Blockchain Papers

Derek Liu, Francesco Piccoli, Victor S. Fang

No abstract is available for this record.

Xia Feng, Qichen Shi, Xingye Li, Haiyang Liu · 5 authors

No abstract is available for this record.

Sandra Uwantege Hart, Catherine Jones, Beatriz Carvalho

Anticipatory action (AA) refers to a series of interventions executed when a hazard presents imminent danger, as indicated by forecasts, early warnings, or pre-disaster risk analyses. It involves proactive measures undertaken by individuals or organizations before an expected disaster to lessen its impact on people, assets, and infrastructure likely to be affected. An increasing array of inter-governmental bodies, governments, United Nations entities, global non-governmental organizations, and Red Cross and Red Crescent movements, have been delving into and utilizing anticipatory action. It has been heralded globally by governments, donors and organizations alike as being a more protective, practical, and cost-effective method of disaster risk management. However, ongoing pilots by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and partners have exposed a significant level of friction between the capacity and speed of existing systems and stakeholders to execute these processes in a manner that is synchronized and timely enough to have the intended impact. This research investigates the potential of blockchain technology to streamline AA programs. It analyzes existing academic and non-academic sources (scholarly and gray literature) to develop a framework for identifying which blockchain applications can be most beneficial. By viewing smart contracts, data oracles, and decentralized finance (DeFi) as a toolbox, the framework examines how these technologies can be used to digitize and simplify AA processes. For AA practitioners, this approach offers a practical solution to potentially increase efficiency and speed within existing program structures. Additionally, it may have the secondary benefit of simplifying cash transfer delivery. Ultimately, this piece seeks to be more thought-provoking than prescriptive; as both areas of work (AA and blockchain technology) are continuously evolving, hopefully new cross-sectoral collaborations can ensue and provide more granular insights on what AA and blockchain synergies look like in practice.

Jin Cai, Gerard Pinto

Purpose This paper aims to improve how investors can better manage their exposure to bitcoin (BTC), given the growing importance of BTC and the accompanying high volatility of BTC. This paper tests whether altcoins can serve as safe havens and diversifiers against exposure to BTC. Design/methodology/approach Using daily returns of altcoins and BTC from 2014 to early 2022, this paper examines the relationship between altcoins and BTC in a GARCH regression framework. Findings This paper finds that altcoins act as reliable safe havens during periods of extremely negative BTC returns and provide BTC investors with diversification benefits during normal periods. The safe haven effect of altcoins is superior to that of conventional assets. This paper presents evidence that this safe haven property of altcoins can be attributed to the informational efficiency channel, which arose from the increased adoption of BTC by institutional investors. Research limitations/implications The study uses a data set from 2014 to early 2022. While the sample is among the largest samples in the literature on crypto assets and includes adequate BTC tail events to test the hypotheses, it may not capture more recent changes in the crypto markets. Practical implications The findings suggest that BTC investors can enjoy diversification and safe haven protections by including altcoins in their portfolios. Originality/value This paper’s focus on alternative cryptocurrencies (altcoins) as potential diversifiers and safe havens is original. The hypothesis about altcoins being better alternatives during extreme negative movements in BTC prices is a unique contribution. The test of the role of the information efficiency channel further enhances the paper’s originality.

Fatemeh Erfan, Martine Bellaïche, Talal Halabi

Selfish mining attacks pose a significant and ongoing security threat to blockchain networks, including major platforms like Bitcoin and Ethereum. Understanding and effectively countering these attacks is crucial for maintaining the stability and integrity of these networks. This attack strategy involves a miner or a group of miners seeking to gain an advantage by delaying the immediate broadcasting of their mined blocks to the network. The selfish miners potentially mine more blocks in secret, increasing their rewards at the expense of other miners and the stability of the blockchain. Research has mainly focused on detecting this attack by analyzing data related to blocks and forks. This paper presents a new approach to efficiently detect selfish mining attacks in large-scale networks by analyzing various network indicators. To achieve this, we simulate a Bitcoin network and generate a dataset consisting of several features of individual miners and the overall network. We select the most reliable indicators by analyzing network features and reducing feature dimensions. Then, we employ random forest classification (RFC) to classify benign and selfish network behaviors. This approach not only achieves enhanced accuracy (99.96%), surpassing state-of-the-art methods utilizing deep learning, but also significantly reduces computational, storage, and temporal complexities. In doing so, it fortifies blockchain security more efficiently and accurately.

Varsha Dev D, S Harikaran, J. Jayashankar

The deliberate fabrication of identity or information to deceive others, the unauthorised use of a credit card, debit card, or ATM, or the use of technology to transmit fraudulent information in an attempt to obtain money or valuables are all considered financial scams. There are many financial scams has been happening across the world, some of the example’s scams which happened in indie among that The Satyam Computers organizations shame was India's greatest corporate scam until 2010. The trailblazer and the heads of non mainstream based reexamining association Satyam PC organization, debased the records, expanded the proposition cost, and took enormous sums from the association a considerable amount of this was placed assets into property. This research paper covers Importance of the study, Objectives of the study, Why people should have an in depth study about Satyam computer and its various legal implication, Why people give valuable opinion and suggestion and also to create an awareness about financial scams and the stake holders, Legal compliance with fraud offense in India, Functions Of forensic accounting and it also explains about Examining financial information, bank statements, invoices, and other accounting records were all part of the forensic audit. and ends with how to prevent financial scams in India. Apparently corporate bookkeeping misrepresentation is a critical issue that is filling in both recurrence and seriousness, as confirmed by the instances of Enron, WorldCom, and Satyam. Research proof has exhibited that a rising number of false exercises have debilitated the respectability of financial reports, added to huge monetary misfortunes, and corrupted financial backers' certainty about the utility and unwavering quality of financial explanations.

J J Lohith, Kunwar Singh

No abstract is available for this record.

Jiacheng Yao, Maolin Wang, Wanqi Chen, Chengxiang Jin · 7 authors

The wide application of Ethereum technology has brought technological innovation to traditional industries. As one of Ethereum's core applications, smart contracts utilize diverse contract codes to meet various functional needs and have gained widespread use. However, the non-tamperability of smart contracts, coupled with vulnerabilities caused by natural flaws or human errors, has brought unprecedented challenges to blockchain security. Therefore, in order to ensure the healthy development of blockchain technology and the stability of the blockchain community, it is particularly important to study the vulnerability detection techniques for smart contracts. In this paper, we propose a Dual-view Aware Smart Contract Vulnerability Detection Framework named DVDet. The framework initially converts the source code and bytecode of smart contracts into weighted graphs and control flow sequences, capturing potential risk features from these two perspectives and integrating them for analysis, ultimately achieving effective contract vulnerability detection. Comprehensive experiments on the Ethereum dataset show that our method outperforms others in detecting vulnerabilities.

B. Divya, P Thara, S. Kavitha, Alvin Ancy A · 6 authors

In the developed financial services industry, identity is defined using government-issued identification cards. Nevertheless, the primary obstacles in the consolidation and authentication of these data in connection with large-scale anti-money laundering (AML) requirements have significantly increased the challenges for individuals seeking to enter the financial system. This renders it exceedingly unprofitable and a greater risk for banking systems to engage with developing economies that might lack even the most primitive forms of identification. Furthermore, the process of establishing a banking account is packed with difficulty as a result of protracted processing times, substantial report obligations, and ambiguity surrounding the utilization of confidential customer data. The objective of cash laundering is to return illegal funds to their source; therefore, money launderers typically employ robust financial structures to transport funds. Additionally, the level of money laundering activity may become more geographically concentrated as the amount of money laundered increases. For many years, the financial quarter has been working to reevaluate the concept of identity. Blockchain is an emerging computing structure that enables the integration of disparate data points from authoritative source vendors into a unified digital ledger of validated, unalterable, transparent, and cryptographically protected data. Furthermore, secrecy can be ensured by letting the appropriate person or group control how their identity is shared. A blockchain is a distributed, virtual ledger that is unchangeable and keeps track of transactions in chronological order and close to real time. In order for later transactions to be added to the ledger the community members also known also nodes, must agree on them. This establishes an ongoing management mechanism that oversees issues related to manipulation, errors, and statistics. After dispatch Information contained within a block cannot be altered or tampered with in a sequence, thereby generating a transparent and authentic file for the transaction.

George-Gabriel NISTORESCU

This study investigates the potential role of Bitcoin in terrorism financing by analyzing the decentralization and anonymity features of cryptocurrencies that facilitate illegal transactions. In the context of delayed regulatory capacity regarding innovations in financial technology, the study explores new opportunities for terrorism financing. International reports, such as that of the financial action task force on money laundering, highlight the growing risks of terrorism financing associated with virtual currencies like Bitcoin. While terrorist financing based on emerging technologies enables terrorist organizations to swiftly transfer funds globally, this phenomenon simultaneously increases the difficulties in combating terrorism financing at the national level. In light of this technological revolution and the expansion of terrorism, the study focuses on the interaction between Bitcoin and terrorism, exploring whether terrorist attacks significantly contribute to Bitcoin price fluctuations and to what extent the cryptocurrency may evolve into a currency used for terrorism financing.

Savva Shanaev, Efan Johnson, Mikhail Vasenin, Humnath Panta · 5 authors

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to estimate the implications of illicit market use for the value of Bitcoin in an event studies framework. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a data set of 58 state-level marijuana decriminalisation and legalisation bills and referenda in the USA in 2010–2022. Findings Decriminalisation is associated with a strong and consistent positive Bitcoin price response around the event, recreational legalisation induces a more ambiguous reaction and medical legalisation is found to have a negative albeit small impact on Bitcoin value. This suggests decriminalisation enhances shadow economy use value of Bitcoin, whereas recreational and medical legalisation are not consistently reducing illicit drug cryptomarket activity. The effects are robust to various estimation windows, in subsamples, and also when outliers, heavy tails, conditional heteroskedasticity and state size are accounted for. Originality/value New to the literature, the choice of US marijuana bills, specifically as sample events, is based on both theoretical and empirical grounds.

Guglielmo Cola, Michele Mazza, Maurizio Tesconi

This paper presents a case study of a cryptocurrency scam that utilized coordinated and inauthentic behavior on Twitter. In 2020, 143 accounts sold by an underground merchant were used to orchestrate a fake giveaway. Tweets pointing to a fake blog post lured victims into sending Uniswap tokens (UNI) to designated addresses on the Ethereum blockchain, with the false promise of receiving more tokens in return. Using one of the scammer's addresses and leveraging the transparency and immutability of the Ethereum blockchain, we traced the flow of stolen funds through various addresses, revealing the tactics adopted to obfuscate traceability. The final destination of the funds involved two deposit addresses. The first, managed by a well-known cryptocurrency exchange, was likely associated with the scammer's own account on that platform and saw deposits exceeding $3.5 million. The second address was linked to a popular cryptocurrency swap service. These findings highlight the critical need for more stringent measures to verify the source of funds and prevent illicit activities.

Dr.Abdul Basit Khan, Hira Farman, Saif Hassan, Moomal Seelro · 5 authors

Bitcoin is the most successful cryptocurrency with the highest market capitalization of up to 53%. Due to its pseudonymous mechanism, bitcoin is being utilized in a variety of illicit activities. It is noticed, around US$72 billions of unlawful activities per year involve Bitcoin. In this study, systematic literature review is conducted on the illicit use of bitcoin, and the measures required to counter the illicit activities using Bitcon. In this work, authors have managed to select 45 research articles published during 2018-2022. The synthesis of selected articles revealed that bitcoin is proliferating in darknet markets. It is used to make payments for criminal activities such as drug trafficking, money laundering, human trafficking, pornography, ransomware, and other criminal activities like contract killers, Ponzi schemes, and terrorism financing. By the findings from this study, out of45 research articles 24.4% articles claim that bitcoin has been used in drug trafficking whereas 17.7% believe that people use bitcoin for money laundering. Moreover, Blockchain identity flexibility, dissociative anonymity, and a lack of deterrence encourage users to perform illegal activities. At present, the research community is actively involved in proposing and designing innovative approaches tocounter the illicit use of bitcoin. However, these solutions are unable to stop the misuse of bitcoin.

Ms Parveen Mor, Rajesh Kumar Tyagi, Deepak Kumar Verma

No abstract is available for this record.

Rasoul Kiani, Victor S. Sheng

In recent years, emerging trends like smart contracts (SCs) and blockchain have promised to bolster data security. However, SCs deployed on Ethereum are vulnerable to malicious attacks. Adopting machine learning methods is proving to be a satisfactory alternative to conventional vulnerability detection techniques. Nevertheless, most current machine learning techniques depend on sufficient expert knowledge and solely focus on addressing well-known vulnerabilities. This paper puts forward a systematic literature review (SLR) of existing machine learning-based frameworks to address the problem of vulnerability detection. This SLR follows the PRISMA statement, involving a detailed review of 55 papers. In this context, we classify recently published algorithms under three different machine learning perspectives. We explore state-of-the-art machine learning-driven solutions that deal with the class imbalance issue and unknown vulnerabilities. We believe that algorithmic-level approaches have the potential to provide a clear edge over data-level methods in addressing the class imbalance issue. By emphasizing the importance of the positive class and correcting the bias towards the negative class, these approaches offer a unique advantage. This unique feature can improve the efficiency of machine learning-based solutions in identifying various vulnerabilities in SCs. We argue that the detection of unknown vulnerabilities suffers from the absence of a unique definition. Moreover, current frameworks for detecting unknown vulnerabilities are structured to tackle vulnerabilities that exist objectively.

Gulzar Jamil Safarli, Arzu Safarli

This comprehensive analysis delves into the intricate impact of cryptocurrency adoption on traditional banking systems. As cryptocurrencies achieve widespread acceptance, they challenge established norms of centralized control in financial transactions, necessitating a reconsideration of the resilience and adaptability of traditional banking models. The disruptive potential, particularly embodied in blockchain technology, prompts a critical evaluation of the ongoing transformation. The article scrutinizes the positive influence of cryptocurrencies on financial inclusion and accessibility, unlocking banking services for previously underserved populations. However, the decentralized and pseudonymous nature of cryptocurrencies introduces regulatory challenges, demanding a nuanced equilibrium between fostering innovation and ensuring compliance with anti-money laundering and know your customer regulations. Traditional banks respond by embracing blockchain technology, entering collaborative endeavors with cryptocurrency projects to augment operational efficiency and transparency. Nevertheless, the inherent volatility of cryptocurrencies poses systemic risks, necessitating adept navigation by traditional banking systems. The imperative for a delicate equilibrium between innovation and regulation emerges as pivotal for the harmonious coexistence of traditional banking and the ever-evolving cryptocurrency ecosystem. As the financial landscape undergoes profound changes, this analysis underscores the necessity for adaptability and a strategic alignment between traditional and innovative financial paradigms.

Daehan Kim, Doojin Ryu, Robert I. Webb

Abstract In the blockchain world, proof-of-work is the dominant protocol mechanism that determines the consensus of the ledger. The hashrate, a measure of the computational power directed toward securing a blockchain through proof-of-work consensus, is a fundamental measure of preventing various attacks. This study tests the causal relationship between the hashrate and the security outcome of the Bitcoin blockchain. We use vector error correction modeling to analyze the endogenous relationships between the hashrate, Bitcoin price, and transaction fee, revealing the need for an additional variable to achieve our aim. Employing a measure summarizing the growth of demand factors in the Bitcoin ecosystem indicates that hashrate fluctuations significantly influence security level changes. This result underscores the importance of the hashrate in ensuring the security of the Bitcoin blockchain.

Israel Cedillo Lazcano

It has been argued that technologies such as blockchain could provide financial systems and societies with a better infrastructural solution to process information and identify illegal transactions. Building on this idea, this paper argues that if payment systems are to take advantage of the properties that define distributed ledger technologies, they must build on those models that have delivered improved trust in our economies. Accordingly, the model presented in this paper is based on a universal digital ID that could be interoperable among different jurisdictions. Such a digital ID would rely on an explainable framework structured around an understanding of the role played by central banks, intellectual property rights and personal data protection in the processing of information. Understanding the interaction between these elements may be the first step towards a better understanding of the infrastructures employed to tackle illegal activities, which could in turn contribute to the successful development of the standards on which the next generation of suspicious transaction or order reports will be based.

Amit A. Rajdev, Amit Raninga, Kaushal Bhatt, Mr. Jeet Madhani

Cryptocurrency, as subset of virtual currencies, does not require presence of central authority and works on peer-to-peer exchange system. The speculative nature of cryptocurrency attracts many investors. The market for cryptocurrency is characterized by exponential growth and high volatility. The objective of this paper is to analyse the factors affecting acceptance of cryptocurrency in India by extending technology acceptance model (TAM). Using structured questionnaire, the data were collected from 269 respondents from Gujarat. Multiple linear regression was used for analysis purpose. The findings affirm that social influence, perceived trust and perceived ease of use were major predictors of the acceptance of cryptocurrency in India. However, perceived usefulness and regulatory support were not significantly associated with intention to invest in cryptocurrencies. The study provides valuable information to service providers based on survey results.

Cristina Carata, William J. Knottenbelt, Vali Malinoiu

Since the emergence of bitcoin, 14 years ago, cryptocurrencies and the blockchain technology that underpins these virtual currencies have experienced a rapid growth, with a plethora of applications emerging. While most popular applications of blockchain technology are in the business field, its main features – such as decentralization or enhanced security – make it suitable to redesign social, cultural and political realities such as the social contract that regulates the relationship between states and citizens. Blockchain-based applications have the potential to change social values and the social contract itself. This paper aims to discover if smart contracts and blockchain technology can bind the social contract between the state and its citizens in such a way as to reduce corruption and increase efficiency of service delivery. Further, the emergence of a new type of social contract will be investigated: the smart social contract. This new concept aspires to enhance Jean Jacques Rousseau's social contract with the benefits inherent in blockchain technology. It involves an automatic execution of the obligations that a government assumes through a certain program, determined by consensus by all the members of society. In case of non-fulfillment of the obligations, the persons /institutions responsible are sanctioned appropriate penalties. We implement and evaluate a prototype of a smart social contract in Solidity, finding that the contract is capable of automatic execution upon the achievement of predetermined conditions, such as the fulfillment of an obligation by a local government official.

Danielle Alves Batista

Purpose Fraud within the procurement process remains a persistent challenge, resulting in substantial financial losses and lack of social justice. This paper underscores the significance of records for the integrity of the procurement practices and proposes using blockchain technology to mitigate records fraud. Analyzing international regulations this paper highlights their emphasis on proper records management for promoting transparency, accountability, and integrity of procurement procedures. This paper aims to contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the relationship between records management and procurement accountability while addressing blockchain technology's innovative use in mitigating records forgery and omission. Design/methodology/approach This research involves a comparative analysis of international regulations investigating their directives on the relevance of records in public procurement and a survey of records fraud cases in the Brazilian context to illustrate the significance of the problem and to indicate how blockchain technology can be applied as a solution to ensure accountability and prevent records forgery and omission. Findings The findings highlight the explicit importance ascribed to proper records management by international regulations, and indicates how blockchain technology can serve as a valuable resource to reduce the records fraud opportunity in public procurement. Research limitations/implications The research does not consider context-specific regulations. The survey of frauds is limited to the Brazilian context. Originality/value This research introduces a pioneering approach by investigating the use of blockchain technology to combat records forgery or omission in public procurement procedures.

Chiara Ferri

The entry of new technological infrastructures into the financial markets poses serious concerns about the misuse of the economic system for illicit purposes, such as money laundering and financing of terrorism. Although there are cases in which this connection has already been discovered by malicious actors, distributed ledger technologies can nevertheless represent a powerful tool at the disposal of competent authorities to trace illicit flows and to better monitor risks in financial markets. However, this possibility may go through an interdisciplinary analysis of the phenomena. The search for alternative systems to move funds, rather than the traditional financial intermediaries, such as banks, is not a new circumstance and not necessarily for criminal purposes. Nevertheless, some of the already-known value transfer systems may benefit from the use of distributed ledger technology and make their detection more difficult. The European institutions are discussing the needed legislative packages to enforce the current regulations and to extend their application to the crypto space, as well as the establishment of a new competent authority.

Alexander Brechlin, Jochen Schäfer, Frederik Armknecht

In their study of the cryptocurrency exchange ShapeShift, Yousaf et al. (USENIX Security, 2019) have demonstrated that information provided by the APIs of exchange platforms can facilitate cross-chain traceability and thus severely hurt user privacy. Unfortunately, little empirical research on exchanges is available otherwise. In this paper, we replicate and extend the approach of Yousaf et al. by developing new methods to extract transactions using the public blockchain and the interface of the cryptocurrency exchange Evonax. We are able to identify 30,402 transactions between the launch of Evonax in February 2018 and December 31, 2022, which should be close to a complete set of all transactions. This allows us to generate deep insights into the operations of the platform as well as the behavior of its users.

James Yae, George Zhe Tian

No abstract is available for this record.