Jan 1, 2024·Proceedings of the ... Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences/Proceedings of the Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences
Wieland Müller, Shahper Richter, Michael Leyer, Alexander Richter
Fueled by recent technological developments and reinvigorated through the hype around the Metaverse concept, virtual worlds are becoming increasingly popular as platforms for social interaction, entertainment, and commerce. This study applies transaction cost theory to explore smart contracts' potential in virtual worlds, specifically Decentraland, Sandbox, and Roblox. By assessing process costs, we gauge the feasibility and usability of these decentralized worlds in line with the Metaverse vision. Our findings indicate that the concept and implementation of smart contracts are still nascent and require enhancements from technical, organizational, and user standpoints. Our study contributes to a better understanding of smart contracts' current value in virtual worlds and points to future research directions for optimizing their use.
With the rise of blockchain technology, the security issues of smart contracts have become increasingly critical. Despite the availability of numerous smart contract vulnerability detection tools, many face challenges such as... | Find, read and cite all the research you need on Tech Science Press
Smart contracts are computer programs running on blockchains to automate the transaction execution between users. The absence of contract specifications poses a real challenge to the correctness verification of smart contracts. Program invariants are properties that are always preserved throughout the execution, which characterize an important aspect of the program behaviors. In this paper, we propose a novel invariant generation framework, INVCON+, for Solidity smart contracts. INVCON+ extends the existing invariant detector, InvCon, to automatically produce verified contract invariants based on both dynamic inference and static verification. Unlike INVCON+, InvCon only produces likely invariants, which have a high probability to hold, yet are still not verified against the contract code. Particularly, INVCON+ is able to infer more expressive invariants that capture richer semantic relations of contract code. We evaluate INVCON+ on 361 ERC20 and 10 ERC721 real-world contracts, as well as common ERC20 vulnerability benchmarks. The experimental results indicate that INVCON+ efficiently produces high-quality invariant specifications, achieving a recall of 80%, which can be used to secure smart contracts from 17 types of common vulnerabilities.
The combination of blockchain technology and smart contracts has become a viable way to expedite claims processing and payouts in the quickly changing insurance industry. Enhancing efficiency, transparency, and reliability for the industry may be achieved by automating certain procedures and initiating them on predetermined triggers, smart contracts that is event-based. Conventional insurance procedures can be laborious, slow, and prone to human mistake, which can cause inefficiencies and delays in the resolution of claims. This research proposes a simplified system that automates the whole claims process from submission to reimbursement by utilizing blockchain technology and smart contracts. The suggested method does away with the requirement for human claim filing by having policyholders' claims automatically triggered by predetermined occurrences. These occurrences might be anything from medical emergencies to natural calamities, enabling prompt and precise claim start. The whole claims process is managed by smart contracts that are programmed with precise triggers and conditions, guaranteeing transaction immutability, security, and transparency. Moreover, reimbursements are carried out automatically after the triggering event has been verified, disregarding conventional bureaucratic processes and drastically cutting down on processing times. This strategy decreases the possibility of fraud and disagreement while also improving operational efficiency by combining self-executing contracts with decentralized ledger technology. Insurance companies and policyholders will both eventually profit from an accelerated, transparent, and reliable claims processing procedure thanks to the use of event-based smart contracts. A Python-implemented system achieving 97.6% accuracy using the proposed method, demonstrates its efficacy and reliability for the given task.
Abstract Blockchains are decentralized systems that provide trustable execution guarantees through the use of programs called smart contracts. Smart contracts are programs written in domain-specific programming languages running on blockchains that govern how tokens and cryptocurrency are sent and received. Smart contracts can invoke other smart contracts during the execution of transactions initiated by external users. Once deployed, smart contracts running code cannot be modified, so techniques like runtime verification are very appealing for improving their reliability. Moreover, the conventional model of computation of smart contracts is transactional: once operations commit, their effects are permanent and cannot be undone. Therefore, errors in smart contracts may lead to millionaire losses of money. In this paper, we present the concept of future monitors which allows monitors to remain waiting for future transactions to occur before committing or aborting. This is inspired by optimistic rollups, which are modern blockchain implementations that increase efficiency (and reduce cost) by delaying transaction effects. We exploit this delay to propose a model of computation that allows bounded future monitors. We show our monitors correct respect with legacy transactions, how they implement bounded future monitors and how they guarantee progress. We illustrate the use of bounded future monitors by implementing correctly multi-transaction flash loans.
Corporate governance encompasses a set of processes, customs, policies, laws, and institutions that affect how a corporation is directed, administered, or controlled. Technology both enhances and disrupts the traditional board-centric corporate governance system, enhancing efficiency and transparency while introducing new challenges and risks. In this work we examine three key themes comprehensively: the redefinition of information and information asymmetry through the generation of and access to big data; blockchain technology’s transformative potential for aggregating preferences and exercising shareholder voting rights while blurring the line between securities and tokens; and the impact of smart contracts and their underlying infrastructure on the expansion of contracts and the implementation of decentralized governance through decentralized autonomous organizations. These innovative technological solutions empower stakeholders to exercise governance rights effectively, but their complexity also gives rise to new barriers and inequalities. As technology evolves, collaboration among researchers, policymakers, and practitioners is imperative to ensure that corporate governance remains effective and responsive to the current dynamic business environment.
The insurance industry plays a vital role in the global financial system, providing individuals and businesses with protection against various risks. However, traditional insurance models face challenges such as inefficiencies, lack of transparency, and limited accessibility. The emergence of decentralized finance (DeFi) presents a unique opportunity to transform the insurance industry by leveraging blockchain technology and smart contracts. This paper explores the potential of DeFi in revolutionizing insurance practices and addressing the limitations of conventional insurance models. The article begins by providing an overview of the current state of the insurance industry, highlighting its importance and the challenges it faces. It then introduces the concept of DeFi, its underlying principles, and the role of blockchain technology and smart contracts in enabling decentralized financial applications. The paper argues that DeFi has the potential to transform the insurance industry in three key aspects: improving efficiency and reducing costs through automated claims processing and reduced administrative overhead; enhancing transparency and trust by leveraging immutable and auditable records on the blockchain; and expanding accessibility and inclusivity by lowering entry barriers for consumers and providing opportunities for underserved markets. The paper also discusses the challenges and considerations associated with the adoption of DeFi in insurance, including regulatory compliance, scalability limitations, interoperability issues, and the need for education and awareness among stakeholders. Real-world examples and case studies of decentralized insurance platforms, such as Etherisc and Nexus Mutual, are presented to demonstrate the feasibility and potential benefits of DeFi insurance solutions. The article concludes by emphasizing the transformative potential of DeFi in creating a more efficient, transparent, and inclusive insurance ecosystem. It calls for further research and exploration to fully understand the implications of DeFi in insurance and highlights the importance of collaboration and experimentation in driving its successful adoption. As the insurance industry faces increasing pressure to adapt to the digital age, embracing change and innovation through DeFi becomes crucial for its long-term sustainability and growth.
Thi-Thu-Huong Le, Jeunhui Kim, Sangmyeong Lee, Howon Kim
The rapid expansion of blockchain technology, particularly Ethereum, has driven widespread adoption of smart contracts. However, the security of these contracts remains a critical concern due to the increasing frequency and complexity of vulnerabilities. This paper presents a comprehensive approach to detecting vulnerabilities in Ethereum smart contracts using pre-trained Large Language Models (LLMs). We apply transformer-based LLMs, leveraging their ability to understand and analyze Solidity code to identify potential security flaws. Our methodology involves fine-tuning eight distinct pre-trained LLM models on curated datasets varying in types and distributions of vulnerabilities, including multi-class vulnerabilities. The datasets-SB Curate, Benmark Solidity Smart Contract, and ScrawID-were selected to ensure a thorough evaluation of model performance across different vulnerability types. We employed over-sampling techniques to address class imbalances, resulting in more reliable training outcomes. We extensively evaluate these models using precision, recall, accuracy, F1 score, and Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) curve metrics. Our results demonstrate that the transformer encoder architecture, with its multi-head attention and feed-forward mechanisms, effectively captures the nuances of smart contract vulnerabilities. The models show promising potential in enhancing the security and reliability of Ethereum smart contracts, offering a robust solution to challenges posed by software vulnerabilities in the blockchain ecosystem.
In recent years, the Ethereum blockchain has seen significant growth and adoption.One of the key factors of its success is the possibility to run immutable programs known as smart contracts.Smart contracts allow for the automatic manipulation of digital assets and play a central role in the new decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem.With the growth of DeFi, the interactions between smart contracts have become increasingly complex, enabling advanced financial protocols and applications.However, bugs in smart contract interactions are also a common cause of critical vulnerabilities that result in considerable financial losses.In this paper, we study and detect a type of cross-contract vulnerability known as a storage collision.A smart contract uses storage to persistently store its data on the blockchain.Typically, each contract has its own separate storage.However, it is also possible that two smart contracts share their storage (using a delegate call).Unfortunately, when these two contracts have different understandings of the types/semantics of their shared storage, a storage collision vulnerability can occur.This may lead to unexpected behavior such as denial of service (frozen funds), privilege escalation, and theft of financial assets.To detect and investigate the impact of storage collision vulnerabilities at scale, we propose CRUSH, a novel analysis system that discovers these flaws and synthesizes proof-of-concept exploits.We leverage CRUSH to perform a large-scale analysis of 14,237,696 smart contracts deployed on the Ethereum blockchain since its genesis.CRUSH identifies 14,891 potentially vulnerable contracts and automatically synthesizes an end-to-end exploit for 956 of them.Our system uncovers more than $6 million of novel, previously unreported potential financial damage caused by storage collision vulnerabilities.
Oleksandr Letychevskyi, Volodymyr Peschanenko, Maksym Poltoratskyi, Olga Konnova
Blockchain and smart contracts have transformed the modern world.They help ensure security and trust in transactions, revolutionize finance, logistics, healthcare, and many other industries.Smart contracts are based on software code, so they can contain errors that lead to incorrect execution of the contract.Since the area of use of smart contracts is often related to finance, the cost of such errors can be quite high.Also, errors in smart contracts that have already been sent to the network cannot be corrected due to the immutable nature of the blockchain.This problem can be solved through smart contract code analysis, which allows developers to check the correctness of their code and protect it from possible errors and vulnerabilities. This article proposes the use of insertional modeling to analyze smart contract code for the Algorand blockchain. This blockchain is one of the fastest, low-cost, carbon-negative blockchains that has advanced smart contract capabilities with low transaction fees. The language used to create smart contracts in Algorand is called Transaction Execution Approval Language (TEAL).In this work, we review existing tools for TEAL code verification and describe the capabilities that each of them provides.Among these tools are Graviton, Tealer, Algo Builder/runtime.In this paper we describe the features of the TEAL language, as well as give examples of writing a smart contract using it.We offer our method for verification created smart contract.It consists in using the algebraic approach, which is implemented in the scope of the insertion modeling system to verify the smart contract code.This approach will allow us to check the smart contract code for some state reachability and deadlocks.
Andrew Ebekozien, Clinton Aigbavboa, Samuel Adeniyi Adekunle, Mohamad Shaharudin Samsurijan · 7 authors
Abstract Studies have demonstrated that advanced technology, such as smart contract applications, can enhance both pre- and post-contract administration within the built environment sector. Smart contract technology, exemplifying blockchain technologies, has the potential to improve transparency, trust, and the security of data transactions within this sector. However, there is a dearth of academic literature concerning smart contract applications within the construction industries of developing countries, with a specific focus on Nigeria. Consequently, this study seeks to explore the relevance of smart contract technology and address the challenges impeding its adoption, offering strategies to mitigate the obstacles faced by smart contract applications. To investigate the stakeholders, this research conducted 14 virtual interview sessions to achieve data saturation. The interviewees encompassed project management practitioners, senior management personnel from construction companies, experts in construction dispute resolution, professionals in construction software, and representatives from government construction agencies. The data obtained from these interviews underwent thorough analysis employing a thematic approach. The study duly recognizes the significance of smart contract applications within the sector. Among the 12 identified barriers, issues such as identity theft and data leakage, communication and synchronization challenges, high computational expenses, lack of driving impetus, excessive electricity consumption, intricate implementation processes, absence of a universally applicable legal framework, and the lack of a localized legal framework were recurrent impediments affecting the adoption of smart contract applications within the sector. The study also delves into comprehensive measures to mitigate these barriers. In conclusion, this study critically evaluates the relevance of smart contract applications within the built environment, with a specific focus on promoting their usage. It may serve as a pioneering effort, especially within the context of Nigeria.
The secure and efficient sharing of healthcare data is crucial in the rapidly evolving healthcare landscape. This paper addresses the critical need for secure and efficient healthcare data sharing in today's rapidly evolving healthcare landscape. While sharing health information can significantly improve healthcare quality and treatment coordination, challenges like security, privacy concerns, data consistency, and timely access across healthcare facilities remain. To overcome these obstacles, our proposed solution harnesses Ethereum Blockchain technology, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and the Health Level 7 standard (HL7). This integrated approach redefines data modeling, creating a flexible and scalable system that prioritizes medical data and service privacy and security. The fusion of AI and Ethereum Blockchain technology effectively tackles Health Information Exchange challenges. Additionally, our BERT-CNN classifier, achieving an impressive 94.2% accuracy, excels in classifying medical data, outperformed MLP, SVM, and Random Forest classifiers. We employ modern cryptographic methods like Fully Homomorphic Encryption over the Torus (TFHE) to ensure secure computation and protect sensitive medical data. These strategies promise more effective and secure medical data sharing, leading to improved patient care, advances in medical research, and increased confidence across the healthcare ecosystem.
Elie Nasr, Farid Nakhle, Joe Nasr, Omar El Khatib · 5 authors
In our digitally advanced age, research continually propels innovation across diverse tech sectors, including data analysis, AI, and blockchain. A notable focus has emerged on transforming conventional notary services using blockchain technology. Despite technological strides, certain basic tasks remain inconvenient, often requiring physical presence. For instance, tasks like granting access to a car necessitate a third-party notary, leading to delays. The concept of digitizing notary services through blockchain offers a solution. By leveraging blockchain's secure and transparent framework, parties could potentially engage in agreements without traditional notaries. This shift simplifies agreement processes while enhancing efficiency and security through blockchain's immutable nature. In essence, the paper explores the potential of using blockchain to reshape notary services for the digital era. This adaptation could redefine small contracts, eliminating the need for physical notaries and introducing a more efficient and secure validation system.
Neeti Misra, T. J. Rao, Sumeet Gupta, Mark Laurence Zammit
Blockchain has the power to change how insurance firms conduct business. Blockchain can help operators to save money and time, improve transparency, abide by rules, and develop better goods and markets. Insurers are inherently competitive in a highly competitive market where both individual and corporate customers expect the highest profitability and a superior online experience. In the insurance sector, blockchain technology represents an excellent transformational and growth opportunity. Insurance can be purchased through a blockchain account, which provides greater automation and a tamper-proof audit trail through the use of smart contracts and decentralised applications on Ethereum. The low cost of smart contracts and associated fees, in particular, means that many items will be more competitive in limited markets in developing countries. Ultimately, the burgeoning blockchain economy will need its own insurance. Cyber insurance covers coverage (technology and software projects) with extensions and approvals for monetary losses (hot wallets and exchanges), species and crime (cold wallets and vaults), professional liability (developers), and guarantors can be used as a template for [ 1 ]. 220 This study reveals the most fascinating aspects of blockchain technology that have paved new opportunities for the insurance industry using blockchain technology. This research addresses the use of smart contracts in blockchains, where information is secure and automated so that a specific type of payment contract can be entered into without human intervention. It also discusses the challenges and concerns that insurance companies may have with regard to the use of blockchain technology. Finally, barriers and obstacles to the adoption of blockchain technology in the insurance industry are discussed through a number of case studies.
This chapter examines the implications for law and regulation of the use of smart contract technology in insurance policies. It sets out the uses to which smart contract technology can be put and the potential benefits it brings to the insurer-customer relationship. These benefits include (i) the design of products that are more responsive to customer needs and (ii) prompter pay-outs upon the occurrence of a covered loss. The chapter demonstrates that a clear benefit of the technology is that it can respond to customer demand by ensuring clear outcomes upon the occurrence of a loss. However, the introduction of this technology can cause disruption to law and regulation in a number of ways, namely, disruption to legal doctrine, disruption to the regulatory environment, and disruption to specific regulatory objectives such as consumer protection. The chapter analyses disruptive tendencies and makes the following findings: (i) that both legal doctrine and the rules of conduct of business regulation may evolve in certain directions in response to the changes wrought by the introduction of the technology into insurance contracting; and (ii) that the regulatory environment will need to develop so as to simultaneously enable beneficial innovation and maintain proper safeguards for insurers’ customers. This chapter assumes the application of English law, but the principles of law considered are likely to have their equivalent in most jurisdictions with corresponding relevant implications for smart contracts.
Le Cong Trinh, Vu Trung Kien, Trinh Minh Hoang, Nguyen Huu Quyen · 7 authors
In this paper, we present a comprehensive approach for efficient vulnerability detection in Ethereum smart contracts using a multimodal deep learning (DL) approach. Our proposed approach combines two levels of features in smart contracts, including source code, bytecode, and utilizes BERT and Bi-LSTM models to extract and analyze the features. The last layer of our multimodal approach is a fully connected layer that predicts the vulnerability in Ethereum smart contracts. We address the limitations of existing deep learning-based vulnerability detection methods for smart contracts, which often rely on a single type of feature or model, resulting in limited accuracy and effectiveness. The experimental results show that our proposed approach achieves superior results compared to existing state-of-the-art methods, demonstrating the effectiveness and potential of multimodal DL approaches in smart contract vulnerability detection.
This chapter explores the evolution of financial engineering and its implications for the future. Financial engineering plays a crucial role in shaping the financial industry by developing innovative solutions and managing risks. Understanding its historical development, advances, challenges, and future prospects is essential for practitioners, policymakers, and researchers. The methodology employed in this study consists of a comprehensive literature review and secondary data analysis. Academic papers, industry reports, books, and reputable online sources were reviewed to gather relevant information. Data analysis involved qualitative and quantitative techniques to extract insights from the literature and empirical studies. The paper discusses the origins of financial engineering, highlighting the early milestones of the Black-Scholes-Merton model and the subsequent growth of the derivatives market. It examines the impact of securitization and structured finance on financial engineering practices. Furthermore, it explores the advances in technology, such as computing power and data availability, the rise of algorithmic trading and quantitative investing, and the innovations in pricing and valuation models. Lessons from the past, particularly the global financial crisis of 2008, have influenced regulatory reforms and enhanced risk management practices in financial engineering. The importance of transparency and ethical considerations in financial engineering is emphasized. The paper also explores emerging trends, including sustainable finance and the integration of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors, cyber security and risk management, algorithmic trading and quantitative investing, as well as digital assets and decentralized finance (DeFi).Financial engineering continues to evolve in response to technological advancements, regulatory reforms, and emerging trends. Integrating artificial intelligence and machine learning, addressing the regulatory challenges of digital assets, promoting ethical considerations, and fostering cross-disciplinary collaboration are crucial for the future of financial engineering. This research paper provides valuable insights into the past, present, and future prospects of financial engineering, serving as a foundation for further research in this field.