi, Untoro Apsiswanto
Pada periode 2024-2025, pertemuan antara Large Language Model dan teknologi blockchain melahirkan kelas perangkat lunak baru yang disebut AI Agent on-chain, perangkat lunak otonom yang menerjemahkan tujuan pengguna menjadi rangkaian transaksi Decentralized Finance dan menandatanganinya tanpa intervensi manusia. Adopsi yang berlangsung cepat memperlihatkan tiga celah konseptual yang belum terjawab: kompleksitas alur eksekusi multi-langkah pada DeFi, lansekap kerentanan yang khas LLM seperti indirect prompt injection dan jailbreak yang berimplikasi langsung pada aset finansial, dan ketiadaan kerangka tata kelola yang akuntabel pada ekosistem yang terdesentralisasi. Kajian ini menyintesis 34 publikasi terverifikasi dari basis data Zotero ke dalam empat tema yang saling terkait: arsitektur agen dan kolaborasi multi-agen, manajemen kunci pada agentic wallet, lansekap ancaman keamanan, serta peran blockchain sebagai trust layer. Temuan kunci yang muncul adalah bahwa pertahanan yang hanya bertumpu pada lapisan bahasa terbukti tidak memadai; kontrol pada lapisan tindakan, melalui kebijakan yang dinamis, isolasi enclave, atau secret sharing multi-pihak, menjadi prasyarat ketika konsekuensi finansial bersifat permanen. Kontribusi yang diajukan mencakup taksonomi vektor ancaman per lapis arsitektur, kerangka pertahanan tiga-lapis hibrid, serta agenda riset masa depan dengan lima arah konkret.
Deep learning has emerged as a widely applied approach across various fields, with finance and forecasting being among its most prominent areas of use. Within this domain, different deep learning architectures have been developed to address specific prediction problems. This study compares the performance of ARIMAX and several deep learning models—including LSTM, BILSTM, CNN-LSTM, GRU, and TFT—in forecasting Bitcoin prices. The dataset consists of daily values from January 2014 to January 2025. The dependent variable is the daily Bitcoin closing price ($), while the independent variables include oil price (USD/barrel), gold price (USD/ounce), platinum price ($/XPT), and the USD/TRY exchange rate. All analyses were conducted in Python using Google Colab, with the Keras library employed for model implementation. Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) was selected as the evaluation metric for predictive accuracy. The results indicate that the TFT model achieved the highest predictive performance, followed closely by the GRU model. LSTM, BILSTM, and ARIMAX models showed similar yet weaker performance, while the CNN-LSTM model produced the least accurate forecasts, with significantly higher RMSE values compared to the other models.
Classical political economy treats private property as foundational to economic coordination and individual autonomy. This paper argues that while private property remains formally intact, it has been substantively hollowed out by the erosion of privacy in the information age. The central claim is that private information—defined as the owner's privileged epistemic access to knowledge relevant to her assets—is a necessary condition for meaningful private property. When such information is no longer privately controlled, ownership persists only as legal fiction rather than effective sovereignty. Through analysis of software licensing, smart property, and decentralized finance, the paper shows how contemporary property increasingly functions as conditional, reversible, access-based arrangements dependent on informational infrastructures governed by others. Revisiting Hayek's epistemological defense of property, the analysis demonstrates that the loss of informational privacy undermines the assumptions that allowed private property to sustain an extended order. The paper engages with objections from information economics and cryptographic privacy, examines systemic risks to economic stability, innovation, and political order, and concludes that the defining challenge of our time is not the abolition of private property, but the disappearance of the private itself.
This article examines the integration of blockchain, distributed file system, and virtualization technologies (including Virtual SAN, VSAN) to improve data storage privacy and efficiency. The limitations of traditional centralized storage models are presented, such as vulnerability to tampering, limited flexibility in access control, difficulty in auditing, and low resource efficiency. A concept for an integrated data storage system based on blockchain smart contracts is proposed. This system incorporates data encryption, implementation of an access control strategy based on blockchain attributes, the use of virtualization optimized through VSAN, distributed key management, and privacy-enhancing technologies (zero-knowledge proof, trusted computing environment). The proposed architecture provides flexible access control, efficient data processing, and a high level of security in a public or private blockchain environment.
Mila Dwi Rahmatya, Mohd Syahiran Abdul Latif, Mohd Hapiz Mahaiyadin, Mohd Sirajuddin Siswadi Putera Mohamed Shith
Decentralized Exchanges (DEX) powered by immutable and automated smart contracts have revolutionized cryptocurrency trading by eliminating intermediaries. However, the alignment of their mechanisms with Islamic principles of sale and purchase remains unclear. This study conducted a qualitative analysis to assess the sharia compliance of DEXs. This research examines the conformity of DEX trading mechanisms with sharia principles by utilizing content and normative analysis of classical and contemporary Islamic finance literature alongside DEX-related articles, white papers, and industry reports. The findings reveal critical areas of non-compliance, particularly concerning contracting parties ('aqīd) and subject matter (mabī'). DEXs lack mechanisms to verify the legal capacity of transacting parties, potentially enabling involvement from individuals deemed incompetent under sharia. Cryptocurrencies as a medium of exchange also raise concerns because of their ambiguous nature as commodities or currencies, potentially leading to gharar (uncertainty) and ḍarar (harm). While certain aspects, such as the clarity of offer and acceptance (ijāb wa qabūl) through smart contracts and specific traded assets, such as certain tokens and NFTs, might align with sharia, the overall risks associated with speculation and inherent uncertainties necessitate caution. This study recommends that Muslims approach DEXs with caution until clear guidelines and sharia-compliant platforms are established. Furthermore, increased scrutiny from Islamic scholars and regulatory bodies is crucial for ensuring this rapidly evolving technology's ethical and compliant development. Abstrak Decentralized Exchanges (DEX) yang didukung oleh smart contracts telah mengubah perdagangan mata uang kripto dengan menghilangkan peran perantara. Namun, kesesuaian mekanisme DEX dengan prinsip jual beli dalam Islam masih menjadi perdebatan. Studi ini melakukan analisis kualitatif untuk menilai kepatuhan DEX terhadap syariah. Metode analisis konten dan normatif digunakan berdasarkan literatur keuangan Islam klasik dan kontemporer, serta artikel, white papers, dan laporan industri terkait DEX. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan beberapa aspek kritis yang tidak sesuai dengan syariah, terutama terkait pihak yang berkontrak ('aqīd) dan objek akad (mabī'). DEX tidak memiliki mekanisme untuk memverifikasi kapasitas hukum pihak yang bertransaksi, sehingga berpotensi melibatkan individu yang tidak kompeten menurut syariah. Selain itu, status mata uang kripto sebagai alat tukar menimbulkan ketidakpastian terkait posisinya sebagai komoditas atau mata uang, yang dapat mengakibatkan gharar (ketidakpastian) dan ḍarar (kerugian). Meski beberapa aspek seperti penawaran dan penerimaan (ijāb wa qabūl) melalui smart contracts sesuai syariah, risiko spekulasi tetap tinggi. Oleh karena itu, studi ini merekomendasikan kehati-hatian bagi umat Muslim dalam menggunakan DEX hingga panduan syariah yang lebih jelas tersedia, serta pengawasan ulama dan regulator yang lebih ketat diperlukan.
Abstract In the realm of blockchains, synchronization challenges are two-folded. First, smart contracts from different blockchains cannot communicate with each other, making it hard to establish a trustworthy communication channel to share and maintain a universal state between each other. Second, transactions on different blockchains can hardly be ordered. Hence interference is expected. We need a novel way to handle interference. Traditional solutions involving third parties have safety and liveness issues and thus compromise between safety, permissionless, and liveness. ZK Multi-Blockchain Aggregatoris a multi-blockchain execution layer that leverages the power of zero-knowledge proof to minimize the trust base of multi-blockchain communication, which does not compromise safety, liveness, permissionless, and atomicity. In contrast to traditional blockchain bridges performing transactions on different blockchains separately and using a relay system to enforce the order of transactions and prevent interference, our method uses an entirely new approach, such that for each multi-blockchain transaction, it simulates the multi-blockchain transaction in its aggregator chain. Our aggregator uses zero-knowledge proofs of the simulation to convince involved blockchains to update their local state accordingly. On top of this layer, rich applications over multi-blockchains can run safely and efficiently.
Sandip Sane, Dr. Diksha Tripathi, Anagha Bhope, Aditee Huparikar Shah · 7 authors
One of the ways in which blockchain technology is transforming the visual arts ecosystem is by providing decentralized, transparent, and verifiable systems of ownership, distribution, and value exchange of digital art. This paper analyzes how blockchain has been disruptive to visual arts in modern times, specifically in non-fungible tokens (NFTs), creative economies, and artist-collector relationships. Historically, the digital artworks were associated with the issues with provenance, copyright protection, scarcity, and justifiable monetization. Blockchain overcomes these weaknesses by providing immutable registries, smart contracts, and tokenization to allow artists to have verifiable ownership, determine authenticity, and earn automatic royalties on transactions in the secondary market. The study takes a conceptual and analytical structure by synthesising the extant literature, platform case studies and new blockchain-based art markets to assess the worth of NFTs in redefining artistic value, authorship and market forces. The results suggest that blockchain makes global art markets more democratic by decreasing the use of intermediaries including galleries and auction houses, which are central, and thus giving power to independent and new artists. Simultaneously, it cultivates new creative economies in which digital scramble, community contribution and speculative finance overlap. Nevertheless, the paper also singles out some fundamental challenges such as environmental sustainability issues, market unpredictability, regulatory ambiguity and the issues of artistic legitimacy and cultural value. The article presents the argument that although blockchain does not substitute the traditional art institutions, it supports them by providing hybrid ecosystems through integrations of physical and digital practices. All in all, the study suggests blockchain as a revolutionary infrastructure to the visual arts, reinventing ownership, trust, and economic frameworks and proposing a sustainable, ethical, and inclusive future to enable the long-term development of digital art ecosystems.