Prof. Abhijeet More, Tejashree B. Patil, Deep Kharate, M P Akhil · 5 authors
As the multi-chain digital assets, decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) seeing rapid development, cryptocurrency portfolio management is causing strong pain among users.With the growing number of blockchain networks like Ethereum and a variety of chains, users commonly have assets across multiple wallets, protocols and dApps.Classic portfolio tracking services often require the constant relationship between client and server, with centralized servers, offering heavy privacy issues and security implications.Manual and account based access Many of these systems require data to be manually entered or employees to sign in with their accounts, which opens up the possibility for data leaks, inaccurate reporting, and divulgence of sensitive financial information.More centralized trackers unfortunately have a very poor understanding of more advanced DeFi functions such as staking, joining liquidity pools, and yield farming positions, total or just plain token approval permissions leading to either incomplete or worse yet misleading asset summaries.To solve the above issues, this system suggests a completely decentralized cryptocurrency portfolio tracker on client-side.The code utilizes APIs like Alchemy, Zapper and CoinGecko to read real-time token balances, NFTs creatures or positions (for DeFi), and allowances from the current network directly offchain.Being exclusively client side, the tracker does not rely on centralized databases and it is designed to minimize privacy compromises.The built-in on-chain security module is its most noticeable feature, as it detects any potentially malicious or extremely large token approvals given to smart contracts.Suspicious approvals can be detected, and then revoked in a timely manner through signed wallet transactions without needing to reveal any private keys.The results show that this decentralized tracker would provide significantly better user privacy, data accuracy and overall security.As a serverless applications service, that bypasses central authentication, as well as database storage, it offers a transparency, user-centric and scalable way to manage digital assets securely.
Open access
Internet Traffic Analysis and Secure E-voting
Chaos-based Image/Signal Encryption
Advanced Steganography and Watermarking Techniques
Barbara Bigliardi, Virginia Dolci, Alberto Petroni, Benedetta Pini
How are digital technologies transforming public sector supply chains, and what factors condition their effectiveness? Despite the growing interest in this domain, the literature remains fragmented, with a lack of longitudinal studies, citizen-centered evaluations, and cross-country comparisons. This study addresses these gaps through a systematic review of 71 Scopus-indexed articles, combining descriptive mapping with a keyword-based bibliometric analysis. The approach identifies consolidated and emerging themes, particularly within the âBusiness, Management and Accountingâ subject area, where methodological heterogeneity and limited generalizability persist. Findings reveal increasing scholarly attention to technologies such as blockchain, AI, and e-procurement, highlighting both operational modernization and newer concerns such as sustainability, digital governance, and decentralized finance. The paper contributes by structuring dispersed knowledge into a coherent framework, offering a roadmap for research and practical guidance for public administrators seeking value-driven digital transformation.
Adah Patrick Eneojo, Olorunmaiye Theophilus, Dr Emmanuel Bola Jonah K, Adah William Arome · 7 authors
Uptake of the Basic Minimum Package of Health Services (BMPHS) in Kogi State has been limited by supplyâside constraints, demandâside barriers, and placeâbased vulnerabilities concentrated in riverine and rural LGAs. The IMPACT rollout (2022â2025) combined Decentralized Facility Financing (DFF) with bundled Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) supports to strengthen facility responsiveness, stabilize commodities, and expand outreach. We used a quasiâexperimental, mixedâmethods design on a facilityâmonth DHIS2 panel (2019â2025; n = 96 PHCs). Quantitative inference triangulated three counterfactual generators: augmented twoâway fixedâeffects DifferenceâinâDifferences (DiD) for average effects, Interrupted Time Series (ITS) segmented regression to decompose immediate (level) and sustained (slope) impacts, and facilityâlevel counterfactuals via synthetic control and matrix completion for robustness. Multilevel mixedâeffects models estimated heterogeneity; causal mediation (bootstrap, 5,000 sims) quantified pathways (coldâchain uptime, outreach frequency, commodity availability). Qualitative interviews and supervision records explained fidelity and contextual moderators. Costing used activityâbased methods with probabilistic sensitivity analysis. DFF plus CQI produced both rapid operational gains and durable system strengthening. Primary policyârelevant estimates: DiD DPT3 +6.2 percentage points, ITS immediate level change αâ = +3.7pp, and ITS slope αâ = +0.12 pp/month. Mediation attributed ~41% of the DPT3 gain to improved coldâchain uptime; outreach and commodity availability explained large shares of ANC1 and IPTp3 gains. Results are robust across laggedâoutcome DiD, matrix completion, generalized synthetic control, eventâstudy checks, and autocorrelation corrections. Costâeffectiveness benchmarks show programâlevel ICERs consistent with high probability of value for money for composite BMPHS gains. To maximize equitable BMPHS gains, prioritize coldâchain resilience, predictable and timely disbursements, and earmarked outreach financing for highâenvironmentalârisk LGAs. Embed both the ITS level (αâ) and slope (αâ) as complementary KPIs in routine dashboards: αâ signals rapid operational fixes; αâ signals durable system strengthening. Scaleâup should pair DFF with CQI, protected commodity lines, and contextâsensitive outreach modalities to sustain and equitably distribute gains.
Battery energy storage sits at the centre of Europeâs low-carbon transition, yet financing these assets remains fraught with uncertainty. This thesis asks a pointed question: how do market volatility, shifting regulations, and the threat of asset stranding jointly shape the ability of investors to fund centralised and decentralised storage projects in Germany and Sweden? Drawing on a comparative case study rooted in pragmatist thinking, the analysis pairs discounted cash flow modelling with a careful reading of policy documents, regulatory rulings, and industry commentary. All market data, wholesale electricity prices from ENTSO-E, ancillary-service auction results from national grid operators, cover the period 2019-2024 and are publicly accessible. What emerges is a stark contrast. German centralised battery energy storage systems (BESS) projects carry the heaviest risk burden: frequency containment reserve (FCR) market saturation, confirmed grid-fee hikes, and a massive connection-queue backlog combine to push the internal rate of return from 11.5% down to 2.8% under stress, rendering projects economically unviable. Swedish centralised projects fare better for now, though their dependence on a handful of ancillary-service markets introduces a concentration risk that warrants close monitoring. Across both countries, decentralised storage proves more financially resilient, revenue diversification across retail savings, frequency markets, and peak shaving translates into lower risk premiums and more favourable debt terms, even where headline returns are lower. Monte Carlo simulations confirm that investment feasibility is highly sensitive to revenue cannibalisation and policy shocks. Theoretically, the study extends asset stranding literature by demonstrating that stranding risk in modern storage infrastructure is fundamentally revenue-driven rather than technologically deterministic, with regulatory interventions capable of eroding cash flows as rapidly as market saturation. From a policy perspective, the findings underscore the urgent need for regulatory clarity on grid tariff structures in Germany, the development of a coherent national storage strategy in Sweden, and the effective implementation of the EU Storage Infrastructure Act. For market participants, the analysis establishes that decentralised, revenue-diversified storage configurations offer a more robust risk-return profile, lowering hurdle rates and facilitating capital allocation in Europeâs evolving flexibility markets.
The tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs) has emerged as a transformative application of blockchain technology, with market projections estimating trillions of dollars in tokenized assets within the coming decade. However, a fundamental challenge remains unaddressed: physical assets such as precious metals, stored commodities, and warehoused goods incur structural negative carry -- custody, insurance, and audit costs that accumulate over time. While existing tokenization models have successfully established the market for digital gold and treasuries, they typically manage operational costs at the issuer level. The FRS introduces a framework to bring these economics directly on-chain, avoiding mechanisms such as token rebasing that compromise fungibility and composability with decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols. This paper proposes the Fungible Reserve Standard (FRS), a deterministic token design framework that encodes carrying costs transparently into on-chain logic. The FRS introduces an asset-per-token variable q(t) that decreases according to a predefined annualized carrying cost rate, coupled with a supply reconciliation mechanism that preserves holder balances and ERC-20 composability. While mathematically inspired by the daily expense ratio accrual in traditional asset management -- which often embed centralized profit margins -- the FRS design specifically encodes actual operational carrying costs to provide pure institutional-grade accounting clarity without compromising DeFi compatibility. The framework is asset-agnostic and applicable to any real-world asset with positive, predictable holding costs.
We formulate and solve stochastic control problems that model the core yield-generating strategy of the Ethena protocol, a decentralized finance (DeFi) stablecoin that earns yield by combining a long position in staked Ethereum (stETH) with an equal-sized short position in ETH perpetual futures. The combined position is delta-neutral with respect to the ETH spot price, yet earns carry from two sources: staking rewards on the stETH leg, and funding-rate payments received from long perpetual holders when the perpetual trades at a premium to spot. A key feature of our model is that the control -- the rate of simultaneously buying stETH and shorting the perpetual -- exerts two distinct types of price impact. \textit{Permanent} impact shifts the mid-market prices of both legs, compressing the basis and permanently eroding future funding income. \textit{Temporary} impact reflects execution slippage on each leg. We study both an infinite-horizon discounted problem and a finite-horizon problem in which the protocol maximizes total wealth up to a fixed date $T$, subject to a terminal cost for liquidating any remaining position. In both cases the optimal control is obtained explicitly.
Bitcoin's limited programmability and transaction throughput have historically prevented native Bitcoin from participating in decentralized finance (DeFi) applications. Existing solutions depend on honest-majority thresholds, or centralized custodial entities that introduce significant trust requirements. This paper introduces Bitcoin Smart Accounts (BSA), a novel protocol that enables native Bitcoin to access DeFi through trust-minimized infrastructure while maintaining self-custody of funds. BSA achieves this through a combination of emulated Bitcoin covenants using Partially Signed Bitcoin Transactions (PSBTs) and Taproot scripts, a Trusted Execution Environment (TEE)-based arbitration system, and destination chain smart contracts that enable DeFi platforms to accept self-custodial Bitcoin as collateral without necessitating protocol-level modifications. The setup leverages liquidity secured by the Lombard Security Consortium which provides a twofold advantage: for a DeFi protocol, liquidators rely on fungible assets with deep liquidity to quickly exit positions, while for a depositor, the general trust assumptions of honest majority (m-of-n) are reduced to existential honesty (1-of-k). We present the complete protocol design, including the Bitcoin architecture, the TEE-based arbitration mechanism, and the Smart Account Registry for protocol management. We provide a security analysis that demonstrates the correctness, safety, and availability properties under our trust model. Our design enables native Bitcoin to serve as collateral in lending markets and other DeFi protocols without requiring users to relinquish custody of funds.
Marco Dessalvi, Massimo Bartoletti, Alberto Lluch-Lafuente
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) has revolutionized financial markets by enabling complex asset-exchange protocols without trusted intermediaries. Automated Market Makers (AMMs) are a central component of DeFi, providing the core functionality of swapping assets of different types at algorithmically computed exchange rates. Several mainstream AMM implementations are based on the constant-product model, which ensures that swaps preserve the product of the token reserves in the AMM - up to a trading fee used to incentivize liquidity provision. Trading fees substantially complicate the economic properties of AMMs, and for this reason some AMM models abstract them away in order to simplify the analysis. However, trading fees have a non-trivial impact on users' trading strategies, making it crucial to develop refined AMM models that precisely account for their effects. In this work, we extend a foundational model of AMMs by introducing a new parameter, the trading fee Ï â (0,1], into the swap rate function. Fee amounts increase inversely proportional to Ï. When Ï = 1, no fee is applied and the original model is recovered. We analyze the resulting fee-adjusted model from an economic perspective. We show that several key properties of the swap rate function, including output-boundedness and monotonicity, are preserved. At the same time, other properties - most notably additivity - no longer hold. We precisely characterize this deviation by deriving a generalized form of additivity that captures the effect of swaps in the presence of trading fees. In particular, we prove that when Ï < 1, executing a single large swap yields strictly greater profit than splitting the trade into smaller ones. Finally, we derive a closed-form solution to the arbitrage problem in the presence of trading fees and prove its uniqueness. All results are formalized and machine-checked in the Lean 4 proof assistant.
Do vulnerabilities in Decentralized Finance (DeFi) destabilize traditional short-term funding markets? While the prevailing ``Contagion Hypothesis'' posits that stablecoin reserve liquidations may transmit distress to traditional markets through fire-sale pressure, we document a short-horizon ``Flight-to-Quality'' pattern in the opposite direction. In the wake of major DeFi exploits, spreads on 3-month AA-rated commercial paper (CP) tend to narrow rather than widen. We interpret this pattern as consistent with a ``liquidity-recycling'' channel: capital leaving DeFi may be re-intermediated into traditional cash-management markets, with regulatory segmentation under SEC Rule 2a-7 making prime-eligible paper a plausible marginal destination. Because we do not directly observe daily fund-level routing into prime money market funds, this mechanism is inferred from pricing patterns and monthly holdings evidence rather than directly identified. The result is specific to exploit-driven operational shocks, this U.S. CP spread, and short event windows.
The research focuses on the mechanisms, challenges, and consequences that UHC reform in Kenya has, conceptualizing UHC as a long-term government policy project that cuts across the governance, financing, and state capacity nexus. Based on theoretical frameworks of policy learning, incrementalism, and institutional capacity, the article evaluates the effects of Kenya's devolved system of health and strategic purchasing mechanism on UHC implementation and equity outcomes. Using qualitative policy analysis of government reports and academic publications, the research unveils structural constraints of the social health insurance program over time, the presence of inequalities in the delivery of services, and constraints of governance that mitigate the effects of reforms. These results bring into focus the necessity to strengthen the institutional capacity, strategic purchasing, and intergovernmental mobilization to achieve equitable and sustainable UHC. The article is a policy theory contribution to intricate social reforms through the way in which iterative policy learning and governance structure frame reform paths in a lower- and middle-income setting.
This paper presents the complete architectural blueprint for the Ternary Logic (TL) Smart Contract Constitutional Suite, defining the structural layout across three layers: the Logic Layer housing the ternary decision engine, the Execution Layer enforcing state transitions, and the Storage Layer providing immutable audit infrastructure. The blueprint specifies the precise components, interactions, and logic required to implement the unique triadic state model of the TL framework: Proceed (+1), Epistemic Hold (0), and Refuse (1). The Epistemic Hold state is introduced as a constitutional pause mechanism, transforming deliberation from an operational liability into a cryptographically verifiable evidentiary asset. The fail-closed default posture ensures that any transaction whose evidence has not been archived returns State 0, making uncertainty constitutionally visible rather than operationally invisible. The No Log = No Action invariant G(execute implies P(escrow_recorded and auditable)) is enforced across five independent layers from API schema validation through the on-chain terminal gate in TL_Ledger_Core.registerPermissionToken. The Dual-Lane Latency Architecture establishes a 2ms WCET hard ceiling for the Inference Lane and a 300ms hard ceiling for the Governance Lane, with the execution gate releasing only after a valid PermissionToken has been registered on-chain. The blueprint covers Solidity implementation patterns, a TLA+ formal verification specification proving the Epistemic Hold safety and liveness properties, an Oracle-Custodian asynchronous callback architecture, and the Ghost Governance prevention mechanism ensuring no contract call is made without a valid PermissionToken from the Governance Lane. Use cases are demonstrated across Central Bank Digital Currencies, decentralized finance, supply chain management, and AI-driven decentralized autonomous organizations, establishing TL smart contracts as constitutional code where the rules of economic interaction are harder to break than traditional legal agreements.
Subject. This article discusses the peculiarities of forming a holistic approach to assessing human capital as an economic resource of regions to improve the efficiency of its use in the context of decentralization. Objectives. The article aims to study human capital as a factor in the economic growth of regions in the context of decentralization, identify interregional disparities in its development, and substantiate strategic areas for intensifying the formation, funding, and effective use of human potential at the territorial level. Methods. For the study, I used analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, abstraction, comparison, generalization, and systems and dialectical methods. Results. The article proposes strategic areas for intensifying and financing the development of human capital, taking into account modern challenges, and it pays particular attention to the institutional capacities of regions. The article substantiates current approaches to financing human capital in the context of the transition to a decentralization model, as well as in the systematization of data on investments in human resources for 20232025, and it formulates proposals for improving the sustainability of regional development through the optimization of inter-budgetary transfers, taking into account the existing interregional imbalances in the Human Development Index. Relevance. The results obtained have a certain practical value, as they can help regions more effectively utilize their potential, attract investment, create new jobs, and develop their own unique strategies for human capital development based on territorial characteristics.
Blockchain-based financial systems increasingly intersect with regulated domains, including stablecoins, real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, decentralized finance (DeFi), decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), and ESG-linked financial instruments. Existing blockchain insurance and underwriting models rely predominantly on probabilistic risk pricing derived from historical data, oracle-fed inputs, and machine learning inference. While sufficient for limited-scale applications, these approaches exhibit structural limitations when applied to high-volume, regulation-intensive systems. This paper demonstrates that probabilistic risk pricing alone imposes a fundamental scalability ceiling, as residual risk grows unbounded with system volume. We introduce a control-oriented risk mitigation framework based on the Crystal Validator (CV), which enforces execution-level compliance constraints prior to transaction finalization. By reducing compliance entropy through deterministic validation, CV bounds residual risk independently of transaction volume. We formalize this distinction using control theory, information theory, and cyber-physical systems (CPS) principles, and show why improved machine learning alone cannot resolve these limitations. The results establish control-oriented validation as a necessary architectural primitive for sustainable blockchain insurance and regulated on-chain finance.
This study aimed to develop a conceptual model for pricing digital assets by integrating behavioral finance perspectives and identifying psychological and social factors influencing investorsâ decision-making in decentralized markets. A qualitative grounded theory approach was adopted. The study involved 15 experts in digital currencies, blockchain, and behavioral finance selected through purposive sampling until theoretical saturation was achieved. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews and textual content analysis. Open, axial, and selective coding were applied to build the theoretical framework. Reliability was confirmed using quality control indices such as Krippendorffâs alpha, Holsti coefficient, Scottâs Pi, and Cohenâs Kappa, all indicating high inter-coder agreement. The resulting model captured multiple determinants of digital asset pricing. Causal factors included emotional and psychological behaviors (e.g., fear of missing out, fear and greed), the influence of news and media, and social association effects. Contextual factors encompassed uncertainty, ambiguity, and market volatility. Strategic factors such as market trust and credibility, investorsâ knowledge and awareness, and reference points were identified. Core conditions included regulatory and legal environments, technological infrastructure, and macroeconomic conditions. Consequences involved enhanced market transparency, analystsâ and advisorsâ influence, institutional and retail investor interactions, and the impact of past experiences on risk-taking. The proposed behavioral finance-driven model demonstrates that digital asset pricing extends beyond classical economic frameworks, heavily shaped by investor psychology and external information dynamics. The findings can guide investors toward more rational strategies and support policymakers in creating effective regulations and safer decentralized financial ecosystems.
<b><i>Governance Fork Farming</i></b> is a strategic exploitation pattern in decentralized finance (DeFi) and proof-of-stake (PoS) ecosystems where actors repeatedly engineer, anticipate, or provoke governance forks to extract economic rewards. By positioning capital, validator power, or voting rights ahead of contentious governance events, attackers harvest duplicated assets, incentives, or control advantages across forked states. This threat undermines governance legitimacy and destabilizes network continuity without violating protocol rules.
The convergence of fundamental blockchain technology with the Ethereum network has ushered in a new era of decentralized innovation, moving beyond simple cryptocurrency transactions to a programmable, trustless ecosystem. By introducing smart contractsâself-executing, automated agreementsâand the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), Ethereum acts as a decentralized \\\"world computer\\\" that allows for the creation of decentralized applications (dApps) across numerous sectors, including finance, healthcare, and supply chain management. In recent years, blockchain technology has gained significant attention for its potential in various domains. However, the lack of interoperability between different blockchain platforms poses a significant challenge in meeting the demands of the modern world. To address this issue, our research focuses on unlocking blockchain interconnectivity through smart contract-driven cross-chain communication. We aim to contribute to the development of a model that enhances the functionality and usability of blockchain technology. To achieve interoperability, we explore various options and leverage the power of smart contracts.
This article examines whether blockchain-based decentralization poses challenges to the legal order amenable to incremental regulatory adaptation, or with structural inadequacies in its very foundations. Legal orders presuppose the identification of subjects â natural persons, legal entities, public authorities â to whom rights and obligations are attributed. Attribution unfolds across three constitutive dimensions: territory, language, and embodied legal subjectivity. Blockchain technology and autonomous decentralized systems â Decentralized Autonomous Organizations, Decentralized Finance protocols â destabilize each, operating without identifiable centres of accountable authority. The challenge is therefore structural, not regulatory: as centres of attribution recede, legal categories lose the referent that grounds their meaning. Regulatory responses â the MiCAR Regulation, US enforcement actions â vest accountability in identifiable subjects. Integrating decentralized technologies thus brings to light the need to reconstitute identifiable centres of attribution: not a mere adaptation of the existing normative framework, but an exercise in institutional innovation.