The decentralization of international payments is emerging as a transformative trend in the global financial system, driven by blockchain technology, decentralized finance (DeFi), cryptocurrencies, and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). This paper explores the shift from traditional, centralized payment infrastructures toward decentralized alternatives, assessing their impact on transaction efficiency, cost reduction, financial inclusion, and financial stability. A special focus is placed on the evolving role of the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), historically the backbone of international cross-border payments. Through a combination of theoretical review and empirical time series analysis based on SWIFT message data from 2014 to 2022, the study evaluates SWIFTâs resilience and adaptation in the face of decentralization pressures. The findings reveal a permanent upward trend in SWIFT traffic, coupled with seasonal fluctuations, suggesting that while decentralization is expanding, SWIFT remains a central actor by innovating its infrastructure. The study also discusses the regulatory challenges posed by decentralized systems and the need for balanced frameworks to foster innovation while safeguarding stability. This research concludes that international payments, where traditional and decentralized models seem to coexist.
This article explores changes and trends in volatility pricing of Bitcoin (BTC), and analyzes its historical performance, key drivers, market dynamics and future prospects. By studying macroeconomic and technical indicators, we can fully understand Bitcoin's market behavior patterns and volatility patterns, and explore the impact of regulatory policies, market sentiment and institutional intervention on Bitcoin price.
Ovaj rad istraĆŸuje teorijske temelje i praktiÄnu primjenu dokaza nultog znanja u blockchain sustavima, s fokusom na Polygon zkEVM blockchain. Analiziraju se zk-SNARK i zk-STARK sustavi dokazivanja te njihova implementacija u ZK-rollup rjeĆĄenjima za poboljĆĄanje skalabilnosti blockchain mreĆŸa. Teorijska analiza pokazuje kako dokazi nultog znanja omoguÄavaju verifikaciju transakcija bez otkrivanja osjetljivih podataka, Äime se adresiraju izazovi privatnosti i skalabilnosti. PraktiÄni dio ukljuÄuje implementaciju decentralizirane aplikacije za glasovanje na Polygon zkEVM Cardona Testnet mreĆŸi, demonstrirajuÄi primjenu tehnologije u realnoj situaciji. Analiza transakcijskih podataka potvrÄuje znaÄajne uĆĄtede goriva kroz batch procesiranje transakcija u odnosu na direktno izvrĆĄavanje na Ethereum glavnom lancu. Rad identificira kljuÄne prednosti i ograniÄenja trenutnih implementacija te predlaĆŸe smjerove za buduÄa istraĆŸivanja u podruÄju post-kvantne kriptografije i hardverske akceleracije.
Solana is recognized for its innovative Proof of History consensus mechanism, a cryptographic method that enables validatorsâparticipants responsible for verifying transactionsâto efficiently record and order events without extensive communication, thus supporting high transaction rates. Despite its high-speed transactions capability, low cost transaction fees and significant market presence, it remains relatively underexplored in academic research. To address this gap, this paper uses graph-based modeling to analyze Solanaâs transaction network. The analysis reveals several interesting key characteristics, including a high concentration of transactions among central nodes, a prevalence of unidirectional transactions, and a low graph density. Moreover, we observe a significantly higher transaction failure rate (approximately 20% compared to 0.1% on Ethereum) and a substantial proportion of zero-value transfers (around 7.6% versus 0.66% on Ethereum). These findings shed light on underexplored aspects of Solanaâs ecosystem and provide insights that could influence future blockchain research and applications. The findings are particularly relevant for understanding behavior of blockchains with high transaction rates, and optimizing blockchain scalability and security.
Benjamin Gillen, Rashmi Ranjan Bhuyan, Gourab Mukherjee, Austin Pollok
The Ethereum blockchain plays a central role in the broader cryptocurrency ecosystem, enabling a wide range of financial activity through the use of smart contracts. This paper investigates how individual Ethereum wallets responded to the collapse of FTX, one of the largest centralized cryptocurrency exchanges. Moving beyond price-based event studies, we adopt a bottom-up approach using granular wallet-level data. We construct a representative sample of Ethereum addresses and analyze their transaction behavior before and after the collapse using an explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) framework. Our proposed framework addresses data scarcity in high-resolution wallet-level daily transactions by employing a calibrated zero-inflated generalized linear fixed effects model. Our analysis quantifies distinct shifts in transaction intensity and stablecoin usage, highlighting a flight to safety within the ecosystem. These findings underscore the value of a bottom-up methodology for quantifying the user-level impact of blockchain-based shocks, offering insights beyond traditional price-level analysis through wallet-level data.
Wallets are access points for the digital economys value creation. Wallets for blockchains store the end-users cryptographic keys for administrating their digital assets and enable access to blockchain Web3 systems. Web3 delivers new service opportunities. This chapter focuses on the Web3 enabled release of value through the lens of wallets. Wallets may be implemented as software apps on smartphones, web apps on desktops, or hardware devices. Wallet users request high security, ease of use, and access of relevance from their wallets. Increasing connectivity, functionality, autonomy, personal support, and offline capability make the wallet into the user's Universal Access Device for any digital asset. Through wallet based services, the owner obtains enhanced digital empowerment. The new Web3 solutionareas, Identity and Decentralisation, enable considerable societal effects, and wallets are an integral part of these. One example is self sovereign identity solutions combined with wallet borne AI for personalised support, empowering the enduser beyond anything previously known. Improved welfare is foreseen globally through enlarged markets with collaborative services with drastically lowered transaction costs compared to today, the expected vastly increased levels of automation in society necessitate enhanced enduser protection. As wallets are considered a weak spot for security, improving overall security through blockchains is essential.
This study investigates the effect of the regulatory framework in Nigeria, specifically Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations, and their influence on users' preference between centralized exchanges (CEX) and decentralized exchanges (DEX) in Nigeria. Using a quantitative study design, a purposive sampling method was used to select 358 Nigerians with cryptocurrency trading experience. Using a structured, self-administered questionnaire. The data were analysed using binomial logistic regression in SPSS. Results revealed that AML sensitivity was positively correlated with the use of DEX such that sensitivity to AML policy is likely to significantly raise the odds of the user choosing a DEX over a CEX. Conversely, KYC conditions were negatively correlated with the choice of the CEX, where the stricter the KYC requirements, the lower the odds of the user choosing a centralized exchange. The model also estimated overall classification accuracy at 70.7%, indicating the predictive ability of these regulatory forces. The study concludes that AML and KYC frameworks are major impetuses of exchange choice and recommends a tiered KYC system, users' education, and the use of privacy-enhanced protocols. It also emphasized the importance of the bilateral process between regulators and industry players in the creation of evenly weighted mechanisms that maximize compliance as well as the participation and trust of the users.
The rise of decentralized exchanges (DEXs) heralds a paradigmatic shift in financial tradingâfrom reliance on centralized intermediaries to peerâtoâpeer, trustless systems undergirded by blockchain and smart contracts. This article explores global trends in DEX innovation, the growth of decentralized finance (DeFi), and the evolving role of DEXs in reshaping capital markets. It also analyzes Indiaâs adoption trajectory, regulatory context, and early indicators from Tamil Nadu, including blockchain governance initiatives and nascent fintech activity. Simulated and reported data are integrated to provide projections and policy implications.
This paper examines the perceived risks and challenges associated with the adoption of cryptocurrencies. Using qualitative interviews with stakeholders across the fintech and blockchain sectors, the study identifies major deterrents including volatility, regulatory uncertainty, cybersecurity threats, and lack of consumer protection. The findings reveal how both emotional and cognitive perceptions of risk hinder broader public adoption. Many participants highlighted the influence of media sensationalism and anecdotal experiences, which amplify fears related to scams and technical complexity. Furthermore, perceptions varied significantly across user groups, with institutional investors focusing on legal ambiguity and operational risks, while retail users emphasized usability issues and fear of irreversible losses. Understanding these perceptions is critical to creating strategies for building user confidence, promoting safe practices, and ensuring sustainable growth in the cryptocurrency space. The study recommends the development of transparent regulatory guidelines, improved cybersecurity standards, and more user-friendly onboarding experiences. By addressing the psychological and structural barriers simultaneously, stakeholders can facilitate a more inclusive and secure environment for cryptocurrency adoption. This research contributes to the growing body of work examining behavioral finance in digital economies and underscores the importance of human-centric approaches in technology diffusion.
DeFi or Decentralized Finance aims to automate and decentralize any form of traditional finance workflow done by a centralized institution. In this regard, cross border payments and transactions in SAP ERPs can be automated and secured using DeFi protocols. Thus, this study aims to design a payment interface that would fit into SAP ERP frameworks capable of meeting the low-cost, automated, and secure requirements for cross-border payment transactions. Traditionally, payments were made via SWIFT and SEPA. The proposed model intends to replace these with DeFi transactions handled through smart contracts, oracles, and payment middleware. Focusing on results, transaction latency, smart contract auditability, saved costs, and compliance assessments were measured for Ethereum, BNB Smart Chain, and Polygon. Real SAP Business Environment pilots showed over 60% decrease in processing cost while settlement speed increased by up to 90%. The model is designed to handle enterprise risk and compliance by incorporating robust KYC/AML governance, validation, and logging controls. A roadmap for the incorporation of DeFi into enterprise ERPs at a large scale for finance automation will serve as the studyâs conclusion.
Abstract This study explores the factors that influence employeesâ intention to use distributed ledger-based smart contracts in supply chains, addressing a gap in current research by applying the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) to this emerging technology within logistics contexts. Based on a quantitative survey of employees in German supply chain companies, the study measured constructs such as performance expectancy, effort expectancy, and social influence. Using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM), the findings reveal that performance expectancy is a key driver of behavioural intention. In contrast, effort expectancy and social influence have no significant impact. Additionally, demographic variables such as gender, age, experience, and voluntariness do not moderate these relationships. These results highlight the central role of perceived performance benefits in shaping adoption intentions. As the first study to apply an adoption framework to smart contract use specifically in supply chains, it offers valuable insights into the socio-technical dynamics of technology acceptance at the employee level. The findings suggest that supply chain managers should focus on communicating and demonstrating performance gains, supporting adoption through pilot implementations, and providing targeted training initiatives to encourage the integration of smart contracts in operational processes.
Digitalization is reshaping global consumption patterns and exposing the limits of value-added tax (VAT) regimes designed for an analogue economy. While Brazilian tax-reform proposals focus on merging six cascading levies into a single VAT-style tax, this structural simplification alone will not align the system with the realities of cross-border electronic commerce. Drawing on OECD guidelines and the BEPS Action 1 report, this article reviews two decades of international debate on destination-based VAT, especially for business-to-consumer supplies of intangibles. It highlights the practical impasse surrounding customer identification, jurisdictional allocation and collection in high-volume, real-time digital marketplaces. The paper argues that recent suggestions to shift liability to dominant e-commerce platforms, although politically feasible, still rely on âverified self-identificationâ and fragmented registration procedures that are ill-suited to the velocity of automated transactions. As a forward-looking alternative, the study explores how distributed-ledger technologyâparticularly smart-contract-enabled split-payment mechanisms executed on blockchain networks and settled with central-bank digital currenciesâcould embed compliance by design, enhance traceability, and lower administrative costs for both taxpayers and revenue authorities. Implementation prerequisites (digital identities, standardized e-invoicing, regulatory sandboxes) and technological hurdles (scalability, interoperability, tokenization) are mapped, providing a research agenda for a VAT 4.0 architecture. The conclusion contends that harnessing blockchainâs immutability and programmability is essential for a resilient, fraud-resistant indirect-tax system capable of addressing the borderless nature of 21st-century commerce.
The emergence of Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) presents a fundamental challenge to the traditional corporate form, which has dominated economic organization for over a century. Built on blockchain technology, DAOs propose a new model for coordinating economic activity. This study addressed the critical question of institutional efficiency by applying the lens of Transaction Cost Economics (TCE) to compare DAOs and traditional corporations. A comparative institutional analysis was conducted using a mixed-methods approach. We employed a multiple case study design, analyzing two representative DAOs and two analogous traditional corporations from Q1 2023 to Q4 2024. Data collection involved the systematic analysis of archival records, including 215 DAO governance proposals and corporate filings, and 32 semi-structured interviews with key participants. A novel analytical framework was developed to categorize transaction costs into ex ante (search, bargaining) and ex post (monitoring, enforcement), further distinguishing between 'on-chain' and 'off-chain' costs. The study revealed significant trade-offs between the two organizational forms. Traditional corporations exhibited high ex ante bargaining costs (legal, negotiation) and ex post monitoring costs (managerial overhead), but benefited from established legal frameworks that reduced enforcement uncertainty. Conversely, DAOs significantly lowered specific transaction costs through automation via smart contracts, particularly in on-chain bargaining and enforcement for codified tasks. However, DAOs incurred substantial, often hidden, new transaction costs related to off-chain social coordination, governance participation, and navigating legal ambiguity. This was termed the 'Governance Overhead Paradox'. In conclusion, DAOs do not represent a universally superior organizational form but rather a new point on an institutional possibility frontier. They are highly efficient for tasks that are global, permissionless, and computationally verifiable. Traditional firms retain advantages in contexts requiring complex, subjective decision-making and legal certainty. The future of the firm is likely not a replacement of one form by the other, but a pluralistic ecosystem where hybrid models emerge.
ABSTRACT Blockchainâbased platforms can facilitate data sharing and coordination in interorganizational ecosystems by enabling secure, tamperâevident recordkeeping and streamlined, trustâminimized transactions across organizational boundaries. However, their decentralized architecture may conflict with the centralized control exercised by platform sponsors, giving rise to a centralizationâdecentralization paradox. This study explores how this paradox unfolds in a large, blockchainâbased logistics platform that was ultimately discontinued. Through an inâdepth, longitudinal case study, we identify three interrelated governance contradictionsâregarding ownership, trust, and growthâthat triggered destabilizing oscillations between centralized and decentralized governance modes. We introduce the concept of semirigid limits to capture the bounded flexibility within which governance can be made and adapted under such paradoxical conditions. Our findings show that the centralizationâdecentralization paradox is especially difficult to navigate when strategic boundary conditionsâhere, industry competition, fragmented coordination, and high interdependenciesâare present. Our study contributes to the paradox and governance literature by theorizing how governance contradictions emerge and persist and by identifying the mechanisms that constrain alignment and adaptation. We also offer guidance for managers in regard to addressing the competing demands of centralization and decentralization in interorganizational platforms.
Lending protocols are one of the main applications of Decentralized Finance (DeFi), enabling crypto-assets loan markets with a total value estimated in the tens of billions of dollars. Unlike traditional lending systems, these protocols operate without relying on trusted authorities or off-chain enforcement mechanisms. To achieve key economic goals such as stability of the loan market, they devise instead trustless on-chain mechanisms, such as rewarding liquidators who repay the loans of under-collateralized borrowers by awarding them part of the borrower's collateral. The complexity of these incentive mechanisms, combined with their entanglement in low-level implementation details, makes it challenging to precisely assess the structural and economic properties of lending protocols, as well as to analyze user strategies and attacks. Crucially, since participation is open to anyone, any weaknesses in the incentive mechanism may give rise to unintended emergent behaviours, or even enable adversarial strategies aimed at making profits to the detriment of legit users, or at undermining the stability of the protocol. In this work, we propose a formal model of lending protocols that captures the essential features of mainstream platforms, enabling us to identify and prove key properties related to their economic and strategic dynamics.
In recent years, technological advancements have significantly transformed the financial and business sectors. These innovations have introduced new payment methods, reshaping consumer perceptions of money and influencing their payment behaviors. Among these innovations, cryptocurrenciesâparticularly Bitcoinâhave emerged as novel alternatives with strong growth potential in retail and consumer services. This study investigates the factors influencing Bitcoin adoption by extending the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model. The extension includes usersâ predisposition to adopt new technologies, their risk acceptance, and the moderating role of familiarity. Data were gathered through an online survey from a validated sample of 515 active Bitcoin users, and the findings were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Results show that performance expectancy, social influence, hedonic motivation, and risk predisposition significantly impact the intention to use Bitcoin, with familiarity as a partial moderator. The study offers practical insights for companies and retailers integrating cryptocurrency payments.
Blockchain's economic value lies in enabling financial and economic transactions without relying on trusted, centralized intermediaries. In practice, however, transactions pass through a fragmented chain of intermediaries before being included on-chain. Because standard blockchain data reveal only the winning block, this process is largely unobservable. We address this limitation by constructing a novel dataset of 15,097 non-winning Ethereum blocks, that is, blocks proposed but not selected for inclusion. We show that 21% of user transactions are delayed: they appear in candidate blocks but not in the winning block, implying that fragmented routing materially affects inclusion time. We further show that execution quality varies substantially across candidate blocks: for the same swap, both execution probability and execution price differ across proposed blocks. To study these differences, we examine competition between two arbitrage bots trading between decentralized and centralized exchanges. We find that, conditional on inclusion in a block that also contains transactions from these bots, user swaps in the same (opposite) direction are less likely (more likely) to execute and receive worse (better) prices. These results show that routing and block composition are central determinants of execution quality and market quality in on-chain markets.
Ethereumâs transaction pool (mempool) dynamics and fee market efficiency critically affect transaction inclusion, validator workload, and overall network performance. This research empirically analyzes gas price variations, mempool clearance rates, and block finalization times in Ethereumâs proof-of-stake ecosystem using real-time data from Geth and Prysm nodes. We observe that high-fee transactions are consistently prioritized, while low-fee transactions face delays or exclusionâdespite EIP-1559âs intended improvements. Mempool congestion remains a key factor in validator efficiency and proposal latency. We provide empirical evidence of persistent fee-based disparities and show that extremely high fees do not always guarantee faster confirmation, revealing inefficiencies in the current fee market. To address these issues, we propose congestion-aware fee adjustments, reserved block slots for low-fee transactions, and improved handling of out-of-gas vulnerabilities. By mitigating prioritization bias and execution inefficiencies, our findings support more equitable transaction inclusion, enhance validator performance, and promote scalability. This work contributes to Ethereumâs long-term decentralization by reducing dependence on high transaction fees for network participation.
We construct an empirically founded model of a repo trade intermediated by two broker-dealers and prove multiple equilibrium and the existence of equilibrium at the joint profit maximizing volume of trade. We then present a smart contract that resolves multiple equilibrium by requiring each broker-dealer to report its client schedule and its minimum hurdle spread, and implementing a selection rule that filters out hurdle-infeasible outcomes. Whenever there exists an equilibrium that exceeds both hurdle spreads, the protocol selects the joint profit maximizing feasible trade and thereby avoids a collapse to no trade. The smart contract is a machine executed algorithm which eliminates the need for trust. Hardware and cryptography are used to prevent leakage of broker-dealer client trade schedules, and to enable privacy-protected auditing with zero-knowledge proofs of the integrity of computations. The outcome can be implemented by a myopic strategy where a broker-dealer truthfully reports its own variables without anticipating its counterparty's reports. This minimizes cognitive and computational complexity, thereby making our smart contract suitable for real-world deployment.
The rise of Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) is revolutionizing financial systems, introducing innovations such as programmable payments, and allowing Machine-to-Machine (M2M) payments, which are essential for Industry 4.0. Despite their potential, DLT-based financial systems face barriers, including operational efficiency, regulatory uncertainty, limited institutional acceptance, and challenges in integrating with conventional financial systems. Trigger solutions emerge as a promising approach to bridge these gaps by combining the programmability and immutability of DLT systems with the regulatory certainty and established trust of conventional financial systems. This work explores key requirements for trigger solutions to support interoperability between DLT-based and conventional financial systems, enabling high-frequency programmable payments and regulatory compliance for industry 4.0. We present a state channelâbased trigger solution ( SCTS ) tailored to meet industryâs requirements, offering a blueprint for integrating advanced payment capabilities into conventional financial systems. SCTS leverages the concept of justified trust-building on technological advantages to enable scalable programmable payments. We find that SCTS enables businesses to adapt to the technological demands of Industry 4.0.
Chrysostomos Apostolidis, Anthony Devine, Abdul Jabbar, YaĆanur Kayıkçı · 5 authors
Purpose Despite the increasing interest of organisations in integrating advanced digital technologies, many digital transformation efforts fail to deliver long-term, sustainable value to the organisations and the stakeholders. Focusing on the impact of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) in the Peer-to-Peer economy, as a case of digital transformation towards Industry 4.0, this conceptual study explores the role of algorithmic and organisational trust as facilitative drivers of sustainable digital transformation. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on Lewinâs change theory model, the study reviews and considers relevant literature on digital transformation, innovation and digital business models to support the development of a conceptual framework that explains the sustainable digital transformation process and explores the role of trust. Findings Drawing on Lewinâs change theory model and technology adoption literature, we reconceptualise digital transformation as a dynamic, non-linear process and identify four key phases in the sustainable digital transformation process (Initiating, Transforming, Re-positioning and Sustaining). We then explain the important role of algorithmic and organisational trust in sustainable digital transformation. Practical implications The study highlights the importance of trust for organisations, and explains how organisations can use blockchain-based technologies as intermediaries who take on the role of trust and the impact this has on the digital transformation process. Originality/value This paper contributes to existing literature on digital transformation in several ways. First, we reconceptualise the digital transformation process as a dynamic, non-linear process and develop a conceptual model for sustainable digital transformation following a âplan-action-result-evaluationâ strategic approach. Second, we argue that there is a relocation of trust, towards technology and organisations, which impacts further upstream in the digital transformation process. This paper integrates the discussion between trust (algorithmic and organisational) and digital transformation, highlighting the need for parallel processes in creating the conditions for a sustainable transformation process.
Flavio Corradini, Alessandro Marcelletti, Andrea Morichetta, Barbara Re
Blockchain technology has been widely adopted to enhance the security and the decentralisation of smart applications in large-scale pervasive systems. In such a context, data extraction is crucial as it provides a better understanding of the systemâs behaviours. However, several challenges arise in automatically extracting data, due to the variety of data sources, such as transactions, events, contract storage, and the complexity of the blockchain structure. In particular, retrieving smart contract state changes remains unexplored despite its potential usage for discovering unexpected behaviour. For such reasons, in this work, we propose a novel methodology and a supporting application for extracting smart contract state changes and other execution-related data. The obtained data is then decoded and offered in a standard format to be easily reused. The methodology provides additional functionalities such as transaction filtering and capabilities for querying over extracted data. The effectiveness and the performance of the methodology were evaluated on three real-world projects from different EVM-based blockchains.
Marco Bellucci, Damiano Cesa Bianchi, Luca Bagnoli, Giacomo Manetti
Purpose This study aims to understand the impacts of nonfungible tokens (NFTs) on business models (BMs), particularly in terms of enabling decentralization and digitalization through innovations in products, customer interfaces, infrastructure management and financial aspects. Design/methodology/approach By adopting a conceptual approach based on the BM framework proposed by Osterwalder and Pigneur, this study adopts a qualitative methodology based on multiple case studies such as those of Christieâs, OpenSea, Uffizi Gallery and Ticketmaster. Findings Despite the bursting of the speculative bubble, the exploratory findings suggest that NFTs can foster digitalization and decentralization within existing BMs while also presenting opportunities for new BMs that focus on simplifying and securing technology for customers to serve as intermediaries. Originality/value This study contributes to the specialized literature on the relationship between digital NFT innovation and related BM changes in different market niches within the digital marketplace ecosystem. Furthermore, this study of NFTs also contributes to the growing body of research on accounting and finance related to cryptoassets and digital innovation.