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.
In this paper, we present subgraphs of Ethereum wallets involved in NFT trades of the top 15 ERC721 NFT collections. To obtain the subgraphs, we have extracted the Ethereum transaction graph from a live Ethereum node and filtered out exchanges, mining pools, and smart contracts. For each of the selected collections, we identified the set of accounts involved in NFT trading, which we used to perform a breadth-first search in the Ethereum transaction graph to obtain a subgraph. These subgraphs can offer insight into the linkability of accounts participating in NFT trading on the Ethereum blockchain.
Abstract Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are a type of digital asset that can prove ownership of both virtual and physical assets using blockchains. Even though creating and trading NFTs have experienced a significant increase, research on the NFT market and its features is limited. In this study, we aim to bridge this gap by conducting a comprehensive analysis on the NFT market and its evolution from a network perspective. We examined the transactions network between NFT buyers and sellers and analyzed the structural characteristics of the NFT trades network. Additionally, we looked at how NFT usage and transactions have changed over time. Our findings indicate that a few participants are responsible for most of the NFT sales and purchases, while the majority of the addresses have only a few NFT transactions. Furthermore, we investigated the structural properties of the NFT trades network, including centrality measures, clustering coefficient, and assortativity, and how they have changed over time. We also explored the interactions between NFTs by constructing a graph of NFT relations. We identified four major communities and highlighted the top NFT projects in each community. We also examined the NFT projects that buyers mostly purchase together.
Kripto para ve spor arasında çeşitli ilişkiler bulunmaktadır. Kripto para birimleri, spor dünyasında sponsorluk ve reklam fırsatları sunarak önemli bir rol oynamaktadır. Spor takımları, kripto para şirketleriyle anlaşmalar yaparak forma reklamlarında veya stadyum isim haklarında kripto para şirketlerinin markalarını sergileyebilirler. Ayrıca, kripto para birimleri spor etkinliklerinin bilet satışlarında da kullanılabilmektedir. Bazı spor organizasyonları, kripto para birimleriyle bilet satın alma ve ödeme imkânı sunarak, kullanıcıların daha hızlı ve kolay bir şekilde biletlerini temin etmelerini sağlayabilirler. NFT'ler (Non-Fungible Token), kripto para birimleriyle popülerlik kazanan bir konudur ve spor dünyasında da büyük ilgi görmektedir. Bazı çevrimiçi bahis platformları, kripto para birimlerini kabul ederek, kullanıcıların anonimliklerini korumasını ve hızlı işlem yapmalarını sağlayabilirler. Ünlü sporcuların kripto para yatırımlarıyla ilgili açıklamaları veya sosyal medya üzerinden kripto para birimlerini desteklemeleri, kripto para sektöründe ilgi ve bilinirlik oluşturabilir. Kripto para ve spor arasındaki ilişki, spor dünyasına yeni fırsatlar ve finansal yenilikler getirebilirken, aynı zamanda riskleri ve belirsizlikleri de beraberinde getirebilir. Ancak, bu ilişkinin gelecekte daha da gelişmesi ve spor endüstrisinde daha fazla etkileşim sağlaması beklenmektedir.
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are becoming increasingly popular in Play-to-Earn (P2E) Web3 applications as a means of incentivizing user engagement. In Web3, users with NFTs ownership are entitled to monetize them. However, due to lack of objective NFT valuation, which makes NFT value determination challenging, P2E applications ecosystems have experienced inflation. In this paper, we propose a method that enables NFT inflation value management in P2E applications. Our method leverages the contribution-rewards model proposed by Curve Finance and the automated market maker (AMM) of decentralized exchanges. In decentralized systems, P2E Web3 applications inclusive, not all participants contribute in good faith. Therefore, rewards are provided to incentivize contribution. Our mechanism proves that burning NFTs, indicating the permanent removal of NFTs, contributes to managing inflation by reducing the number of NFTs in circulation. As a reward for this contribution, our method mints a compensation (CP) token as an ERC-20 token, which can be exchanged for NFTs once enough tokens have been accumulated. To further increase the value of the CP token, we suggest using governance tokens and CP tokens to create liquidity pools for AMM. The value of the governance token is determined by the market, and the CP token derives its value from the governance token in AMM. The CP token can determine its worth based on the market value of the governance token. Additionally, since CP tokens are used for exchanging NFTs, the value of the NFT is ultimately determined by the value of the CP token. To further illustrate our concept, we show how to adjust burning rewards based on factors such as the probability of upgrading NFTs' rarity or the current swap ratio of governance and CP tokens in AMM.
Despite the increase in the number of blockchain-based Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs), there is no consensus on what constitutes a DAO. This paper provides an in-depth study of DAOs by analyzing their definitions, characteristics, and emerging developments. Existing definitions in the literature hardly recognize common functionalities and intermingle coded DAOs, DAO deployment platforms, and blockchain DAOs. We developed a comprehensive DAO definition by reviewing the literature and empirically analyzing 1,859 DAOs. The findings show that many DAOs were inactive and that a threshold of 20 tokenholders is a tipping point for DAOs to survive over time and maintain sustained levels of activity. Finally, based on an empirical analysis of 9,845 perceived DAOs, we identified the emerging development of off-chain voting. This emerging development challenges the autonomous nature of DAOs. We recommend further research to investigate the effect of governance structures on their long-term sustainability and viability for both on-chain and off-chain DAOs.
Ángel A. Juan, Elena Pérez Bernabeu, Yuda Li, Xabier A. Martin · 6 authors
The popularity of blockchain technology stems largely from its association with cryptocurrencies, but its potential applications extend beyond this. Fungible tokens, which are interchangeable, can facilitate value transactions, while smart contracts using non-fungible tokens enable the exchange of digital assets. Utilizing blockchain technology, tokenized platforms can create virtual markets that operate without the need for a central authority. In principle, blockchain technology provides these markets with a high degree of security, trustworthiness, and dependability. This article surveys recent developments in these areas, including examples of architectures, designs, challenges, and best practices (case studies) for the design and implementation of tokenized platforms for exchanging digital assets.
Daniël Reijsbergen, Bretislav Hajek, Tien Tuan Anh Dinh, Jussi Keppo · 6 authors
Decentralized Finance (DeFi), in which digital assets are exchanged without trusted intermediaries, has grown rapidly in value in recent years. The global DeFi ecosystem is fragmented into multiple blockchains, fueling the demand for cross-chain commerce. Existing approaches for cross-chain transactions, e.g., bridges and cross-chain deals, achieve atomicity by locking assets in escrow. However, locking up assets increases the financial risks for the participants, especially due to price fluctuations and the long latency of cross-chain transactions. Stablecoins, which are pegged to a non-volatile asset such as the US dollar, help mitigate the risk associated with price fluctuations. However, existing stablecoin designs are tied to individual blockchain platforms, and trusted parties or complex protocols are needed to exchange stablecoin tokens between blockchains. Our goal is to design a practical stablecoin for cross-chain commerce. Realizing this goal requires addressing two challenges. The first challenge is to support a large and growing number of blockchains efficiently. The second challenge is to be resilient to price fluctuations and blockchain platform failures. We present CroCoDai to address these challenges. We also present three prototype implementations of our stablecoin system, and show that it incurs small execution overhead.
This project integrates Web 3.0, web development, and mobile game development to create aplay-to-earn (P2E) mobile game with a web component. The objective of this project is to seamlesslycombine a mobile game with a website and a distinctive token ecosystem to provide players with anenjoyable experience. For the purposes of creating mobile games, websites, and smart contracts,respectively, the Unity Game Engine and the "Next.js' framework, Solidity, are employed. The projectmakes use of Web3 Modal, the MetaMask extension, Microsoft Azure PlayFab for player management,and Web3 Modal for a seamless interface with blockchain networks. The main outcomes of the projectinclude successful implementations like a mobile game with simple gameplay that players can quicklyunderstand and a website with an interface that will allow you to withdraw crypto tokens securely usingsmart contracts. By offering real benefits like personalized crypto tokens, the idea increases playerparticipation. The primary conclusion to be drawn from this project is that combining gaming withblockchain integration results in a unique and engaging experience for gamers. In conclusion, our studyshows that integrating several technologies to improve user experiences in the gaming and blockchain areasis both feasible and potentially rewarding.
Abstract The creation of blockchain-based software applications requires today considerable technical knowledge, particularly in software design and programming. This is regarded as a major barrier in adopting this technology in business and making it accessible to a wider audience. As a solution, low-code and no-code approaches have been proposed that require only little or no programming knowledge for creating full-fledged software applications. In this paper we extend a review of academic approaches from the discipline of model-driven engineering as well as industrial low-code and no-code development platforms for blockchains. This includes a content-based, computational analysis of relevant academic papers and the derivation of major topics. In addition, the topics were manually evaluated and refined. Based on these analyses we discuss the spectrum of approaches in this field and derive opportunities for further research.
Monika Sheoran, Devashish Das Gupta, Alpana Karanjule
The emergence of cryptocurrencies based on blockchain technology has put forward as an alternative to the way the present financial system is organized across the world. The widespread adoption of cryptocurrencies could have multiple short and long term consequences for governments, banks and society. Cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, ethereum, and cardano have been adopted for various purposes. Some countries have even adopted bitcoin as a legal tender, thus increasing the popularity and usage of the cryptocurrencies. This chapter aims to understand various factors that are helping or hindering the adoption of cryptocurrencies through literature review. It uses the Push Pull Mooring framework to categorize various factors. It also discusses future research directions on this topic.
Disruptive technologies, such as blockchain (BCT), uphold relevant implications to design more transparent, efficient, and effective coproduction. However, evidence on how disruptive technologies affect the design choices and process of coproduction remains limited. Drawing on the unique case of Barcelona, this study analyses how BCT can shape coproduction and how BCT-based coproduction can look. By using a novel framework, our findings suggest that BCT-based coproduction has the potential to lead to new forms and roles in digital coproduction, yet several institutional, social and organizational factors can influence the design choices and, in turn, the implication of such processes.
This paper examines the question of whether computer code could actually substitute for intermediaries, as proponents of distributed ledger technology (DLT) and decentralised finance would argue. Drawing on transaction-cost economics, the paper reviews the role of intermediaries as efficient platforms for the exchange of information, goods and payments. The generic advantage of centralised coordination is compared with the narrative that DLT and decentralised finance could substitute for intermediaries due to their efficiency advantages and the promise of lower costs. The positivist question ‘cui bono?’ can be applied as a litmus test of these normative narratives in comparison with existing systems. As proposed concepts ‘without’ intermediaries introduce other intermediaries by the backdoor and no system runs without transaction costs of some sort, the paper concludes that intermediaries cannot be simply replaced.
The financial services industry has a long history of deploying new technology to respond to evolving customer expectations. The rise of digital banking in recent years represents a significant acceleration of technological change, fuelled by factors like the COVID-19 pandemic and shifting demographics. In the vanguard of sweeping industry changes are the FinTech providers. Advances such as cloud computing APIs and machine learning are being deployed to deliver seamless, 24/7 finance and banking services to consumers who now expect immediate, accessible digital solutions that provide both safety and convenience. Banks need to keep up with the incredible pace of change but face challenges in the form of entrenched legacy systems, siloed operations, a vast beachfront of propositional enhancements and compliance with regulations — issues that typical single-minded FinTechs are less burdened with. Many banks, however, are seeking to overcome these challenges, knowing that otherwise they face diminished market relevance. For many, the answer lies in partnering with existing FinTechs in mutually beneficial engagements that can deliver for increasingly digitally savvy users, such as a partnership between Barclays and TransferMate to deliver advanced cross-border payment services. Regulatory developments like Open Banking have set the scene for increased market competition as well as integrated disparate systems between multiple providers for the benefit of the end user. Onto this stage have entered traditional big-tech firms like Apple, Amazon Google and Meta, seeking opportunities to reshape the digital payments space. In parallel with these developments has emerged decentralised finance (DeFi) offerings that leverage concepts like Blockchain technology, smart contracts and distributed ledgers to provide solutions outside of the centralised processes of traditional finance. This paper explores the changing shape of digital banking; the potential for both competition and collaboration between banks, FinTechs and traditional tech companies; and examines how consumer demands are driving innovation.
The increasing adoption of blockchain (BC) and smart contracts (SCs) in the financial sector necessitates effective regulatory compliance solutions that align with the decentralized nature of these systems. Existing centralized approaches to regulatory compliance face challenges in keeping pace with the rapidly evolving technology, creating potential gaps in enforcement. This paper proposes a MultiParty Collaboration Framework (MPCF) for Regulatory Compliance for SC Systems, a novel decentralized approach to integrating regulatory compliance directly into BC-based financial systems. This framework enables multi-party collaboration and enforces compliance with various regulatory requirements while preserving the core principles of decentralization. We present the design principles of the framework, its implementation and use cases. We also discuss the challenges, limitations, potential extensions, and future research directions. Our work contributes to the ongoing efforts to develop more robust and adaptable regulatory frameworks for BC-based financial systems, fostering innovation while ensuring compliance.
Over the past few years, Algorand has emerged as one of the prominent pure proof-of-stake (PPoS) blockchains, with a rapidly growing number of accounts and transactions. Despite its increasing significance, there is limited knowledge about its smart contracts, transaction activities, and other features. This paper presents the first comprehensive study of Algorand using graph analysis to investigate the creation of entities, payment of Algos, invocation of smart contracts, and transfer of assets over time. By collecting and analyzing external transaction data, we have constructed graphs to gain insights into the behavior of the blockchain. Our research has uncovered novel observations and insights by performing relevant graph analysis, and we have also proposed a solution to one security problem based on these graphs.
Digital Products Passports (DPPs) are digital documents accompanying individual product items and carrying data pertaining to product's life cycle; material and methods used in manufacturing, product distribution network, carbon footprint and environmental impact, context and time of use, and other. DPPs were first introduced in the EU Green Deal and are envisioned as a tool to facilitate the transition to a Circular Economy. Data stored and carried on DPPs will help inform policy making as well as consumer behavior. However, the wide scope of use cases and market sectors under consideration pose significant challenges in deriving a generic DPP system design. This makes difficult the development of corresponding standards, which in turn hinders market stakeholders from onboarding the use of DPPs. We address this problem by means of a DPP use case framework that captures the core underlying structure of DPP use cases that is common in its many application areas. We also present a technical architecture for DPP systems based on Distributed Ledger Technologies and Smart Contracts and provide the code for a working prototype. We conclude by discussing future extensions of this work, particularly with respect to evaluating the performance of our implementation.
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) has been gaining rising importance due to advanced blockchain technology and web3.0. Consequently, many decentralized finance applications (DeFi apps) have emerged, which aim to reconstruct traditional finance and provide financial services with decentralization, transparency, and autonomy. To better understand the characteristics of DeFi apps in this rapidly evolving era, in this paper, we propose to profile DeFi apps based on 666 rigorously classified DeFi apps from a multi-layer perspective, which includes the transaction layer, token layer, and value layer. Our research provides insight into the multiple layers of DeFi apps, including both the breadth and the depth of current transactions, the degree to which apps are interconnected at the level of value flow, and an initial investigation into the relationship between whale trading and market crashes, which better help DeFi app developers with app design, performance evaluation, and optimization.
Abstract Blockchain has been one of the key innovations in information technology in the last 15 years. An important aspect of applying blockchain technology is the creation of so-called non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Although the name resembles cryptocurrencies because of the word token, in practice, NFTs do not represent electronic money but a digital certificate of ownership of an asset. They effectively behave like tokens whose total supply is one, and it is immutable. Considering their technical and conceptual basis, NFTs can be defined as digital certificates of ownership based on blockchain technology, the possession of which proves the indisputable ownership of the purchased digital asset. The subject of this paper is the conceptual basis of NFTs and the scope of their application in digital business. It aims to determine the value factors of NFTs and whether an expansion of their use can be expected in the future. The results of our research show that the essential advantage that NFTs bring to digital business is authentication. NFTs also enable the continuous collection of royalties by the author. The last, but potentially most powerful value generator of NFTs, is the creation of an ecosystem, where an online community is formed based on the initial forms of digital assets. Without standardization and regulation by states, NFTs will remain in the market niche of intensive Internet users.
A growing number of central banks are exploring the potential introduction of a central bank digital currency (CBDC), and authorities are conducting distributed ledger technology (DLT) proof-of-concept experiments and pilot programmes. While these pilot projects have confirmed the feasibility of using DLT platforms for large-value wholesale payments, it is not yet clear whether these platforms will provide major advantages in terms of speed and scalability for small-value/large-volume retail payments. In Turkey, the existing instant payment system has already demonstrated that it can settle as many as 1,980 transactions per second (TPS) and 11.5 million transactions per day, across its 25 participant institutions. Moreover, simulations in test conditions suggest that it has the potential to deliver thousands of transactions per second, and that it is scalable to hundreds of participant institutions. Any retail payment system built on a DLT platform must therefore, at the very least, perform at a comparable level. Using actual retail payment data from the day on which the peak TPS was observed, this paper describes a novel experimental investigation into the TPS and scalability performance of two open source DLT platforms (Hyperledger Fabric and Quorum) and Turkey’s instant payment system for retail payments, with the aim of providing valuable insights for the design of alternatives for future CBDC launches. The study presents several empirical findings. First, it demonstrates that the speed and scalability of selected DLT platforms are not yet mature enough to establish an enterprise retail payment solution. Secondly, the experimental design enables us to determine precisely which DLT platform is facing a performance and capacity bottleneck and under what circumstances. One of the most critical findings is that platforms with a modular architecture and more efficient transaction life cycle perform relatively better, although still lack the requirements for achieving reliable and efficient retail payments. Lastly, we suggest that it could be worth developing an integrated approach in which the central instant payment system and DLT-based digital currency solution communicate via a bridge platform.
In spite of all the hype, media attention, and explosion in market valuations, cryptocurrencies have so far failed to find wide acceptance as a means of payment. This has led to a wealth of literature investigating why cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin failed to establish themselves widely. However, these investigations have generally focused on specific cryptocurrencies and did not highlight which features of cryptocurrencies help or hinder adoption. This paper helps close this gap by conducting a qualitative user study with 960 respondents representative of the German population, obtaining freeform answers on the main adoption factors as well as the main obstacles for cryptocurrencies from both existing and potential users. We identify 33 reasons for and against cryptocurrency adoption, distributed into financial, ideological, benefits-based, technical, acceptance-based, and security-based categories. The contribution of this paper is threefold: We go beyond positive reasons and explicitly consider obstacles to cryptocurrency adoption inside a unified framework. We also identify additional payment system features that differ between different cryptocurrencies and influence their adoption. Thirdly, we identify adoption factors based on perceptions and personalities rather than just measurable features. Therefore, this paper also adds to the ongoing systematization of cryptocurrencies in the current stream of literature on the topic.
Cheuk Hang Au, Wen Shou Hsu, Po Hsu Shieh, Yue Lin
With value pegged to fiat currencies, stablecoins can mediate the price volatility of cryptocurrencies. And yet, the concept of stablecoin and its impact on fostering individuals’ cryptocurrency adoptions remain unclear. To explore stablecoin’s role in a contextualized way, we adopted the Push-Pull-Mooring (PPM) model as the theoretical foundations. PPM Framework is especially suitable for our study because it allows us to use a pretest-posttest approach to study the changes of different factors created by introducing stablecoins and the impact of these factors on the continuous intention (CI) of adopting cryptocurrency exchanges. Our results suggested that less experienced cryptocurrency users might not understand immediately upon learning about stablecoins. They may even feel confused and become less motivated to adopt cryptocurrencies. Conversely, more experienced users may recognize the importance of stablecoins. Moreover, after the introduction of stablecoins, the power of different factors on CI has also changed. Therefore, cryptocurrency exchanges need to adopt more diversified strategies to engage users of varying experience levels.
This study aims to take a closer look at decentralized finance (DeFi) lending, specifically through the platform EZFinance. EZFinance is a type of lending system that allows people to lend and borrow money using cryptocurrency. Unlike traditional banks, DeFi lending allows anyone to act as a lender and earn interest on their assets. EZFinance’s platform is designed to be transparent, open-source, and easy to use. It utilizes lending pools, where users can add their assets and have them quickly loaned out to borrowers through the use of smart contracts. This is a different and efficient way to lend and borrow money compared to the traditional banking system.
We examine whether business model concepts, that demonstrate significant convergence to Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) attributes, fit to DLT ecosystem characteristics and identify similarities and deflections. We answer the question whether the appropriate DLT business model is totally unique or adjustable and what conditions need to be met. The study follows a conceptual approach that is based on critical examination of three business model types that demonstrate similarities to the business model that an organization needs to adopt in order to fit in DLT ecosystem characteristics. Although each one of the network, digital and information business model types demonstrate similarities to DLT business model and reveal some resemblance with it, there are critical parameters that are neither addressed nor partially met. The main contribution of study is the exploration of the adjustable nature of the DLT business. Moreover, we highlighted the challenge for DLT ecosystem sustainability, defined and reviewed the conditions that need to be considered for DLT business model design.