This paper studies how luxury brands act in the metaverse. It utilizes a literature review and two semi-structured expert interviews. It details three stages of digital adoption: resistance, selective integration, and Web3 experiments. It explains how NFTs, virtual goods, and token-gated access create technical scarcity and visible status. It shows how young consumers use digital items to build identity and community. It also lists key risks: energy use, data privacy, and brand dilution. The findings outline key digital tools that help maintain core luxury values and point to unanswered questions about long-term brand equity and consumer behavior.
Open access
Consumer Behavior in Brand Consumption and Identification
The growing digitalization of sectors such as education, healthcare, and public administration has driven Device-as-a-Service (DaaS) models. In the Portuguese educational context, the "Escola Digital" program is a clear example of this transformation, scaling the distribution and remote management of devices. With the massification of computer systems, risks of theft, misuse, and unauthorized configurations arise, exacerbated by profiles with low digital literacy (e.g., primary school students). Therefore, an agile and secure mechanism is needed to prevent or mitigate these issues before the operating system boots. Despite several proposals in the literature for device management and protection, existing solutions typically operate after boot, leaving a window open for attackers to exploit. This dissertation addresses this gap by introducing a UEFI module capable of querying and validating (cryptographically) the device’s state on a blockchain infrastructure before boot, reducing the attack surface and simplifying operational response. This dissertation investigates the feasibility of integrating a component into the UEFI firmware capable of communicating with a blockchain infrastructure to enhance device security and control during pre-boot. Specifically: (i) design a module that interacts with the blockchain before the operating system boots; and (ii) explore cryptographic mechanisms to verify the authenticity and integrity of received information.A UEFI module (EDK II) that queries the blockchain to obtain device status and enforce pre-boot lock/unlock policies is proposed and prototyped. The solution utilizes lightweight cryptographic mechanisms (authentication and anti-replay) and a key management and temporal lease scheme. The evaluation considers the impact on boot time, network latency, and on-chain cost. The results demonstrate technical feasibility, with modest boot overhead and reliable enforcement of control policies before the operating system boots.
This study explores the design and implementation of a blockchain-based system to enhance trust, transparency, and security in academic credentialing. Motivated by the growing distrust in centralized institutions and the inefficiencies of traditional credential verification processes, the research leverages the immutability, decentralization, and transparency of blockchain to develop a tamper-proof mechanism for academic record storage and validation. Using the Ethereum Sepolia test network and real-world student performance data from the Open University Learning Analytics Dataset (OULAD), the system securely issues, verifies, and revokes academic credentials through a custom smart contract developed in Solidity. Each credential is hashed using SHA-256 to ensure student privacy while enabling public, real-time verification. The implementation was conducted in a Google Colab environment using Web3.py and Infura, with batch processing mechanisms and a Web3 interface for seamless interaction. Empirical results reveal performance patterns across modules and highlight opportunities for academic intervention. The system not only demonstrates operational feasibility but also offers a scalable, interoperable, and ethical framework for higher education institutions to combat credential fraud and enhance institutional accountability. Future work will focus on privacy-enhancing cryptographic integrations and decentralized identity standards to further solidify blockchain’s role in education.
Phishing attacks in Web3 ecosystems are increasingly sophisticated, exploiting deceptive contract logic, malicious frontend scripts, and token approval patterns. We present DeepTx, a real-time transaction analysis system that detects such threats before user confirmation. DeepTx simulates pending transactions, extracts behavior, context, and UI features, and uses multiple large language models (LLMs) to reason about transaction intent. A consensus mechanism with self-reflection ensures robust and explainable decisions. Evaluated on our phishing dataset, DeepTx achieves high precision and recall (demo video: https://youtu.be/4OfK9KCEXUM).
Fernando Richter Vidal, Naghmeh Ivaki, Nuno Laranjeiro
The performance assessment of blockchain applications holds significant challenges due to their decentralized architecture, immutable smart contracts, distributed ledgers, and operational costs such as gas fees. Existing blockchain benchmarks often either fail to fully capture blockchain-specific behaviors or offer limited configurability and metric reporting. In this paper, we present a new and comprehensive benchmark designed explicitly for blockchain applications, named bBench. Building on established principles from traditional benchmarking and by specializing them in the blockchain context and supported by customized blockchain tools (i.e., Hyperledger Caliper, web3.eth, and node-os-utils), bBench characterizes blockchain application performance in four dimensions: network performance, resource utilization, storage usage, and operational cost. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our benchmark through a case study involving 12 smart contract applications with varying performance demands, some of which hold known vulnerabilities. The results show the benchmark’s ability to quantify performance deviations across different applications, as well as those caused by the activation of specific vulnerabilities.
AI text-to-video systems, such as OpenAI’s Sora, promise substantial efficiency gains in media production but also pose risks of biased outputs, opaque optimization, and deceptive content. Using the Orientation–Stimulus–Orientation–Response (O-S-O-R) model, we conduct an empirical study with 209 Chinese new media professionals and employ structural equation modeling to examine how information elaboration relates to AI knowledge, perceptions, and adoption intentions. Our findings reveal a knowledge paradox: higher objective AI knowledge negatively moderates elaboration, suggesting that centralized information ecosystems can misguide even well-informed practitioners. Building on these behavioral insights, we propose a blockchain-based governance framework that operationalizes five mechanisms to enhance oversight and trust while maintaining efficiency: Expert Assessment DAOs, Community Validation DAOs, real-time algorithm monitoring, professional integrity protection, and cross-border coordination. While our study focuses on China’s substantial new media market, the observed patterns and design principles generalize to global contexts. This work contributes empirical grounding for Web3-enabled AI governance, specifies implementable smart-contract patterns for multi-stakeholder validation and incentives, and outlines a research agenda spanning longitudinal, cross-cultural, and implementation studies.
本文提出了面向 AI 与 Web3 时代的全新治理共识——“爱的证明(Proof of Love, PoL)”。作者认为,爱——作为共情、互惠与创造性合作的伦理力量——是当代技术文明所缺失的核心原则。论文融合区块链治理、去中心化激励机制与伦理哲学,探讨如何以“爱”作为文明共治的新基石,让人类与 AI 在共享价值创造中实现共生。该研究跨越哲学、经济学与系统设计,旨在重新定义智能、治理与文明的意义。 This paper proposes Proof of Love (PoL) as a new ethical and governance consensus for the age of AI and Web3. It argues that love—understood as empathy, reciprocity, and creative cooperation—is the missing principle in current technological civilization. By integrating blockchain governance, decentralized incentives, and ethical philosophy, the study outlines how PoL can serve as a foundation for a new “Love-based Civilization,” where human and AI co-govern through shared value creation. The work bridges philosophy, economics, and systems design, aiming to redefine the meaning of intelligence, governance, and civilization itself.
The safe handling of patient information is essential in the healthcare industry, particularly as the quantity and sensitivity of health records increase. Present systems frequently depend on centralized databases that are susceptible to unauthorized access and data manipulation, thereby restricting transparency and security. Furthermore, these systems lack the traceability required for efficient patient data management, making them prone to errors and inefficiencies in data processing. This paper proposes a patient data ledger built on blockchain technology, incorporating decentralized data management and secure transactions via Ethereum to enhance patient data handling. By leveraging blockchain, we achieve immutable records and ensure transparent, secure, and tamperresistant data storage. Unlike conventional systems that depend heavily on intermediaries for trust, our blockchain-based ledger minimizes human intervention and employs smart contracts to automate data security and access. Utilizing Ethereum's blockchain along with Web3 and MetaMask, the system enables secure, user-friendly access and effective data logging. This approach provides a reliable and scalable solution, ensuring real-time transparency and efficient handling of patient information while significantly enhancing security.
B A Mala, Clifford Thiyam, Deolin Avrel Saldanha, C. V. Dhatri · 5 authors
Food supply chains today face significant challenges, including inefficiencies, counterfeiting, and safety risks, largely due to inadequate traceability and transparency. This paper addresses these issues by leveraging a blockchain-based solution that utilizes Ethereum and smart contracts written in Solidity to document supply chain events-harvest, processing, shipping, and delivery-as an unalterable transaction. The proposed system was developed using a functional proof-of-concept web application in React.js and Web3.js to enable users to log in, authenticate, and access critical information such as product origin, transport conditions, and quality checks. This application fosters accountability and trust among all concerned. By conducting experimentation with the food based blockchain, this paper assesses the feasibility and explores challenges such as transaction fees, scalability, and system integration. The platform facilitates real-time information sharing, reduces reliance on intermediaries, and strengthens food safety practices. It provides all stakeholders with access to a single source of truth. In summary, this paper illustrates the pragmatic applicability of decentralized technologies in transforming supply chains.
Katja Leifheit, Judith Pies, Hilde Van den Bulck, Alessandro D’Arma · 8 authors
This article presents a quality assessment of Web3 coverage in mainstream media across four European countries—Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom—as a starting point for discussing the standards of technology journalism that can meaningfully support an informed public. It begins with an overview of existing research on technology journalism and its role in fostering informed citizenry. This is followed by a mixed-methods content analysis, combining quantitative and qualitative approaches, to examine how the complex topic of Web3 is reported in the four European countries. Insights from journalists and editors contextualize the analysis. The findings highlight three key challenges across all countries: an event-driven rather than process-oriented focus, a narrow thematic scope on the financial applications of Web3 technology (cryptocurrencies), and a relatively limited diversity of sources. The article concludes by exploring how these challenges—and the broader trends in Web3 reporting—shed light on the potential and pitfalls of technology journalism in contemporary societies.
Abstract Blockchain wallet manages decentralized identities in Web3, which allows users to identify themselves in a verifiable yet anonymous manner by digital signatures. However, native wallet scheme has been proven vulnerable to Sybil attacks in practice, where adversaries can easily create large numbers of controlled wallets at a low cost to undermine Web3 applications. To this end, many solutions are proposed for mitigating Sybil attacks. Nevertheless, they typically rely on either costly specialized biometric hardware or behavior-based heuristics that can be easily bypassed. In this paper, we introduce EdenDID, the first trinity-bound identity management system that uniquely binds human user, wallet address, and physical device into a unified framework. EdenDID combines edge-based video recognition, on-chain transactional activity analysis, and device computational power verification to establish a decentralized Proof-of-Trustworthiness consensus. The system provides compliant users with a trusted, verifiable credential to prove their unique identity. We prototype low-cost Eden Devices and deploy them on a Layer-2 blockchain network. Our experiments demonstrate the low end-to-end latency and robust resistance performance to Sybil attacks. Moreover, we present a case study to show how EdenDID can mitigate virtual-hardware fraud in DePIN, in which EdenDID successfully binds the user, wallet, and device uniquely, thus preventing users from binding multiple wallets or devices.
The dominant paradigm of the modern internet, built on graphical user interfaces (GUIs) and discrete web applications, forces users into a fragmented and manual process of interaction, fundamentally limiting the complexity of tasks that can be automated. This paper argues for a new architectural paradigm: an AI-powered network of autonomous digital agents that replaces manual navigation with goal-oriented, natural language-based service procurement. To establish the necessity and viability of this approach, a critical literature review of dominant service-oriented architectures is conducted. The analysis reveals that Microservice Architecture (MSA), despite its advantages, suffers from inherent complexities in communication, discovery, and data management that undermine true service autonomy. A review of its predecessors finds that Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) was hindered by centralized bottlenecks, while the Semantic Web’s vision of a machine-readable web failed due to the rigidity and complexity of its formal, logic-based approach. Furthermore, modern Web3 architectures, while offering decentralization, are shown to have severe limitations in scalability, cost, and flexibility that make them unsuitable for dynamic agent collaboration. The paper concludes that these existing paradigms contain fundamental gaps and posits that a Multi-Agent System (MAS) architecture provides a more robust and appropriate foundation for building a truly autonomous, post-GUI digital ecosystem.
The decentralized ecosystem is claimed to avoid security risks caused by centralization. Decentralized services, such as crypto wallets and decentralized applications (DApps), are purported to offer more reliable security and better protect user privacy. However, our research suggests a different reality: centralized components or scenarios are still prevalent within decentralized ecosystems, introducing security risks typically associated with centralization. This work systematically investigated the centralized security risks in crypto wallets and DApps. We found seven security risks and developed a series of methods to identify these risks. The detection results indicate that centralized security risks are widespread in the decentralized ecosystem. Among the 28 Ethereum-recommended crypto wallets, 96.4% have security risks. Of the 78 Web3 sites (frontends of DApps), 100% contain third-party scripts, and 44.9% expose the user's address to third parties. Furthermore, we developed a high-precision automated tool and inspected 110,506 on-chain smart contracts (backends of DApps), discovering that 83.5% contain at least one security risk. These risks affect 260 well-known tokens with a combined market capitalization exceeding${\$}$98 billion.
The growing reliance on digital financial services necessitates a secure, efficient, and privacy-centric approach to identity verification and Know Your Customer (KYC) compliance. Traditional identity management systems rely on centralized databases, making them susceptible to data breaches, inefficiencies, and regulatory constraints. Over 10 billion identity records have been exposed in centralized KYC breaches, leading to a 60% increase in financial fraud cases. The rise of Decentralized Finance (DeFi) has further complicated KYC compliance, requiring innovative solutions that balance privacy and regulatory requirements. This paper proposes a Web3-powered decentralized identity framework that leverages blockchain technology, self-sovereign identity (SSI), verifiable credentials (VCs), and zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs). By eliminating reliance on centralized authorities, our system enhances data privacy, reducing personally identifiable information (PII) disclosure by 80% while ensuring compliance with AML and GDPR regulations. The integration of zk-SNARKs enables trustless identity verification with an average proof generation time of 12.5 seconds, significantly reducing the 3–5 day verification period required by traditional systems. Smart contract-based KYC automation eliminates intermediaries, cutting compliance costs by 40% and reducing fraud risk by 60%. Through comparative analysis, we highlight that decentralized KYC improves security, cost-effectiveness, and scalability compared to traditional models. Performance evaluation confirms that transaction throughput remains within acceptable blockchain limits, with gas costs stabilized at 35,000–55,000 Gwei per verification request. Despite challenges in regulatory adaptation and zk-SNARK scalability, the proposed model demonstrates the feasibility of Web3-driven identity management for trustless, privacy-preserving, and compliant financial ecosystems.
Urban transportation is under strain from growing congestion, environmental impact and inefficiencies in centralised ride-sharing systems. This work presents a decentralized peer - to - peer carpooling platform that can use blockchain technology and smart contracts to securely control the entire ride life cycle, without intermediaries. The system uses Ethereum smart contracts for transparent and tamper proof handling of ride request, acceptance, completion and payments thus eliminating the risks associated with the centralized controllers. A layer geospatial computation powered by OpenRouteService computes precise distances and fares, and interactive maps increase user trust in price. The prototype, implemented using Streamlit, Web3.py and Solidity, includes role-based dashboards for drivers and passengers, wallet-based authentication to prevent identity spoofing and optimized contract design to reduce gas costs. Presenting evidence of values for outputs through functional testing on a local Ethereum network, there are correct state transitions, approve stable transaction costs, stable and accurate of mappings are within +/-0.1 km of Google Maps. This platform provides a scalable and privacy respecting method for shared mobility with future expansions towards decentralised storage, advanced reputation systems and zk -proof based location privacy.
Open collaboration business models (OCBMs) and software have existed since the 1950s but have been plagued by work ethic and financial bottleneck due to inadequate monetization schemes. OCBMs provide a range of advantages, primarily in accelerating problem solving & innovation, reducing costs, and enhancing security and transparency. Companies could establish sustainable revenue streams while benefitting from broad tech or platform adoption. However, fair revshare and credit attribution have been persistent problems with OCBMs. Businesses such as Diaspora, Soul Force, Sun Microsystems' Open Solaris, and others have experienced unsustainable OCBM initiatives, especially in the open-source software area. Web3 ethos-based business models and blockchain technologies provide an opportunity to correct and enforce many of the monetization strains associated with open collaboration. By decentralizing operational and governance control, free markets nested within companies that run themselves can be realized. The basic philosophy for a meritocratic monetization system with fair credibility-revshare automation is discussed.
Traditional food supply chains are plagued by issues related to transparency, traceability, and food safety, resulting in inefficiencies, delays, and risks of contamination. In Saudi Arabia, operations within many supply chains rely on centralized systems without any possibilities for tracking origins of the product, conditions monitored, or conformity with regulatory guidelines guaranteed. Farm-to-Fork is a blockchainbased food supply chain management platform that seeks to address these problems through the use of Ethereum smart contracts, IoT temperature monitoring, and a decentralized framework mainly in the Saudi Arabian ecosystem. Built incrementally using Agile methodology and tools like Solidity, Truffle, and Web3.js, the platform offers secure, automated, and transparent transactions. Data was collected through interviews and surveys with manufacturers, distributors, and retailers, indicating that $76.7 \%$ of the stakeholder’s experience visibility issues, $66.7 \%$ experience contamination detection issues, and $90 \%$ think blockchain would improve transparency and data security. Farm-to-Fork offers traceability automated temperature validation, and tamper-proof records, significantly improving efficiency, accountability, transparency, and food safety regulation enforcement, the platform offers verifiable, secure, and trustless supply chain processes, an improved standard of food traceability for Saudi Arabia.
This paper addresses the application of blockchain in Digital Twin (DT) systems, which often rely on centralized architectures, by proposing and evaluating a decentralized management system for vehicle DTs. The system uses Ethereumbased ERC-1155 NFTs to represent vehicles. Smart contracts handle NFT minting, ownership transfers, and a three-phase lifecycle. Off-chain data is stored on IPFS, with privacy secured by an algorithm based on ECDH. A decentralized application was developed to enable interaction with the blockchain and IPFS. Evaluation of the system included static analysis, automated testing, and gas cost analysis. The system is capable of managing a vehicle NFT from its inception until its decommissioning, with all actions recorded on the blockchain and IPFS. While scalable at the smart contract level, Ethereum’s network throughput can pose limitations for full-scale automotive industry adoption, suggesting suitability for smaller-scale applications or the necessity for improvements in both Layer 1 and Layer 2 solutions. This work demonstrates a feasible end-to-end Web3 solution for vehicle Digital Twins, bringing transparency and data integrity to the vehicular ecosystem.
Marcel Pehlke, Sophia Fedder, Clemens Schmitt, Mike Witkowski · 5 authors
Managing cryptographic keys remains a major barrier to blockchain adoption, especially for non-technical users. This paper presents a smart cardbased solution for secure and user-friendly key management, offering physical isolation of private keys and PIN-protected access via NFC. In a comparative study with the Waves Keeper browser extension, 33 participants completed blockchain-related tasks and rated both solutions in different categories of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) such as Perceived Usefulness, Ease of Use, and Result Demonstrability. The smart card system showed clear advantages in usability and perceived security. In general, the results highlight the potential of hardware-based approaches to improve blockchain accessibility and acceptance, with implications for Web3 applications and future research on usability and security integration.
Mohammad Alja’afreh, Sarah Tarawneh, Hikmat Adhami, Ali Karime · 5 authors
The metaverse—a persistent, multiuser fusion of digitally augmented reality and computer-generated virtuality— is emerging as a programmable substrate for identity, assets, and interaction. Its heterogeneous stack (XR clients, engines/SDKs, Web3 rails, wallets, marketplaces) enlarges the attack surface. This paper contributes: (i) a structured threat taxonomy specialized for Web3/XR platforms; (ii) explicit system and adversary models; (iii) a risk quantification scheme combining behavioral and on-chain signals; and (iv) a data-driven defense architecture aligning decentralized identity, wallet/custody guardrails, analytics, AI-aided detection, and policy instrumentation. We further instantiate these controls in the Medical MeTAI context, where confidentiality, integrity, and provenance requirements are stringent.
The relevance of the study is determined by the need for in-depth study and systematization of innovative decision-making methods that Web3 technologies offer to the modern business environment. In the context of global digital transformation, traditional approaches to management and finance are proving insufficient to ensure the competitiveness and sustainable development of organizations. The purpose of this article is to analyze Web3 tools, in particular blockchain, asset tokenization, decentralized finance (DeFi), and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), as a basis for forming new, more transparent, secure, and effective methods and models for management decision-making. The paper applies a comprehensive methodology that includes a systematic analysis of the functional capabilities of Web3 technologies and a structural-logical approach to classifying their impact on corporate governance and financial management. The use of case studies has made it possible to illustrate the practical aspects of integrating these tools into the activities of large companies. The results confirm that Web3 is not only a technological trend but also a new paradigm that provides managers with qualitatively different tools. It has been established that blockchain creates a foundation for trust and data security; tokenization and DeFi radically increase the flexibility and liquidity of financial management; and DAOs transform corporate governance into a collective and inclusive process. In addition, the integration of AI agents into routine operations allows managers to effectively refocus their attention on strategic planning. The practical value of the article lies in providing organizations with clear recommendations for implementing Web3 technologies: from the need to start with pilot projects to test systems and processes to the mandatory investment in the development of internal competencies. The materials in the article can serve as a basis for developing innovative strategies that will help business organizations minimize technical and regulatory risks and secure leadership in today's digital market.
The relevance of the study is determined by the need for in-depth study and systematization of innovative decision-making methods that Web3 technologies offer to the modern business environment. In the context of global digital transformation, traditional approaches to management and finance are proving insufficient to ensure the competitiveness and sustainable development of organizations. The purpose of this article is to analyze Web3 tools, in particular blockchain, asset tokenization, decentralized finance (DeFi), and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), as a basis for forming new, more transparent, secure, and effective methods and models for management decision-making. The paper applies a comprehensive methodology that includes a systematic analysis of the functional capabilities of Web3 technologies and a structural-logical approach to classifying their impact on corporate governance and financial management. The use of case studies has made it possible to illustrate the practical aspects of integrating these tools into the activities of large companies. The results confirm that Web3 is not only a technological trend but also a new paradigm that provides managers with qualitatively different tools. It has been established that blockchain creates a foundation for trust and data security; tokenization and DeFi radically increase the flexibility and liquidity of financial management; and DAOs transform corporate governance into a collective and inclusive process. In addition, the integration of AI agents into routine operations allows managers to effectively refocus their attention on strategic planning. The practical value of the article lies in providing organizations with clear recommendations for implementing Web3 technologies: from the need to start with pilot projects to test systems and processes to the mandatory investment in the development of internal competencies. The materials in the article can serve as a basis for developing innovative strategies that will help business organizations minimize technical and regulatory risks and secure leadership in today's digital market.
Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) are emerging as key governance structures in Web3 ecosystems, enabling community-driven decision-making without centralized control. Yet, current DAO implementation frameworks often lack modularity, role adaptability, and low-code accessibility, limiting broader adoption-especially among non-technical users and emerging organizations. Targeting these issues, this paper proposes a modular, template-driven DAO system for public blockchains such as Ethereum, integrating reusable governance logic units, token-based role configuration, and low-code interfaces to support flexible and secure deployment. The system allows role-scoped configuration of governance parameters via templates and supports scenario-specific deployment using predefined smart contracts, avoiding the need for direct code modification in the demonstrated use case. A quadratic votingbased governance scenario was used to demonstrate how the proposed framework can enable DAO setup and participation without requiring direct contract modification for that specific use case. Internal validation, conducted with simulated stakeholder roles, confirmed improvements in usability, configuration safety, and governance clarity, while also identifying practical gaps in role-specific UI guidance and simulation tooling. Although the current implementation is limited to a single voting model and local deployment, the findings highlight the potential of templatebased DAO systems to enable more inclusive, adaptable, and transparent decentralized governance.
In this interview with Ana Maria Caballero, we explore how poetry intersects with technology and Web3, highlighting its potential to redefine creative expression, challenge power dynamics, and enhance the cultural relevance of poetry in the digital age.