The convergence of the real world with virtual and augmented reality, known as the “Metaverse,” is gaining momentum, threatening to upend multiple global industries. It's undeniable that people are incredibly interested in the Metaverse. Although Blockchain is still in its infancy, it is already vital to the growth of the digital economy. The blockchain technology that underpins cryptocurrencies and NFTs (NonFungible Tokens) is useful for tracking the supply and circulation of digital currencies and for governance, transparency, ease of access, and interoperability purposes. Given its infinite potential, the Metaverse has ushered in a period of rapid expansion across many of the economy's most important industries, real estate included. Metaverse platforms were being set up by people with sway in the blockchain or cryptocurrency industries so that they could acquire virtual real estate as NFTs, develop it, and stake it. Metaverse marketplaces create a virtual space using VR, Blockchain, and NFT technology, then sell access to that space to consumers in the form of NFTs. Even though many Metaverse services offer free accounts, cryptocurrency is required when buying or trading virtual assets on platforms that use the Blockchain. To buy and sell virtual assets on several blockchain-based platforms, such as Decentraland's MANA and Sandbox's SAND, Ethereum-based crypto tokens are required. Non-fungible tokens and cryptocurrencies are used by various blockchain-based platforms today, facilitating the development, acquisition, and monetization of distributed digital assets. As centralized data storage has many drawbacks, the Metaverse concept lacks Blockchain. Blockchain's global reach and decentralized nature as a digital source fundamentally set the Metaverse apart from the capabilities of the classic internet, which, of course, takes the form of websites and applications. Without needing a trusted third party or governing body, the blockchain-based Metaverse makes all internet data accessible. This chapter mainly focuses on blockchain-enabled Metaverse platforms, which are still developing augmented and virtual reality tools to enable user interaction with the environment.
Roberto A. Pava-Díaz, Juan Manuel Sánchez Céspedes, Oscar Danilo Montoya
This article presents a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of the indexed academic literature on the application of distributed ledger technology (DLT) and blockchain in the tourism industry. Using the bibliometrix library within the RStudio environment, key bibliometric indicators were examined in order to characterize the evolution, structure, and thematic focus of this emerging field of research. The systematic literature review, which adhered to PRISMA guidelines, involved retrieving publications from the Web of Science and Scopus databases. A curated dataset of 100 relevant documents was identified and analyzed in terms of annual scientific production, leading journals, influential authors, and highly cited publications. The results indicate that blockchain technology dominates the literature, with a strong emphasis on its potential to enhance trust, transparency, and efficiency in tourism-related processes. In particular, identity management, secure transactions, and disintermediation emerge as central research themes, reflecting blockchain’s capacity to support decentralized, immutable, and privacy-preserving interactions between tourists and service providers. Overall, the findings reveal a rapidly growing and increasingly structured body of knowledge, highlighting emerging research directions and technological challenges for future studies on DLT applications in tourism.
Mohammed Dawood Dawood, Syed Saif Ullah Hussaini, Mohd Zain ul Abeddin, Bishal Hizli Hizli
Cryptocurrencies have emerged as a disruptive force in global finance, challenging traditional banking systems through decentralization, transparency, and borderless transactions. Initially perceived as speculative assets, cryptocurrencies have increasingly gained institutional recognition, raising important questions regarding their financial role, regulatory governance, and long-term sustainability. This study adopts a qualitative-dominant mixed-method approach based on secondary data analysis. Data were collected from peer-reviewed journals, institutional reports, regulatory documents, and reputable market analyses published over the last decade. Thematic and descriptive analyses were employed to examine trends in cryptocurrency adoption, regulatory responses, technological innovation, and sustainability efforts. The findings indicate that cryptocurrencies have evolved into recognized financial assets, with growing institutional participation and expanding applications in cross-border payments and decentralized finance. However, significant challenges persist, including regulatory fragmentation, cybersecurity risks, market volatility, and environmental concerns related to energy-intensive mining. Regulatory milestones such as the European Union’s MiCA framework demonstrate progress toward legal harmonization, while technological innovations such as Layer 2 solutions, interoperability protocols, and Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanisms support scalability and sustainability. The discussion links these findings to Technology Acceptance and Innovation Diffusion theories, showing that institutional adoption is driven by perceived usefulness, regulatory legitimacy, and technological compatibility. Market Regulation and Institutional theories further explain divergent national regulatory approaches and increasing global coordination efforts. Sustainability considerations emerge as a critical determinant of long-term viability, shaping both technological development and policy intervention. Cryptocurrencies represent a transformative element of the global financial system, offering opportunities for efficiency, inclusion, and innovation.
Світлана Володимирівна Ковальчук, Віталій Григорович Федоришен
The article explores the fundamental essence and strategic role of investment capital within the context of the dynamic development of the stock market amidst the global digitalization of the economy. The authors conduct a comprehensive analysis of the conceptual apparatus, focusing on refining the definition, classification, and multifaceted functions of investment capital as a core resource for ensuring the financial stability of enterprises and maintaining a high level of liquidity in the securities market. Particular attention is paid to the transformation of capital from traditional forms into digital assets, a process that is fundamentally reshaping the architecture of modern financial relationships and global capital flows. The study demonstrates that the synergy between investment capital and digital technologies critically enhances market transparency, minimizes transaction costs, and accelerates the execution of financial operations. The research details the impact of cutting-edge technologies, such as blockchain-based trading, artificial intelligence for predictive analytics, and decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, on the efficiency of capital allocation. Based on an empirical analysis of statistical data for the period 2021–2025, the correlation between investment capital inflows and key market capitalization indicators is identified. The paper further examines the influence of digital platforms on asset structures, price dynamics, and the overall resilience of the stock market to extreme volatility and external economic shocks. The authors reveal that digitalization acts as a powerful catalyst for the redistribution of capital i favor of high-tech sectors of the economy, thereby altering traditional investment paradigms. Furthermore, the research substantiates practical recommendations for stimulating the effective use of capital through the development of robust fintech infrastructure, the adaptation of regulatory frameworks to the requirements of the digital era, and the implementation of comprehensive programs to enhance digital financial literacy among market participants. The findings of the study demonstrate that the active involvement of investment capital under the conditions of stock market digitalization enhances the international competitiveness of the national economy and contributes to the sustainable development of the financial system. This article will be of significant value to researchers, financial sector practitioners, and investors interested in modern approaches to capital management and the evolution of the stock market under the ongoing pressure of digital transformation and technological progress.
Fintech enterprises operate at the intersection of rapid technological innovation and stringent regulatory oversight, creating a complex organizational challenge. This review systematically examines organizational restructuring strategies that enable fintech firms to balance innovation and compliance. Drawing on the concepts of ambidexterity and contingency theory, the paper analyzes functional, divisional, matrix, and networked structures, highlighting their respective advantages and limitations for fostering innovation and ensuring regulatory adherence. Cross-functional teams, hybrid models, and embedded compliance practices emerge as key enablers for achieving dual objectives. The synthesis provides practical guidance for managers seeking to design adaptable organizational architectures, while also offering theoretical contributions to the literature on innovation management and regulatory alignment. Future research directions include cross-country comparisons, longitudinal studies, and exploration of emerging fintech models such as decentralized finance platforms.
Muhammad Zeeshan Ullah Khan, Syed Imran Zaman, Sharfuddin Ahmed Khan
This chapter explores how blockchain-enabled smart contracts can revolutionize supply chain finance (SCF) by reducing operational costs, mitigating fraud, and expediting settlements. Although SCF is recognized for its capacity to improve liquidity and foster trust, it grapples with fragmented documentation, manual oversight, and information asymmetries, particularly in complex industries like agriculture. Blockchain as a decentralized and tamper-proof ledger, addresses these pain points by creating a single, shared version of transactional data across stakeholders. When applied to SCF, blockchain’s transparency and permanence can encourage financial institutions to offer more favo rable loan terms, while its security features deter fraud and unauthorized data manipulation. A central element of blockchain’s promise in SCF is the smart contract, self-executing code that performs contractual obligations once specific triggers are met. By automating tasks such as invoice verification, payment releases, and milestone tracking, smart contracts eliminate the need for third-party enforcement and accelerate the cash conversion cycle. This automation proves especially beneficial in multilateral trade finance, reverse factoring, and agricultural financing, where timely and accurate exchanges of data underpin credit decisions. The upshot is lower transactional friction, improved traceability, and an enhanced ability to manage credit risk, all of which can unlock new opportunities for smaller suppliers and underserved markets.
Contemporary organizational ecosystems are critically vulnerable in third-party risk management frameworks due to centralized databases, fragmented documentation systems, and manual processes of assessment. Traditional approaches result in huge inefficiencies through redundant audits, version control complexities, and delayed responses for compliance along multi-jurisdictional vendor networks. The blockchain architecture introduces a fundamental architectural transformation through distributed ledger mechanisms, creating immutable audit trails, cryptographic verification protocols, and decentralized trust formation across organizations. The article reviews how blockchain works as an integrity infrastructure within regulatory technology ecosystems, allowing the automation of compliance through smart contracts, making transparent records available for authorized stakeholders, and removing single-point vulnerabilities from centralized control systems. The technical mechanisms for implementation include immutable vendor record systems, which integrate fragmented documentation into unified, tamper-proof ledgers; smart contract automation that allows deterministic outcomes in governance; and distributed assurance networks, which allow audit verification among multiple organizations. Regulatory dimensions are related to preserving privacy through hybrid on-chain and off-chain architectures, legal recognition challenges of smart contracts within jurisdictional frameworks, and ethics in governance requirements for human input within automated ecosystems of decisions. Implementation challenges involve the complexity of legacy system integration, the development of a structure for consortium governance, scalability constraints, and the scarcity of talent. Future trajectories include hybrid ecosystems, integrating blockchain's immutability with advanced analytics, tokenized reputation frameworks, and integrations with emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and digital identity systems toward next-generation vendor risk governance.
Financial identity systems were built for humans. Know-Your-Customer (KYC), Anti-Money Laundering (AML), and beneficial ownership frameworks assume that economic actors are natural persons or legally incorporated entities. That assumption no longer holds. Autonomous artificial intelligence agents now negotiate contracts, execute procurement, trade digital assets, allocate treasury capital, and conduct cross-border transactions without real-time human intervention. Yet these agents possess no formal financial identity. This article introduces Know-Your-Agent (KYA)—a governance framework that extends financial identity infrastructure beyond humans to autonomous systems. Article argue that AI agents operating in financial contexts must be identifiable, accountable, auditable, and risk-classified. We develop a layered identity architecture, outline an agent risk scoring model, explore behavioral drift monitoring, analyze legal liability structures, and examine regulatory implications across jurisdictions. Through detailed use cases in retail procurement, decentralized finance (DeFi), enterprise treasury management, and IoT payment ecosystems, we demonstrate why KYA is not optional but foundational for the next generation of digital trust infrastructure. The article concludes with a strong future research agenda spanning explainability standards, cross-jurisdictional identity portability, agent-to-agent contract governance, systemic risk modeling, and the emergence of AI insurance markets.
Anthony Chidi Nzomiwu, Scholastica Chidkodilri Uzondu
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) signifies not just a technological advancement but a profound transformation in financial governance, shifting power from traditional hierarchical intermediaries to autonomous, self-executing code. This article, grounded in institutional economics and legal theory, posits that DeFi introduces a novel governance framework in which trust is embedded in deterministic protocols rather than vested in individuals or institutions. By examining the four fundamental DeFi primitives—decentralized exchanges, lending platforms, programmable derivatives, and automated financial operations—we illustrate how programmable rules disintermediate conventional fiduciary responsibilities and enforcement mechanisms. A detailed case study of Compound’s governance evolution highlights both the potential for increased efficiency and the rise of new accountability challenges. We identify a critical tension: while automated rule enforcement minimizes transaction costs and mitigates principal-agent issues, it concurrently diminishes contestability, adaptability, and avenues for redress—elements vital for robust financial systems. The article concludes by proposing a hybrid governance framework that retains the efficiency of code while reintroducing deliberative safeguards, providing pathways for regulators, protocol developers, and scholars to navigate the re-integration of finance in a post-intermediary landscape.
Blockchain technology and smart contracts have revolutionized the way financial transactions are conducted in virtual environments. This review paper provides a comprehensive overview of the role of blockchain technology and smart contracts in shaping the future of virtual financial transactions. We explore the fundamentals of blockchain technology, its applications in the financial industry, and the pivotal role that smart contracts play in automating and securing virtual financial transactions. Furthermore, we discuss the benefits, challenges, and prospects of these innovations within the virtual financial landscape.
Through its decentralized architecture, blockchain technology has become a transforming paradigm in the banking sector, revolutionizing established procedures. This study analyzes the dynamic convergence of blockchain and finance, with an emphasis on smart contracts' essential role in altering financial transactions. It adds to the expanding knowledge of the practical uses and possibilities of this technology in the banking industry by investigating the uses, problems, and prospects of smart contracts within the financial environment. This research study digs into the many uses, effects, problems, and prospects of smart contracts in the banking industry. This chapter attempts to give a full knowledge of how smart contracts are revolutionizing financial processes and determining the future of the financial sector through theoretical studies.
Old economy banking infrastructure systematically bars billions of people across the globe from fundamental financial services by way of insurmountable documentation barriers, exorbitant fee systems, and geographic reach that disproportionately affect developing economy populations. Local currency instability and hyperinflation further enhance these problems by decimating savings and buying capacity, locking communities in vicious cycles of economic instability. Blockchain and decentralized financial protocols appear as revolutionary solutions that democratize access to finance using only internet connectivity, removing intermediaries and institutional gatekeeping systems. Dollar-pegged stablecoins bring much-needed stability to volatility in currencies without sacrificing the accessibility advantages of distributed ledger infrastructure. Decentralized lending protocols produce legitimate returns by linking borrowers and lenders via algorithmic interest rate models, which are transparently operated without central decision-making power. Self-custody wallets function as complete pseudo-bank debts supplying global attain and continuous accessibility, allowing customers to keep, transmit, and hold digital property without requiring institutional approval or extensive documentation. Clever contracts execute mechanically primarily based on predetermined conditions, disposing of human intermediaries at the same time as ensuring transparency via immutable public blockchain information. Revolutionary regulatory frameworks establish sandbox environments that facilitate controlled experimentation with blockchain-based economic services, enabling innovation even as preserving customer protection requirements. Mobile-first user experience design with support for local languages answers the specific needs of developing market populations relying solely on internet access via mobile devices. Intersecting these technological advancements makes financially independent ecosystems possible for serving previously excluded communities through yield-producing instruments and barrier-free cross-border payment capabilities.
Guma Ali, Otim Emmanuel, Maad M. Mijwil, Bosco Apparatus Buruga · 6 authors
The rapid digitalization of financial services has given rise to smart finance ecosystems that integrate FinTech platforms, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, cloud infrastructures, and decentralized applications. While these systems enhance automation, operational efficiency, and financial inclusion, their highly distributed, data-intensive architectures introduce critical security, privacy, and trust challenges. In this context, artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain have emerged as complementary technologies capable of addressing these challenges through intelligent decision-making, advanced threat detection, data integrity, and transparent operations. This survey provides a comprehensive review of recent research on securing smart finance systems using AI- and blockchain-based approaches. The survey comprehensively analyzed research published between 2023 and 2026 using the Scopus database, focusing on the keywords “AI,” “blockchain,” and “smart finance.” The analysis reveals extensive use of AI-driven security mechanisms, including credit scoring and risk assessment, transaction monitoring and fraud detection, anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer compliance, identity verification, cyber threat detection, smart contract security analysis, behavioral biometrics, insurance fraud detection, and market risk prediction. In parallel, the survey examines blockchain-enabled security solutions, including secure payment and settlement systems, cross-border remittances, AML and counter-terrorism financing frameworks, digital identity management, smart contracts, asset tokenization, decentralized finance, auditability, and secure interbank communication. The integration of AI and blockchain offers significant advantages, including improved fraud detection accuracy, enhanced transparency and traceability, stronger data integrity, automated compliance, real-time threat response, and increased system resilience. Despite these benefits, key challenges persist, particularly in scalability, privacy preservation, interoperability, regulatory and ethical compliance, energy efficiency, explainability, and post-quantum security. The survey concludes by outlining future research directions and design guidelines for developing secure, scalable, and trustworthy smart finance systems that effectively leverage the integration between AI and blockchain.
Étudier le Bitcoin avec des méthodes de sciences sociales computationnelles Cette thèse étudie l'émergence, l'évolution et les dynamiques internes du Bitcoin en tant que système sociotechnique et économique. Conçu initialement comme une alternative radicale à la finance traditionnelle, le Bitcoin visait à décentraliser le système économique, à éliminer les intermédiaires et à favoriser l'autonomie. Pourtant, plutôt que d'instaurer un nouvel ordre financier, des structures et des modèles similaires à ceux des marchés traditionnels se sont rapidement constitués. Cette similarité croissante soulève donc des questions fondamentales sur les mécanismes qui régissent la trajectoire du Bitcoin, sa pérennité et ses implications pour la finance mondiale. S'appuyant sur un jeu de données répertoriant quinze années de transactions, cette thèse combine analyse de réseau, modélisation temporelle de réseau et modélisation multi-agents pour saisir la complexité du Bitcoin. L'analyse montre que, malgré des fondements idéologiques profondément enracinés dans la décentralisation, le Bitcoin a évolué vers un réseau hautement centralisé et concentré. La richesse, l'activité et l'influence s'accumulent de plus en plus au sein d'un petit groupe d'acteurs, créant des goulots d'étranglement et des dynamiques de stabilisation qui ressemblent aux structures financières traditionnelles. La thèse explore plus en détail les réactions du Bitcoin à l'incertitude et aux chocs exogènes, notamment lors de l'effondrement de Mt. Gox en 2014 et de la pandémie de COVID-19 en 2020. Les résultats indiquent que, si le système s'adapte par la reconfiguration du réseau, ses réponses sont asymétriques : la crise de Mt. Gox a engendré des changements structurels durables, tandis que la pandémie a déclenché des ajustements rapides mais temporaires. Ces derniers ressemblent aux schémas de reconfiguration observés sur les marchés traditionnels et révèlent l'influence croissante de la participation institutionnelle, qui amplifie la volatilité à court terme tout en renforçant la stabilité à long terme. Enfin, un modèle multi-agents calibré empiriquement du trading de Bitcoin démontre comment les comportements au niveau micro, en combinant les préférences de prix et de réseau, reproduisent les tendances de concentration et de centralisation au niveau macro. Ce modèle met en évidence l'influence des interactions en réseau et de la dynamique comportementale sur les asymétries structurelles du système. Dans l'ensemble, la thèse révèle de fortes similitudes entre le Bitcoin et les marchés financiers traditionnels, remettant en question les discours sur la décentralisation et l'autonomie radicale de cette cryptomonnaie. Loin de nourrir une utopie libertaire, le Bitcoin a convergé vers des logiques de marché familières, soulevant des questions sur sa viabilité à long terme, ses risques systémiques et son intégration réglementaire.
The financial services sector is experiencing unprecedented transformation through the adoption of virtualization technologies, encompassing cloud computing and edge computing digitalization initiatives that fundamentally alter operational paradigms and competitive dynamics within the industry. This systematic literature review employed a comprehensive methodology, analyzing peer-reviewed articles, systematic reviews, and industry reports published between 2016 and 2025 across three primary technological domains, utilizing thematic content analysis to synthesize findings and identify key implementation patterns, performance outcomes, and emerging challenges. The analysis reveals consistent evidence of positive long-term performance outcomes from virtualization technology adoption, including average transaction processing time reductions of 69% through edge computing implementations, substantial operational cost savings and efficiency improvements through cloud computing adoption, while simultaneously identifying critical challenges related to regulatory compliance, security management, and organizational transformation requirements. Virtualization technology offers transformative potential for financial services through improved operational efficiency, enhanced customer experience, and competitive advantage creation, though successful implementation requires sophisticated approaches to standardization, regulatory compliance, and change management, with future research needed to develop integrative frameworks addressing technology convergence and emerging applications in decentralized finance and digital currency systems.
Meenal R. Kale, Yogesh Mehta, Kathari Santosh, A. Annie Lotus · 6 authors
In fast-moving business environments, timely and reliable service delivery is required, although the traditional methods of verification are seldom accountable and transparent. Veritime addresses these issues through an automated verification system based on blockchain, smart contracts, and IoT sensors. It enables secure delivery verification, automated payment upon successful delivery, and real-time tracking of shipment by using cryptographic passphrases from Ethereum contracts and IoT-enabled containers. The key elements in Veritime involve the sender, receiver, blockchain network, IoT sensors, and the MQTT server. Developed in Python, Veritime topped the benchmark for performance and delay in power efficiency and packet delivery compared to traditional systems. Gas cost analysis showed that functions like “Register Manufacturer” and “Assign Distributor” consume 47,335 and 56,789 transaction gas, confirming the efficiency and reliability of the system.
Imran Yousaf, Shahzad Ijaz, Shoaib Ali, Yanshuang Li
This study examines the dynamic relationships between green cryptocurrencies and US equity sectors, particularly in light of the recent decline in the US equity sector performance, the surge in digital asset popularity, and the need for sustainable investment options. Using the TVP-VAR framework, we find that the Utilities and Energy sectors, along with XNO, are the largest recipients. In contrast, the Industrials, Materials, and Consumer Discretionary sectors are the largest senders of return spillover. These findings indicate that green cryptocurrencies are weakly connected with the US equity sectors and can offer diversification benefits for US equity sector portfolios. Overall, volatility and return spillovers are dynamic in nature, with stronger volatility connectedness than returns. Our findings show that VIX, DXY, and EPU (Clean, D10Y-2Y, OVX, GPR, FFR) increase (decrease) the systems’ connectedness, highlighting the influence of various macroeconomic factors on market connectedness. The portfolio analysis highlights the diversification and hedging role of green cryptocurrencies against stocks, which is beneficial for portfolio and equity risk managers. Our findings can inform the integration of green cryptocurrencies into sustainable finance frameworks and guide regulatory oversight of digital assets based on their risk transmission patterns, thereby developing sectoral guidelines under ESG-driven mandates, particularly in relation to energy transition goals.
Kassem Danach, Hassan Rkein, Ahmad Farroukh, Ziad E. L. Balaa · 5 authors
The static and hard-coded logic of smart contracts in Decentralized Finance (DeFi) platforms significantly limits their adaptability in dynamic and volatile market environments. To address this challenge, we propose a novel hyper-heuristic driven framework that enables real-time rule optimization within smart contracts, thereby enhancing responsiveness, gas efficiency, and operational robustness. The framework features a two-layer architecture: a reinforcement learning-based high-level controller selects appropriate low-level rule heuristics from a domain-specific library based on evolving transaction contexts and on-chain data. Implemented and evaluated on Uniswap v2 and Aave v3 protocols, the system dynamically optimizes parameters such as slippage tolerance, gas usage thresholds, and loan-to-value ratios. Experimental results on real-world datasets show significant performance improvements, including a 45.6% increase in transaction success rate, 28.3% reduction in average gas consumption, and 38.4% drop in liquidation events under market stress scenarios. This research demonstrates the feasibility and advantages of embedding intelligent, adaptive decision-making mechanisms within DeFi smart contracts, opening new pathways toward autonomous, resilient, and regulation-aligned blockchain systems.
Much of the enthusiasm surrounding blockchain adoption in public governance is speculative, often overlooking real-world implementations as well as conflating sectors with distinct institutional and technical challenges. To ground the discussion, this chapter focuses on one specific application: blockchain-based voting (BBV), long regarded as a promising use case for the technology. We explore why, despite a substantial body of literature, BBV has seen very limited adoption in both public and private elections. The chapter then turns to voting practices within Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) and the broader crypto industry, which may offer insights into possible future trajectories for BBV. We conclude by reflecting on the wider implications of blockchain technologies for the transformation of public governance.
The convergence of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), blockchain, and big data analytics is transforming the governance, sustainability, and resilience of modern banking ecosystems. This study provides a multivariate bibliometric analysis using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of research indexed in Scopus and Web of Science to explore how decentralized digital infrastructures and AI-driven analytical capabilities contribute to sustainable financial development, transparent governance, and climate-resilient digital societies. Findings indicate a rapid increase in interdisciplinary work integrating Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) with large-scale data processing, federated learning, privacy-preserving computation, and intelligent automation—tools that can enhance financial inclusion, regulatory integrity, and environmental risk management. Keyword network analyses reveal blockchain’s growing role in improving data provenance, security, and trust—key governance dimensions for sustainable and resilient financial systems—while AI/ML and big data analytics dominate research on predictive intelligence, ESG-related risk modeling, customer well-being analytics, and real-time decision support for sustainable finance. Comparative analyses show distinct emphases: Web of Science highlights decentralized architectures, consensus mechanisms, and smart contracts relevant to transparent financial governance, whereas Scopus emphasizes customer-centered analytics, natural language processing, and high-throughput data environments supporting inclusive and equitable financial services. Patterns of global collaboration demonstrate strong internationalization, with Europe, China, and the United States emerging as key hubs in shaping sustainable and digitally resilient banking infrastructures. By mapping intellectual, technological, and collaborative structures, this study clarifies how decentralized intelligence—enabled by the fusion of AI/ML, blockchain, and big data—supports secure, scalable, and sustainability-driven financial ecosystems. The results identify critical research pathways for strengthening financial governance, enhancing climate and social resilience, and advancing digital transformation, which contributes to more inclusive, equitable, and sustainable societies.
This paper introduces a robust, scalable, and flexible workflow architecture designed to overcome longstanding challenges in the financial services sector. Financial institutions often face operational bottlenecks due to fragmented legacy systems, redundant Know Your Customer (KYC) procedures, and manual, error-prone processes. To address these inefficiencies, we propose a secure, distributed architecture leveraging the Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) of R3 Corda to ensure immutable, auditable, and tamper-resistant records. The system integrates RESTful APIs to abstract the underlying blockchain complexity, providing seamless interoperability between banking systems and third-party services. Key modules include automated KYC verification, loan processing, and document authentication, which collectively reduce processing times, lower operational risk, and enhance regulatory compliance. To ensure user accessibility, the system features an intuitive graphical user interface (GUI) developed with Bubble.io, creating a seamless and efficient mechanism for end-to-end loan life cycle management. The system's modular architecture is validated through extensive testing, including Cypress-based automation, and is designed for future scalability, positioning it as a forward-thinking solution for broader adoption of blockchain in digital financial services.
The subject of the stud y is a digital token in a cross–border payment infrastructure (hereinafter referred to as CBPI) based on distributed ledger technology (hereinafter referred to as DLT). The purpose of the work is to analyze and scientifically evaluate methodological approaches to the formation of CBPI. The relevance of the work is due to the atmosphere of uncertainty and growing risks of external impact on the cross-border payment infrastructure that the Russian Federation has faced in recent years, as well as the need to address the challenge of ensuring accessibility, continuity, sustainability and security of its operation. As a result of the research, using heterodox, systemic, structural-functional, cybernetic, pragmatic and institutional approaches, the economic characteristics of the payment token have been developed and presented, including the most significant ones for the smooth implementation of cross-border payment transactions. It is concluded that the existing approaches make it possible to determine the main economic characteristics of a digital token in a cross-border payment infrastructure based on DLT, including security, cost stability, liquidity, volatility, as well as auxiliary ones — interoperability, scalability, transactional neutrality, economic isolation.
Blockchain ecosystems, particularly decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms, have become high-value targets for adversaries exploiting vulnerabilities in smart contracts. Traditional honeypots designed to attract such attackers are often static and easily detectable once adversaries recognize repeating patterns. In this paper, we propose Adaptive AI-Powered Smart Contract Honeypots (AASCH), a novel deception-based security mechanism that dynamically evolves its behavior using reinforcement learning techniques. The honeypot continuously adapts to attacker strategies by modifying contract responses, transaction logic, and resource interactions in real time, thereby creating an unpredictable deception environment. We implement AASCH on the Ethereum test network and simulate various exploit scenarios, including reentrancy attacks, flash-loan exploits, and oracle manipulations. Experimental results demonstrate that AASCH significantly improves attacker capture rates (up to 37% higher than static honeypots) while reducing evasion attempts and false positives. Our findings indicate that adaptive deception is a promising defense strategy for strengthening blockchain ecosystems against evolving cyber threats.