During the past decades, many cryptographic standards and solutions were proposed and used for various applications, such as e-voting, agriculture systems, etc. However, due to security issues, confidentiality, privacy, and latency, the systems were not able to survive. Thus, in year 2008, to tackle the aforementioned problems, Satoshi Nakamoto introduced the blockchain concept. Blockchain is a decentralized architecture that stores encrypted form of data in the chain of blocks using hashing algorithms. Today, blockchain technology is widely used in different domains, such as academics, intellectual property rights, agriculture, banking, aircraft, e-voting, car sharing, supply chain, healthcare, and the Internet of Things. However, with the exponential growth of BC-based healthcare systems, security and privacy issues for clinical trials and patient data are facing major challenges. Thus, writing an efficient smart contract for healthcare 4.0 is still a major challenge due to latency, execution time, gas fee consumption, and transaction cost. Motivated from the aforementioned facts, this chapter focuses on how to write an efficient smart contract in the healthcare sector. The chapter identifies some of the recent advancements done so far in different blockchain-based healthcare applications, such as biomedical, genomics, prediction of disease, electronic health records, and pharmaceuticals. The chapter also discusses some of the most important tools and frameworks, such as Hyperledger Fabric, Ethereum, Geth, Ganache, Truffle, etc., that help build decentralized frameworks. Also, efficient smart contract performance analysis tools such as Mythrill, Slither, Solidity static analyzer, Oyente, Securify, and SmartCheck are also discussed. These tools help in easy detection and analysis of the bugs and vulnerabilities of the smart contract and thus help build an effective and efficient healthcare system. Finally, the chapter discusses the building of smart contract in Remix IDE using Solidity. The chapter explains the usage and working of Solidity static analyzer to debug code and reduce vulnerabilities. Different screenshots are also provided to help researchers better understand the chapter. Thus, this chapter helps readers easily understand the concept of blockchain and effective smart contract execution in healthcare 4.0 industry, along with in-depth knowledge of different performance analysis tools.
Cryptocurrency continues to be accepted globally, but many individuals (investors) still hesitate to use it (invest). Therefore, this study examines the predictive model of investors’ behavioral intentions to invest in Cryptocurrency by considering the following factors: experience, trust, social influence, and attitudes. Questionnaires were distributed online to the Cryptocurrency community in DKI Jakarta. Questionnaire data were analyzed using multivariate statistics: structural equation modeling based on variance (PLS-SEM). The study’s results prove that attitude, perceived trust, and social influence positively and significantly affect behavioral intention. Furthermore, social influence and perceived experience positively and significantly affect perceived trust. Finally, perceived trust has a positive and significant effect on attitude. This finding contributes to investment behavior by examining the determinants of adopting blockchain technology in the form of Cryptocurrency.
Testing is an integral process in the development life cycle of a Smart Contract, especially considering the immutable nature of blockchains. Thus, rigorous testing of smart contracts is necessary to identify defects or vulnerabilities and correct them before deployment. This proactive approach prevents any unfair advantages that may be exploited by one or more entities within the smart contract. In this paper, we present a three-layered approach for prioritizing test cases using gas consumption values and frequency of test case targeting methods, aiming to enhance the efficiency of the testing process. We illustrate our approach by applying to the smart contract Ballot. sol. We used the Ethereum Virtual Machine environment, and generated test cases using the Bounded Model Checker engine of the Solidity compiler. Additionally, we created manual test cases to simulate real-time smart contract behavior. We use the test cases of the Ballot.sol contract to showcase the prioritized list of test cases along with their respective individual and cumulative statement coverages. Our approach offers a faster testing environment for smart contract deployment.
Blockchain is a distributed digital ledger system that enables the safe, transparent, and decentralised management of records. Rather than being managed by a single central authority, it is essentially a database of transactions. A block of transactions is created in a blockchain network once each transaction has been confirmed by a number of network nodes. A block that has been added to the chain cannot be changed after that point, creating a tamper-proof record of all network transactions. Blockchain has numerous other possible applications than cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, which is occasionally the case. For instance, they can be applied to voting procedures, supply chain management, and even digital identity management. The security of blockchain is one of its main advantages. In this paper, we discussed the blockchain is exceedingly hard to tamper with because each transaction is confirmed by many network nodes. Blockchain technology does, however, have significant drawbacks. A blockchain, for instance, may take a lot of computing power to maintain, and the number of transactions that can be executed each second may be constrained. Additionally, since blockchain transactions are irreversible, there is no way to get back any money that has been misplaced or stolen.
Blockchain technology has revolutionized the way in which financial transactions are conducted. It has made possible secure financial management and digital transaction systems that are faster, more secure, and more reliable than traditional payment methods. Blockchain technology offers increased efficiency, trustworthiness and transparency to its users. The Blockchain works by creating a shared, distributed ledger of transactions. Each transaction is cryptographically secure and immutable, and all participating nodes have identical copies of the ledger. This ensures that transactions are traceable and secure, eliminating traditional problems such as double spending or fraudulent activities. Through the integration of Blockchain, the system provides transparency, prevents fraud, and ensures accountability. The research focuses on optimizing performance by reducing processing times and transaction costs, while maintaining scalability and flexibility. Additionally, the system facilitates auditing and compliance processes, while promoting financial inclusion by providing access to unbanked individuals. The proposed system’s contributions lie in its novel approach to secure financial management, utilizing Blockchain’s features to address the challenges of modern digital transactions.
Decentralised Finance or DeFi has emerged as a transformative and disruptive force within the financial industry, offering innovative financial services powered by blockchain technology and smart contracts. This paper provides in-depth knowledge of DeFi, its evolution, applications, and their adoption. It identifies the opportunities brought about by DeFi, comparing it with the traditional CeFi (Centralized Financial) system, including financial inclusion, transparency, and programmable money. It highlights the potential of applications of DeFi for decentralized lending, decentralized exchanges, and yield farming as innovative and promising avenues within the DeFi space. A SWOT analysis comparing DeFi and CeFi was performed to delve into the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats associated with DeFi. This study explored the intricate challenges and inherent risks involved in the adoption of DeFi applications, offering insights into the hype, fear, and apprehensions among governments and the masses regarding its adoption. The findings offer a nuanced understanding of the current state of DeFi, providing valuable insights for researchers, policymakers, and industry practitioners.
<strong>Abstract: </strong>This paper aims to map the existing literature on risk and return management, in the crypto-currency portfolio to understand various strategies and methods investors use. This paper conducts a systematic review of the research done between 2012 and 2022 in the area of risk and return management in cryptocurrencies. In this paper PRISMA framework for the systematic literature review was used; 257 research articles specific to crypto-currency and risk and return were identified through a structured keyword search on the Scopus Database. It was observed that most of the authors had preferred the Markov-switching regime and support vector machines (SVM) for better risk management in crypto-currency. It was observed that the risk associated with one crypto is not the same as other currencies, and the magnitude of return also varies. So, most of the authors have favoured the mixed model of cryptocurrency to mitigate the risk and multiply the profits. Volatility in the cryptocurrency market is very high as compared to other financial markets but has improved due to leverage effects and volatility persistence. The additional impression of this article is that it has made a collective and comparative analysis of risk and return in cryptocurrency. However, the research was limited to only a few factors, databases, and timeframe, and many other factors may be the avenues for the upcoming studies. <strong>Keywords</strong>: Cryptocurrency, Portfolio, VOSviewer, Bitcoin, Risk and Return
The conventional paper-based legal agreements have been replaced with smart contracts in the modern day. The way legal contracts are utilized to bind the parties to do business is changing as a result of this developing idea. SM-Smart contracts offer a solution to the issue of trust in the digital era. A smart contract is a computer program that is designed to automatically execute the terms of a contract between two or more parties. It operates on a blockchain network and contains the rules and conditions of the agreement. A software developer creates smart contracts by computer-programming the terms and conditions of the written legal agreement. In order for all parties to be aware of the conclusion right away, smart contracts are used to automate the execution of legal agreements. No third party is involved in the contract's execution. Numerous platforms and applications built using blockchain technology depend heavily on smart contracts.
In recent times, the utilization of cryptocurrencies in the Metaverse has garnered increasing attention, with the advent of blockchain technology and the surge in popularity of the Metaverse. This investigation endeavors to ex-amine the implementation of cryptocurrencies in the Metaverse, as well as its influence on the cryptocurrency market and the progression of the Metaverse. This study adopts the method of combining literature review and case analysis, first sorts out the application scenarios of cryptocurrencies in the Metaverse, including transactions, games, virtual assets, etc.; then sum-marizes the application scenarios of cryptocurrencies in the Metaverse through case analysis Advantages and challenges, including decentralization, security, traceability, etc.; Finally, the development trend and prospect of cryptocurrency in the metaverse are discussed, and the impact of this appli-cation on the cryptocurrency market and the development of the metaverse is analyzed. The results of the study show that cryptocurrencies have great application potential in the Metaverse. First of all, the decentralized nature of cryptocurrencies can guarantee the security and traceability of transac-tions and assets in the Metaverse. Secondly, the circulation and use of cryp-tocurrencies can also promote economic development and prosperity in the Metaverse. However, the application of cryptocurrencies in the Metaverse al-so faces many challenges, including transaction speed, user experience, and compliance.
SUMMARY This study investigates whether audit clients’ blockchain activities (including crypto-related activities) affect audit risk by examining the association between blockchain disclosures in 10-K filings and audit fees. Focusing on U.S. firms between 2013 and 2020, we empirically show that audit fees are higher for companies disclosing blockchain activities in 10-K filings. We further find that this positive association is more pronounced for companies disclosing current blockchain implementation than for companies with plans for blockchain activities. The results indicate that clients’ blockchain activities influence audit risk as assessed by external auditors. As blockchain technology and its applications are emerging, our findings have implications that should be considered by auditors, regulators, and top management.
In the evolving landscape of the insurance industry, the integration of advanced technologies offers transformative potential. This research explores the amalgamation of Blockchain technology, specifically through the Hyperledger platform, with AI-enhanced smart contracts to address prevailing challenges in the insurance sector. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, the efficacy of Hyperledger-based systems in streamlining insurance operations and the augmentation of smart contracts with AI algorithms for improved automation and decision-making were examined. Preliminary findings indicate that the combined application of Hyperledger and AI-driven smart contracts can significantly enhance transparency, reduce fraudulent claims, and optimize risk assessment processes. However, the implementation of these technologies also presents certain technical and regulatory challenges. This study provides a foundational understanding for stakeholders in the insurance domain, emphasizing the strategic advantages and potential pitfalls of embracing this technological convergence.
In order to better harness technological innovation for sustainable growth in Industry 4.0, suggestions and future recommendation are given in this chapter. The Fourth Industrial Revolution has been sparked by recent advancements in automation and manufacturing techniques. Industry 4.0 refers to a number of essential technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI) and block chain, which are seen to have the most impact on the automated or digital environment. In this chapter, the use of AI and blockchain in Industry 4.0 is carefully assessed. To gain industrial sustainability, Industry 4.0 has been evaluated in order to identify the difficulties that may arise. The result of this evaluation offers a new research area and future research directions in several Industry 4.0 research domains, which will be helpful for business and academics in achieving sustainability and overcoming the difficulties posed by incorporating AI and blockchain into Industry 4.0.
본 논고는 최근 금융을 포함한 다양한 분야의 기술적 변화를 주도하고 있는 분산장부와 기계학습이라는 두 가지 트랜드와 관련하여 각각의 특징과 함께 발전 가능성 및 한계를 조망한다. 투자자 보호를 위한 기술의 규제와 시장 발전을 위한 기술의 발전 사이에 적정수준의 균형이 필요함을 강조하고, 부작용이 수반되는 혁신 기술의 양면성에 대해 살펴본다. 분산장부과 기계학습 기술의 진정한 특징이 각각 데이터의 흐름과 데이터의 처리방식의 패러다임 전환에 있음을 주목하고, 이들의 활용을 통해 국내 금융산업의 경쟁력을 제고하고 데이터 중심 경제로 이어지는 디딤돌이 마련될 수 있기를 희망하며 이들 간 연계 및 활용 방안을 모색해본다.
Electronic health records (HERs) contain highly sensitive and private data. In the current centralized system, patient healthcare data is not secure and that raises serious concerns. The privacy of personal healthcare data can be protected through permissioned blockchain technology. Hyperledger Fabric is a permissioned blockchain architecture that allows the building of a private blockchain for enterprise solutions. This study focuses on using a Hyperledger Fabric distributed blockchain network to manage electronic health records securely and efficiently. In recent years, several permissioned blockchain-integrated solutions for electronic health records have emerged; each promises to revolutionize how transactions are processed and privacy methods are implemented. However, only a few articles have discussed Hyperledger Fabric&s;s privacy-preserving mechanisms to preserve transaction linkability and data privacy inside the network. Our suggested architecture seeks to deliver Hyperledger Fabric blockchain-based healthcare solutions that securely store, manage, and transfer patient-sensitive data while maintaining the privacy of healthcare actors’ sensitive data. Furthermore, the proposed architecture uses proxy re-encryption mechanisms and IPFS with Arweave to enhance the privacy, immutability, and permanence of the data.
В статье осуществляется сравнительный анализ эффективности инвестирования четырех различных финансовых инструментов иностранная валюта, драгоценные металлы, акции и криптовалюта. Авторы исследования представляют современную картину финансового рынка, описывая особенности каждого инструмента, их возможности для инвестиций. В статье производится анализ доходности каждого инструмента, основываясь на исторических данных и статистике. Также авторы рассматривают волатильность, как меру риска каждого инструмента. В итоге проводится сравнительный анализ, позволяющий определить наиболее прибыльные и стабильные финансовые инструменты для инвестирования. Далее были предложены критерии, при помощи которых инвестор может избежать вложения средств в сомнительные проекты и усовершенствовать процесс инвестирования. The article provides a comparative analysis of the effectiveness of investing in four different financial instruments - foreign currency, precious metals, stocks and cryptocurrency. The authors of the study present a modern picture of the financial market, describing the features of each instrument, their investment opportunities. The article analyzes the profitability of each instrument based on historical data and statistics. The authors also consider volatility as a measure of the risk of each instrument. As a result, a comparative analysis is carried out to determine the most profitable and stable financial instruments for investment. Further, criteria were proposed by which an investor can avoid investing in dubious projects and improve the investment process.
The foundation of smart cities is based on an autonomous and decentralized architecture, which consists of sophisticated information and communication technologies (ICT) in convergence with technology enabled solution to improve the business management process in industry 4.0. This study tends to examine the adoption of blockchain technologies (DLT) in the human resource management (HRM) of organizations in building solutions for IOT (Internet of things) smart cities. The current study explores a unique set of factors selected from the extensive literature and acquired information from fifteen experts having significant experience of blockchain technology in their respective organizations. An integrated fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (F-AHP) is applied to prioritize the identified success factors. Further, the modified decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (M-DEMATEL) method is utilized to represent the complicated causal relationships among different sub-factors on blockchain-HRM integration. The findings show the application of blockchain will foster a paradigm change in IOT based smart communities, where recruiters verify the candidate credentials including education, skills, and work experience. The payroll managers would determine the more effective way to make work less complex and moderate, enabling timelier payments to global employees. Furthermore, DLT would enhance the employee learning records and update the real-time information in HRM database technologies. Thus, providing a detailed guide for future Industry 4.0 developers about how blockchain can improve the next generation of industrial applications. The developed method can help the decision-makers and provide a foundational view to examine the benefits of implementing blockchain technology in the HRM setting of an organization before they choose to integrate in order to enhance Industry 4.0 technologies. This research will be a novel attempt to synthesize the key factors and subfactors about technology enabled solution within the intelligent HRM process, shedding light to rethink HRM strategies to incorporate blockchain technology in organizations.
This research was conducted with the aim of knowing whether there is an effect of risk tolerance on cryptocurrency investment decisions. In this study, data analysis used a simple regression analysis method using the SPSS Statistics 25 application. Data sources used primary and secondary data while data types used quantitative data with an associative approach. The research population that was conducted by the researchers were active and inactive investors in cryptocurrency investing with a sample of 96 people from a small number of sub-districts across Indonesia. With data collection techniques through a questionnaire using a Likert scale. Based on the results of the t test, there is a significant influence of the Risk Tolerance variable on Cryptocurrency Investment Decisions
BACKGROUND Healthcare insurance fraud is on the rise in many ways, such as falsifying information and hiding third-party liability. This can result in significant losses for the medical health insurance industry. Consequently, fraud detection is crucial. Currently, companies employ auditors who manually evaluate records and pinpoint fraud. However, an automated and effective method is needed to detect fraud with the continually increasing number of patients seeking health insurance. Blockchain is an emerging technology among businesses and is constantly evolving to meet their needs. With its characteristics of immutability, transparency, traceability, and smart contracts, it demonstrated its potential in the healthcare domain. In particular, smart contracts are essential to reduce the costs associated with traditional methods, which are mostly manual, while preserving privacy and building trust among healthcare stakeholders, including the patient and the health insurance networks. However, with so many blockchain options available, selecting the right one for healthcare insurance can be difficult. OBJECTIVE This paper aims to develop and implement smart contracts for detecting healthcare insurance fraud efficiently. Therefore, we provide a taxonomy of fraud scenarios and implement their detection using a blockchain platform that is suitable for healthcare insurance fraud detection. To automatically and efficiently select the best platform, we propose and implement a decision-map-based recommender system. For the aim of developing the recommender system, we propose a taxonomy of 102 blockchain platforms. METHODS We developed and implemented smart contracts for 12 fraud scenarios that we identified in the literature. We used the two top blockchain platforms selected by our proposed decision-making map-based recommender system, which is tailored for healthcare insurance fraud. In addition, we present a taxonomy of 102 blockchain platforms classified according to the application domains for which they can be used. RESULTS The developed decision-map-based recommender system demonstrates that Hyperledger Fabric is the best blockchain platform for identifying healthcare insurance fraud. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our recommender system by comparing the performance of the top two platforms selected by our system. The blockchain platforms taxonomy that we created for this revealed that 59 blockchain platforms are suitable for all application domains, 25 for financial services, and 18 for various application domains. We designed and implemented fraud detection based on smart contracts. CONCLUSIONS Our decision-map recommender system, which is based on our proposed taxonomy of 102 platforms, automatically selected the top two platforms, which are Hyperledger Fabric and Neo, for the implementation of healthcare insurance fraud detection. Our performance evaluation for the two platforms indicates that Fabric surpassed Neo in all performance metrics, as depicted by our recommender system. We provided an implementation of fraud detection based on smart contracts.
This paper examines factors affecting the adoption of cryptocurrency across 158 countries worldwide. To this end, we collected cryptocurrency adoption data from Chainalysis’s reports and macroeconomic data from the World Development Indicators platform. We find that greater import volumes, larger population size, more sufficient levels of the labor force, higher unemployment rate, and a higher level of electricity access are associated with a greater level of cryptocurrency adoption. On the other hand, a higher level of government spending and a greater level of domestic savings are associated with a lower level of cryptocurrency adoption. In addition, we also find that the population size and level of the labor force have a negative impact on the three subcomponents of the cryptocurrency adoption index including (i) centralized service value received (CeFi); (ii) the volume of exchange trading (P2P); and (iii) the received DeFi value (DeFi). We find that while the import volumes and level of electricity access have an opposite relationship with the centralized service value received and the DeFi value received, GDP has a negative effect on the DeFi value received. Meanwhile, greater government spending and higher domestic savings are associated with a greater level of exchange trade volume P2P. In terms of urbanization, whereas it shows a positive impact on the exchange trade volume P2P, it has the opposite effect on the DeFi value received.
Anand Singh Rajawat, S. B. Goyal, Ramkumar Solanki, Maria Simona Raboacă · 7 authors
People can act out fake social exchanges in the Metaverse, which is an online community. Security has become a problem in the Metaverse because there are so many online transactions and digital assets. In this thesis, a Blockchain-based security system for the Metaverse is proposed. This would be a decentralised way to keep the virtual world safe. Our system uses Blockchain's autonomous structure to make sure that all financial transactions in the Metaverse are safe, anonymous, and true. We suggest a new consensus process that combines Proof of Stake (PoS) and Proof of Authority (PoA) to make networks safer and allow them to grow. We also have a user-focused, decentralised identity management system that keeps their information safe. We also suggest a way to process Metaverse transactions safely that is based on smart contracts. Our method makes sure that transactional proof, recording, and validation are done in a safe and reliable way. We also show a reputation system that benefits people who follow the law and punishes people who break the law. Lastly, we test how well our suggested structure works with simulations and real-world tests. The results show that our way works to reduce possible security risks in the Metaverse and create a safe, scalable environment for online business. Overall, our Blockchain-based Security Framework for Metaverse: A Decentralised Approach is a good way to keep the security and privacy of digital activities in Metaverse.
Purpose Research in the domain of behavioral finance has proven that investors demonstrate irrational behavior while making investment decisions. In a similar domain, the primary objective of this research is to prioritize the behavioral biases that influence cryptocurrency investors' investment decisions in the Indian context. Design/methodology/approach A fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (F-AHP) was used to prioritize the behavioral factors impacting cryptocurrency investors' investment decisions. Overconfidence and optimism, anchoring, representativeness, information availability, herding, regret aversion, and loss aversion are among the primary biases evaluated in the present study. Findings The findings suggested that the two most important influential criteria were herding and regret aversion, with loss aversion and information availability being the least influential criteria. Opinions of family, friends, and colleagues about investment in cryptocurrency, the sale of cryptocurrencies that have increased in value, the avoidance of selling currencies that have decreased in value, the agony of holding losing cryptocurrencies for too long rather than selling winning cryptocurrencies too soon, and the purchase of cryptocurrencies that have fallen significantly from their all-time high are the most important sub-criteria. Research limitations/implications This survey only covered active cryptocurrency participants. Additionally, the study was limited to individual crypto investors in one country, India, with a sample size of 467 participants. Although the sample size is appropriate, a larger sample size might reflect the more realistic scenario of the Indian crypto market. Practical implications The study is relevant to individual and institutional cryptocurrency investors, crypto portfolio managers, policymakers, researchers, market regulators, and society at large. Originality/value To the best of the authors' knowledge, no prior research has attempted to explain how the overall importance of various criteria and sub-criteria related to behavioral factors that influence the decision-making process of crypto retail investors can be assessed and how the priority of focus can be established, particularly in the Indian context.