Blockchain Papers

Xiaobao Zhu, Jing Shi, Samuel H. Huang, Bin Zhang

No abstract is available for this record.

Vasilios A. Siris, Dimitrios Dimopoulos, Nikos Fotiou, Spyros Voulgaris · 5 authors

No abstract is available for this record.

Tiara Sabrina, Adityas Widjajarto, Avon Budiyono

Abstract. Smart contract is an agreement between two entities established in the program code. All Smart contract transactions are stored on the Blockchain. But storing large data on the Blockchain is expensive, so many developers are currently creating a DApp (Decentralized Application) that integrates IPFS on smart contract Ethereum. Files will be stored on IPFS while the Blockchain only stores hash files from IPFS to access them again. Blockchain & IPFS are distributed peer-to-peer technologies for storing and distributing digital data supported by the confidentiality, integrity and authenticity of the data. The study was conducted to measure memory usage to run the DApp web that integrates IPFS on smart contract Ethereum and find out the effect of the file size uploaded via the web DApp and the number of nodes connected in the network. The memory usage test results will be used as a standard for the memory capacity planning to implement a DApp web system that integrates IPFS on smart contract Ethereum in an organization. Based on the research result, to run a web DApp that integrates IPFS on a smart contract requires 774MB of memory. The result proves that IPFS is suitable for handling large files. The efficiency of DApp's web performance that integrates IPFS on the smart contract Ethereum are obtained by a small file size and a large number of nodes connected in a network. The smaller the file size, the less memory usage. The more nodes that are connected in the network, the less memory usage. Keywords: Decentralized Application, IPFS, Smart Contract Ethereum, Blockchain, Memory Usage.

Prescilla Koshy, Sarath Babu, B. S. Manoj

Internet of Things (IoT) refers to the concept of enabling Internet connectivity and associated services to nontraditional computers formed by integrating essential computing and communication capability to physical things for everyday usage. Security and privacy are two of the major challenges in IoT. The essential security requirements of IoT cannot be ensured by the existing security frameworks due to the constraints in CPU, memory, and energy resources of the IoT devices. Also, the centralized security architectures are not suitable for IoT because they are subjected to single point of attacks. Defending against targeted attacks on centralized resources is expensive. Therefore, the security architecture for IoT needs to be decentralized and designed to meet the limitations in resources. Blockchain is a decentralized security framework suitable for a variety of applications. However, blockchain in its original form is not suitable for IoT, due to its high-computational complexity and low scalability. In this article, we propose a sliding window blockchain (SWBC) architecture that modifies the traditional blockchain architecture to suit IoT applications. The proposed SWBC uses previous $(n-1)$ blocks to form the next block hash with limited difficulty in proof-of-work (PoW). The performance of SWBC is analyzed on a real-time data stream generated from a smart home testbed. The results show that the proposed blockchain architecture increases security and minimizes memory overhead while consuming fewer resources.

Liuwei Huo, Dingde Jiang, Sheng Qi, Lei Miao

No abstract is available for this record.

Alyssa Donawa, Inema Orukari, Corey E. Baker

Electronic Health Records (EHRs) have improved many aspects of healthcare and allowed for easier patient management for medical providers. Blockchains have been proposed as a promising solution for supporting Electronic Health Records (EHRs), but have also been linked to scalability concerns about supporting real-world healthcare systems. This paper quantifies the scalability issues and bottlenecks related to current blockchains and puts into perspective the limitations blockchains have with supporting healthcare systems. Particularly we show that well known blockchains such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and IOTA cannot support transactions of a large scale hospital system such as the University of Kentucky HealthCare system and leave over 7.5M unsealed transactions per day. We then discuss how bottlenecks of blockchains can be relieved with sidechains, enabling well-known blockchains to support even larger hospital systems of over 30M transactions per day. We then introduce the Patient-Healthchain architecture to provide future direction on how scaling blockchains for EHR systems with sidechains can be achieved.

Maedeh Sharifinejad, Ali Dorri, Javad Rezazadeh

Insurance is one of the fundamental services offered to the citizens to reduce their costs and assist them in case of an emergency. One of the most important challenges in the insurance industry is to address liability challenge and the forging of documents by the involved parties, i.e., insurance company or the users, in order to increase financial gain. Conventional methods to address this challenge is significantly time consuming and costly and also suffers from lock of transparency. In this paper, we propose a blockchain-based solution for the insurance industry in smart cities (BIS). BIS creates a big umbrella that consists of the smart city managers, insurance companies, users, and sensors and devices. The users are known by changeable Public Keys (PKs) that introduces a level of anonymity. The data collected by the sensors is stored in cloud or local storage and is shared with insurance company on demand to find the liable party that in turn increases the privacy of the users. BIS enables the users to prove and share the history of their insurances with other users or insurances. Using Proof of Concept (POC) implementation we demonstrated the applicability of blockchain in insurance industry. The implementation results prove that BIS significantly reduces delay involved in insurance industry as compared with conventional insurance methods.

Mohammed Amine Bouras, Qinghua Lu, Zhang Fan, Yueliang Wan · 6 authors

Electronic healthcare (eHealth) identity management (IdM) is a pivotal feature in the eHealth system. Distributed ledger technology (DLT) is an emerging technology that can achieve agreements of transactional data states in a decentralized way. Building identity management systems using Blockchain can enable patients to fully control their own identity and provide increased confidence in data immutability and availability. This paper presents the state of the art of decentralized identity management using Blockchain and highlights the possible opportunities for adopting the decentralized identity management approaches for future health identity systems. First, we summarize eHealth identity management scenarios. Furthermore, we investigate the existing decentralized identity management solutions and present decentralized identity models. In addition, we discuss the current decentralized identity projects and identify new challenges based on the existing solutions and the limitations when applying it to healthcare as a particular use case.

Abbas Yazdinejad, Reza M. Parizi, Ali Dehghantanha, Qi Zhang · 5 authors

Internet of Things (IoT) is a disruptive technology in many aspects of our society, ranging from communications to financial transactions to national security (e.g., Internet of Battlefield / Military Things), and so on. There are long-standing challenges in IoT, such as security, comparability, energy consumption, and heterogeneity of devices. Security and energy aspects play important roles in data transmission across IoT and edge networks, due to limited energy and computing (e.g., processing and storage) resources of networked devices. Whether malicious or accidental, interference with data in an IoT network potentially has real-world consequences. In this article, we explore the potential of integrating blockchain and software-defined networking (SDN) in mitigating some of the challenges. Specifically, we propose a secure and energy-efficient blockchain-enabled architecture of SDN controllers for IoT networks using a cluster structure with a new routing protocol. The architecture uses public and private blockchains for Peer to Peer (P2P) communication between IoT devices and SDN controllers, which eliminates Proof-of-Work (POW), as well as using an efficient authentication method with the distributed trust, making the blockchain suitable for resource-constrained IoT devices. The experimental results indicate that the routing protocol based on the cluster structure has higher throughput, lower delay, and lower energy consumption than EESCFD, SMSN, AODV, AOMDV, and DSDV routing protocols. In other words, our proposed architecture is demonstrated to outperform classic blockchain.

Jianyu Niu, Ziyu Wang, Fangyu Gai, Chen Feng

Bitcoin-NG is among the first blockchain protocols to approach the \emph{near-optimal} throughput by decoupling blockchain operation into two planes: leader election and transaction serialization. Its decoupling idea has inspired a new generation of high-performance blockchain protocols. However, the existing incentive analysis of Bitcoin-NG has several limitations. First, the impact of network capacity is ignored. Second, an integrated incentive analysis that jointly considers both key blocks and microblocks is still missing. In this paper, we aim to address these two limitations. First, we propose a new incentive analysis that takes the network capacity into account, showing that Bitcoin-NG can still maintain incentive compatibility against the microblock mining attack even under limited network capacity. Second, we leverage a Markov decision process (MDP) to jointly analyze the incentive of both key blocks and microblocks, showing that the selfish mining revenue of Bitcoin-NG is a little higher than that in Bitcoin only when the selfish miner controls more than 35\% of the mining power. We hope that our in-depth incentive analysis for Bitcoin-NG can shed some light on the mechanism design and incentive analysis of next-generation blockchain protocols.

Youliang Tian, Zuan Wang, Jinbo Xiong, Jianfeng Ma

Dynamic wireless sensor networks (DWSNs) as an important means of industrial data collection are a key part of industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), where security and reliability are important characteristics of trustworthiness. However, due to dynamics, the security of key management is caused by a nontrusted base station (BS) that is easily targeted. For the distribution key management scheme, the avianized BS also causes additional and heavy overhead on sensors. To tackle these issues, in this article, we propose a blockchain-based secure key management scheme (BC-EKM). First, stake blockchain is constructed based on the hybrid sensor network. In addition, we design a secure cluster formation algorithm and a secure node movement algorithm to implement key management, where stake blockchain as a trust machine replaces the majority functions of the BS. Finally, we conduct the security analysis and ample simulations. The results indicate that that the BC-EKM scheme is effective and efficient, and better suited to improve the trustworthiness of DWSNs in the IIoT.

Anak Agung Gde Agung, Rini Handayani

The demand for electricity increases rapidly along with the advancement of the industrial age. To ensure efficient distribution of the electricity, maintain low losses and high level of quality, and the security of electricity supply, the smart grid concept was proposed. The concept enables a small, individual scale to generate electricity and sell it to the grid. However, the concept adds complexity to the existing system, such as how a transaction between these generators and consumers are conducted, verified and recorded. This paper proposes the blockchain as a tool to manage transactions in the smart grid. Transactions are performed with smart contracts, and the network acts as a transaction verifier. The blockchain provides immutability of the transactions, which ensure every transaction between generators and consumers will always be executed. It also provides immutability to transaction history, which can be used for audit or solving a transaction dispute.

Fakhri Alam Khan, Muhammad Asif, Awais Ahmad, Mafawez Alharbi · 5 authors

No abstract is available for this record.

Sabbir Ahmed, Md. Ezazul Islam, Md. Tarif Hosen, Md. Hasibul Hasan

To ensure the soil fertility and crop production fertilizer is the key concern for the agriculture system. Currently, in Bangladesh, the fertilizer distribution system follows the pen and paper-based process which is not involving any digitalization. Following this manual process, the main issue is ensuring the supply and availability of the fertilizers to the farmer doorstep. In this paper, we have proposed a framework with the use of blockchain technology-based fertilizer distribution supply chain management process. The tamper-proof data storage, retrieval, and user management system guarantee persistent monitoring and evaluation process with the strong management information system which employs precise reference information that can be associated with the board.

Samiur Khan, Md. Al-Amin, Hrittik Hossain, Nawshad Noor · 5 authors

Blockchain has been a latest trend and many of its applications show promising results in terms of transactions, validations, finances etc. and recently it has become an apple of eye for the tech industry and investors. The concept of decentralized application (commonly known as dApp) and the blockchain platform itself can help to reform many unresolved solutions for the betterment of services and generate new opportunities for the developers to focus on creating applications in a decentralized environment with ease. The adaptation of blockchain technology through dApps is increasing drastically; thus opportunity for the developers and entrepreneurs are growing rapidly. Considering the impactful revolution of dApps, the developer communities are getting more interest to the dApps development tools, frameworks and platforms. This paper is presenting a comprehensive study on some popular blockchain powered decentralized or distributed dApp platforms. In this paper we made analysis of these platforms based on different factors and parameters. This analysis provides an impactful direction to the developer and enterprise community in adopting of the development platform.

Abrar Shariar, Md. Ashique Imran, Pial Paul, Azizur Rahman

An educational institute demands significant computational resources for which it mostly relies on centralized servers, networks and storage facilities. Currently these systems are built around the centralized model which exposes it to risks of data breach, low fault tolerance and the numerous pitfalls of a centralized system. Furthermore, the maintenance of these systems incur significant costs for the institute. The purpose of this research is to introduce a decentralized model of computational system built on blockchain for educational institutions which can mitigate the several drawbacks of a centralized system and further explore the possibilities of introducing a cryptocurrency within the network of the institute. This model proposes to utilize the computational power of devices of the members of the institute by allowing them to be participant nodes in the network. Using the Ethereum blockchain, this study proposes a Smart Contract based system and introduces a cryptocurrency to incentivize the participants of the network.

Nghia Duong‐Trung, Ha Xuan Son, Hai Trieu Le, Tan Tai Phan

Cross-institutional sharing of medical data is essential to provide e.ective collaborative treatment and clinical decisions for patients. Medical data privacy involves ensuring only authorized parties may access the health records under the awareness and approval of patients in any circumstances. This is crucial to any healthcare system because the protection of patients' clinical data is not only an ethical responsibility but also a legal mandate. Despite the importance of medical data sharing, today's healthcare systems have not provided enough protection of patients' sensitive information to be utilized deliberately or unintentionally. Hence, there is an urgent demand for a clinical transaction mechanism that allows patients to access, trace and control their health records. In this paper, the authors focus on several limitations in the literature and propose appropriate improvement in healthcare systems by (i) addressing information security and privacy, (ii) solving the lack of trust between providers, and (iii) encouraging scalability of healthcare interoperability. Building upon these key insights, we introduce several components of a patient-centered healthcare system using smart contracts via blockchain technology. A complete code solution is publicized on the authors' GitHub repository to engage further reproducibility and improvement.

Joseph E. Kasten

This article presents the results of a systematic review of the literature pertaining to the use of blockchain technology in the engineering and manufacturing activities. The uses of blockchain have been growing quickly in the literature, and this fast pace can make it difficult for researchers to keep abreast of the state of the art. Using a systematic approach to search the primary electronic indices, the compiled list of papers is then analyzed and a number of themes are identified. The results of this article suggest that the literature surrounding blockchain and the engineering/manufacturing industry can be categorized into three primary groups: blockchain to protect data validity, blockchain to enhance inter and intraorganizational communications, and blockchain to increase the efficiency of the manufacturing process. Within each top-level theme, there exist some subthemes that provide a more finely defined categorization of the papers contained in that theme. These subthemes include specific areas of blockchain application such as additive manufacturing, cloud manufacturing, and building information models (BIMs). For each group of papers identified, each study is discussed briefly. This article concludes with a set of conclusions about the current state of the literature and suggestions for further research directions. The primary contribution of this article is to provide a foundation upon which additional research can be accomplished as well as to provide a resource for practitioners to help them understand the current state of the industry and help them determine how blockchain might be beneficial to their organization.

Enes Erdin, Mumin Cebe, Kemal Akkaya, Senay Solak · 6 authors

No abstract is available for this record.

Md. Ashraf Uddin, Andrew Stranieri, Iqbal Gondal, Venki Balasubramanian

Blockchain technologies recently emerging for eHealth, can facilitate a secure, decentralized and patient-driven, record management system. However, Blockchain technologies cannot accommodate the storage of data generated from IoT devices in remote patient management (RPM) settings as this application requires a fast consensus mechanism, careful management of keys and enhanced protocols for privacy. In this paper, we propose a Blockchain leveraged decentralized eHealth architecture which comprises three layers: (1) The Sensing layer – Body Area Sensor Networks include medical sensors typically on or in a patient body transmitting data to a smartphone. (2) The NEAR processing layer – Edge Networks consist of devices at one hop from data sensing IoT devices. (3) The FAR processing layer – Core Networks comprise Cloud or other high computing servers). A Patient Agent (PA) software replicated on the three layers processes medical data to ensure reliable, secure and private communication. The PA executes a lightweight Blockchain consensus mechanism and utilizes a Blockchain leveraged task-offloading algorithm to ensure patient’s privacy while outsourcing tasks. Performance analysis of the decentralized eHealth architecture has been conducted to demonstrate the feasibility of the system in the processing and storage of RPM data.

Tanzeela Sultana, Ahmad Almogren, Mariam Akbar, Mansour Zuair · 6 authors

In this paper, a blockchain-based data sharing and access control system is proposed, for communication between the Internet of Things (IoT) devices. The proposed system is intended to overcome the issues related to trust and authentication for access control in IoT networks. Moreover, the objectives of the system are to achieve trustfulness, authorization, and authentication for data sharing in IoT networks. Multiple smart contracts such as Access Control Contract (ACC), Register Contract (RC), and Judge Contract (JC) are used to provide efficient access control management. Where ACC manages overall access control of the system, and RC is used to authenticate users in the system, JC implements the behavior judging method for detecting misbehavior of a subject (i.e., user). After the misbehavior detection, a penalty is defined for that subject. Several permission levels are set for IoT devices’ users to share services with others. In the end, performance of the proposed system is analyzed by calculating cost consumption rate of smart contracts and their functions. A comparison is made between existing and proposed systems. Results show that the proposed system is efficient in terms of cost. The overall execution cost of the system is 6,900,000 gas units and the transaction cost is 5,200,000 gas units.

Nils Siegfried, Tobias Rosenthal, Alexander Benlian

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the suitability of Blockchain technology for applications in the Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT). It provides a taxonomy of system requirements for such applications and maps these requirements against the Blockchain’s technological idiosyncrasies. Design/methodology/approach A requirement taxonomy is built in an iterative process based on a descriptive literature review. In total, 223 studies have been screened leading to a relevant sample of 48 publications that were analyzed in detail regarding posed system requirements. Subsequently, Blockchain’s capabilities are discussed for each requirement dimension. Findings The paper presents a taxonomy of six requirement dimensions. In the mapping process, areas of greater fit (e.g., reliability, nonrepudiation and adaptability) were identified. However, there are also several constraints (e.g., scalability, confidentiality and performance) that limit the use of Blockchain. Research limitations/implications Due to the limited amount of studies and the vibrant development of Blockchain technology, the results may benefit from practical evidence. Researchers are encouraged to validate the results in qualitative practitioner interviews. Focusing on literature-backed public Blockchain, idiosyncrasies of private implementations and specific distributed ledger technologies may be discussed in future studies. Practical implications The paper includes use cases for Blockchain in manufacturing and IIOT applications. Potential caveats for practitioners are presented. Originality/value This paper addresses the need to understand to which degree Blockchain is a suitable technology in manufacturing, especially in context of the IIOT. It contributes a requirement taxonomy which serves as the foundation for a systematic fit assessment.

Hui Yang, Yongshen Liang, Jiaqi Yuan, Qiuyan Yao · 6 authors

Mobile edge computing (MEC) sinks computing power to the edge of networks and integrates mobile access networks and Internet services in 5G and beyond. With the continuous development of services, privacy protection is extremely important in a heterogeneous MEC system for multiserver collaboration. However, most of the existing schemes only consider the privacy of users or services other than the privacy of network topology. For the purpose of topology privacy protection, this article employs blockchain to construct heterogeneous MEC systems and adopts accommodative bloom filter as a carrier for multidomain collaborative routing consensus without exposing topology privacy. Blockchain is used to implement multiplex mutual trust networking and collaborative routing verification through the membership service and consensus mechanism. Experiments are conducted to evaluate the feasibility and performances of our scheme. The results indicate that the proposed scheme can highly improve the credibility and efficiency of MEC collaboration.

Hongxin Wei, Wei Feng, Chi Zhang, Yunfei Chen · 6 authors

Blockchain has emerged as a promising technology that can guarantee data consistency and integrity among distributed participants. It has been used in many applications of the Internet of Things (IoT). However, since IoT applications often introduce a massive number of devices into blockchain systems, the efficiency of the blockchain becomes a serious problem. In this article, we analyze the key factors affecting the efficiency of blockchain. Unlike most existing solutions that handle this from the computing perspective, we consider the problem from the communication perspective. In particular, we propose a coordinated satellite-terrestrial network to create efficient blockchains. We also derive a network scheduling strategy for the proposed architecture. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed system can support blockchains for higher efficiency. Moreover, several open research issues and design challenges will be discussed.