Blockchain Papers

Nitin Upadhyay

No abstract is available for this record.

Stefan Höhne, Victor Tiberius

Purpose The purpose of this study is to formulate the most probable future scenario for the use of blockchain technology within the next 5–10 years in the electricity sector based on today’s experts’ views. Design/methodology/approach An international, two-stage Delphi study with 20 projections is used. Findings According to the experts, blockchain applications will be primarily based on permissioned or consortium blockchains. Blockchain-based applications will integrate Internet of Things devices in the power grid, manage the e-mobility infrastructure, automate billing and direct payment and issue certificates regarding the origin of electricity. Blockchain solutions are expected to play an important big role in fostering peer-to-peer trading in microgrids, further democratizing and decentralizing the energy sector. New regulatory frameworks become necessary. Research limitations/implications The Delphi study’s scope is rather broad than narrow and detailed. Further studies should focus on partial scenarios. Practical implications Electricity market participants should build blockchain-based competences and collaborate in current pilot projects. Social implications Blockchain technology will further decentralize the energy sector and probably reduce transaction costs. Originality/value Despite the assumed importance of blockchain technology, no coherent foresight study on its use and implications exists yet. This study closes this research gap.

Xiaochi Zhou, Mei Qi Lim, Markus Kraft

No abstract is available for this record.

Wei Liang, Dafang Zhang, Xia Lei, Mingdong Tang · 6 authors

The fast development of Blockchain technology makes it widely applied in several fields of digital transactions, like e-government affairs and the protection of financial transactions. In this article, we propose a homomorphic encryption-based Blockchain for circuit copyright protection that effectively addresses the issues in the protection of circuit copyright transactions, such as low security of private data, low efficiency in transaction data storage, cooperation and supervision. First, we establish a homomorphic encryption-based mathematical model by utilizing Blockchain and intelligent contract, and next, the algorithms that include Blockchain generation, homomorphic chain encryption/decryption, and intelligent contract are designed. As the intelligent contract is correctly executed in Blockchain, a fully homomorphic encryption-based identity authentication protocol is tackled for Blockchain, given that it ensures the change operation of any third-party in Blockchain and realizes real-time verification. The system is apposite for circuit copyright protection in a blockchain network, due to the use of distributed identity authentication and real-time extensible storage improves the security and extensibility of blockchain-based circuit copyright protection. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm has reduced the transmission cost and improved the efficiency of data storage and supervision. In addition, it is resilient to several common attacks (e.g., double-spending attacks), yet incurs low cost/overhead and has a higher level of security when compared to three other competing algorithms.

Emna Mnif, Anis Jarboui

Cryptocurrency is a new form of digital asset based on a network distributed across a large number of computers. The main objective of this work is to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on the Islamic cryptocurrency markets returns. In this methodology, we identify a group of Islamic cryptocurrencies consisting of the X8X, Hellogold and OneGram. This paper uses the Newey-West standard errors regression to estimate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Islamic cryptocurrencies returns. The empirical results show that COVID-19 total deaths have a negative effect on respectively the X8X cryptocurrency, HelloGold, and OneGram cryptocurrencies. In the same way, the COVID-19 total confirmed cases growth has a negative effect on respectively the X8X cryptocurrency, and OneGram cryptocurrencies. This study contributes to the literature by identifying the impact of COVID-19 on the Islamic cryptocurrency markets.

Alexandre Pólvora, Susana Nascimento, Joana S. Lourenço, Fabiana Scapolo

No abstract is available for this record.

Francisco Luis Benítez-Martínez, María Visitación Hurtado, Esteban Romero‐Frías

No abstract is available for this record.

Maximilian Wöhrer, Uwe Zdun

Due to the conceptual discrepancy between legal contract terms and code, understanding and creating smart contracts without errors can be difficult. This article proposes smart contract design patterns and their automated application through (the use of) a domain-specific language and code generation.

Olivier Meïer, Aurélie Sannajust

No abstract is available for this record.

Jan Veuger

Purpose A first exploration of the impact of blockchain on real estate in the Netherlands took place in 2017. In the follow-up, several blockchain and real estate studies have appeared with research on real estate and blockchain worldwide. In view of the previous research, the question remained as to what is now happening worldwide in the field of blockchain and real estate. This has resulted in the start-up of the Foundation for International Blockchain and Real Estate Expertise (FIBREE) network. This network has led to the launch of two investigations: Industry Report Blockchain Real Estate 2019 on exploration of international products and a database exploring blockchain and real estate on exploring (inter)national research. This paper aims to provides an overview and analysis of all relevant scientific publications – targeted on the Netherlands – and does so within a context of a first small international exploration of international research, experts and products – in particular land registration. Design/methodology/approach I have asked everybody at the Regionals Chairs of FIBREE to collect data with info about which blockchain and real estate product-suppliers or initiatives do you see, which research-output on blockchain and real estate is there and who are the experts with which specific expertise? This paper provides an overview and analysis of all relevant scientific publications – targeted on the Netherlands – and does so within a context of a first small international exploration of international research, experts and products – in particular land registration. Findings This paper provides an overview and analysis of all relevant scientific publications – targeted on the Netherlands – and does so within a context of a first small international exploration of international research, experts and products – in particular land registration. Research limitations/implications A question that remains is to continue to look at existing markets or too disruptive innovation newcomers in the blockchain market. The question is whether blockchain is only a technological disruption or a real game changer and whether the entire value chain of the market is going to embrace this. Confidence in blockchain is therefore a precondition for guiding that disruption where (new) companies use new technology to offer cheaper and superior alternatives in the market. But the big question is how quickly blockchain will develop as well as all its applications. Practical/social implications A question that remains is to continue to look at existing markets or too disruptive innovation newcomers in the blockchain market. The question is whether blockchain is only a technological disruption or a real game changer and whether the entire value chain of the market is going to embrace this. Confidence in blockchain is therefore a precondition for guiding that disruption where (new) companies use new technologies to offer cheaper and superior alternatives in the market. But the big question is how quickly blockchain will develop as well as all its applications. Originality/value A first exploration of the influence of blockchain on real estate in the Netherlands took place in 2017. In the follow-up, several blockchain and real estate studies appear with research about real estate and blockchain worldwide.

Shangrong Jiang, Xuerong Li, Shouyang Wang

No abstract is available for this record.

Palupi Lindiasari Samputra, Septia Zul Putra

Blockchain technology has been a phenomenal discovery since its use on Bitcoin, a crypto currency created by Satoshi Nakamoto. Featuring decentralization, it allows Bitcoin to escape the interference of third parties and governments. Departing from Keynesian Theory, this study used a mixed quantitative and qualitative approach. The econometric quantitative approach uses the Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) modeling to predict the impact of Bitcoin investment on Indonesia's transaction of capital. A qualitative approach is used to analyze the LOFT effects of Bitcoin on Indonesia's economic resilience. Unlike previous studies, this study attempts to provide an explanation from the standpoint of national resilience, especially in the field of economic resilience. VECM analysis found that Bitcoin had a significant positive effect on Indonesia's transaction of capital in both the short and long terms Even though the magnitude of the influence of bitcoin is relatively small, it needs to watch out for macro performance through capital transactions. Qualitative data indicate that there is a change of Bitcoin function in Indonesia, from a payment method, into an instrument of investment. The finding explains that Bitcoin has the potential to weaken the resilience of the Indonesian economy through a reduction in the balance of payments, while Blockchain can be the main foundation of the financial industry revolution in Indonesia.

Zixuan Xie, Run Wu, Miao Hu, Haibo Tian

Driven by the vision of the Internet of Things (IoT) under the fifth-generation (5G) wireless network, computing resource trading attracts numerous attention from both academia and industry. Prior works mainly focus on the design of auction mechanisms to implement pricing and resource allocation. However, it is still a challenging problem because of the following three aspects: 1) How to ensure that the auction mechanism runs fairly? An auction mechanism is vulnerable and questionable since the auctioneer may fail the orders matching operation or collude with a few peers. 2) It's hard to assign the computing resources of providers to customers and guarantee reasonable rewards for each participator. 3) How to make bidding strategies for each participator? Each participator has its willingness to selWuy, which are time-variant and private. To address the above issues, we build a blockchain-enabled computing resource trading system that takes both pricing and bidding strategies into consideration, on which providers and customers can trade computing resources securely, safely and willingly. Next, we formulate a decision-making problem in the continuous double auction (CDA) to maximize their payoffs. Then, we propose a universal model-free Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) framework for both computing resource providers and customers. We conduct extensive experiments to evaluate the performance of our DRL framework. Simulation results show that our solution outperforms others in both static and dynamic scenarios. Our DRL framework can achieve higher rewards than others by at least 35%. Furthermore, the average trading price from our DRL framework is less volatile than that from the compared methods. The DRL framework promotes trading and brings larger trading quantities, thus resulting in higher social welfare by at least 25% than the compared schemes.

Authors unavailable

The Bank of Canada has undertaken a multi-phase experimental project, called Jasper, to critically examine the value proposition of distributed ledger technology in the financial system.Unlike most technologies blockchain is not value free: it attempts to organize the world with a different conception of trust.We describe our journey, collaboration with other central banks and financial institutions, our findings and outstanding questions.Bio: Dinesh Shah is a director of Fintech research at the Bank of Canada.He leads a team that focuses on research on e-money and fintech.His research interest includes the analysis of emerging and potentially disruptive technologies with wide applications to financial market infrastructure and the financial system.He also drives the five phases of Project Jasper, which was the first project globally that involves a collaboration between a central bank and commercial banks to build a proof-of-concept interbank payment system with distributed ledgers.He joined the Bank of Canada in 2009 as an Enterprise Architect, then became a technical researcher focusing on research and analysis developments in e-money and payment systems and their impact on the Bank of Canada's mandate.

Klitos Christodoulou, Panayiotis Christodoulou, Z. Zinonos, Elias G. Carayannis · 5 authors

The COVID-19 pandemic is stress-testing existing health information exchange systems. There exists an increasing demand for sharing patient information and efficiently responding to patient medial data requests. Current health information technologies lack data fluidity, especially for remotely sharing medical data beyond their protected, local data storage. This paper presents a blockchain-based data-sharing framework that leverages the properties of immutability and decentralization to ensure a secure, user-centric approach for accessing and controlling access to sensitive medical data. The proposed framework builds its foundations on a peer-to-peer network fueled by the distributed InterPlanetary File System combined with on-chain tagging, and on the use of cryptographic generation techniques for enabling a secure way of sharing medical data. The flow of information is orchestrated by a smart-contract deployed on a blockchain-based protocol to ensure traceability and data integrity. The effectiveness of the framework is demonstrated with the implementation of the framework over a pilot study.

Neil Patel

The United Republic of Tanzania explicitly recognizes the human right to water and sanitation in its constitution. However, full implementation of this right has been complicated by Tanzania’s ongoing decentralization process for water governance, which has created a significant public financing gap for cash-strapped rural water schemes. Under the framework of the progressive realization of the human right to water, this thesis examines the potential for digital credit financing to bridge the public financing gap for rural water schemes in Tanzania. The thesis utilizes (1) country-wide data on digital financial inclusion and rural water access and (2) two case studies of digital credit financing in the rural water sector to explore the viability of a digital credit financing model. This thesis challenges sector-wide intuition on a “cost-recovery” model for rural water financing, instead arguing in favor of a “cost-reduction” model that prioritizes the use of debt financing for cost-reducing asset improvements, such as low-maintenance solar pump technology. It further finds that the weak regulation of the digital credit industry creates a major risk of predatory lending toward financially-illiterate consumers and outlines clear delineations of responsibility for various government agencies in regulating lending terms and providing technical assistance for rural water schemes. Finally, the thesis explores opportunities for cross-subsidization to ensure that the improved financial sustainability of water schemes does not come at the cost of equitable access to water for the rural poor.

Dhawal Mali, Divya Mogaveera, Parth Kitawat, Mohd. Jawwad

The tendering process is generally used by governments and companies to procure goods or services from manufacturing companies or service providers. However, e-tendering being the mostly used procurement method, there are various security implications present. Blockchain technology can be used to solve these security implications as it heavily focuses on the decentralization of information and is secured by encryption integrated with undeniable block-based architecture for transaction management. In this paper, how smart contracts (based on ethereum blockchain) can be employed to design a distributed e-tendering system is explored. The project is divided into four sections, 1. Tender creation and publishing process, 2.Bidding process on the tender, 3.Evaluation, and Negotiation of the bid and 4.Selection of the Winning bid. Different algorithms are used to implement each process. The security and audibility challenges are evaluated and compared to the current tendering process. The main aim of this paper is to implement a fair, transparent and open tendering scheme.

Felix Franz, Tobias Fertig, Andreas E. Schütz

The blockchain technology gets attention because of its special characteristics: safety, immutability, transparency, and no need for middlemen. However, not only cryptocurrencies are discussed. Smart contracts are considered as promising application implemented with blockchain technology. Nevertheless, smart contracts are very difficult to implement and are even challenging for experienced developers. In order to allow anyone to create smart contracts, users should be able to read and interpret them. Therefore, we created a prototype that allows to generate smart contracts, and therefore, increase the ease of use.

Xinglin Gong, Erwu Liu, Rui Wang

Blockchain technology can be used to track billions of interconnected devices, enabling secure data exchange and data processing. The decentralized and autonomous ability of the blockchain makes it an ideal solution for Internet of Things(IoT) applications. In this paper, we explore a basic IoT-Blockchain fusion model with four layers which contains different types of IoT devices. Distributed file system is considered in the model to store huge amount of IoT data. Then, a case study for blockchain-based IoT application, a Machine-to-Machine(M2M) autonomous trading system, is proposed on the Ethereum blockchain. We build smart contracts for device registration, data storage, service provision and fair payment, and the proof-of-concept is implemented using two Raspberry Pis to interact with smart contracts. The proposed system verifies that blockchain could improve IoT applications in transparency, traceability and security.

Daniel Connelly

Ethereum is a unique offshoot of blockchain technologies that incorporates the use of what are called smart contracts or DApps -- small-sized programs that orchestrate financial transactions on the Ethereum blockchain. With this fairly new paradigm in blockchain, however, comes a host of security concerns and a track record that reveals a history of losses in the range of millions of dollars. Since Ethereum is a decentralized entity, these concerns are not allayed as they are in typical financial institutions. For example, there is no Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to back the investors of these contracts from financial loss as there is with bank depositors. Furthermore, there is also no Better Business Bureau (BBB) or Consumer Reports organization to offer any sort of ratings on these contracts. However, there exists a well-known method for verifying a program's integrity; a method called symbolic execution. Such an examination promises to give not only a perspective on the security of Ethereum, but also highlight areas where security experts may need to target to more quickly improve upon the security of this blockchain. This paper proposes a solution to ensuring security and increasing end user confidence -- a digital registry of smart contracts that have security flaws in them. A rating system for contracts is proposed and the capabilities one has with knowledge of these vulnerabilities is examined. This research attempts to give a picture of the current state of security of Ethereum Smart Contracts by employing symbolic analysis on a portion of the Smart Contracts up until approximately the 8.4 millionth block. Vulnerabilities in Smart Contracts may be prevalent and, if they are, a registry for enumerating which ones are can be built and potentially used to easily enumerate them.

M. V. Ranjith Kumar, Arpit Shukla, Saket Agarwal

Generally, to make a campaign,startup, or any innovative idea successful requires some amount of donation. Fundraising or let us say Crowdfunding is an efficient way to raise money for your ideas, campaigns, startups etc. There are a lot of platforms available online and they provide space for setting up your own campaign so that you can gets funds for your campaign. people can go and contribute to any idea they like and get benefit from the pledge that you make. Certainly, there are lot of drawbacks to this model. There is no transparency and no assurance that your money is being put to the right use, there are charges to use the platform and many other issues. We try to over come these issues by making a fundraising platform using smart contract in solidity. This will be more secure as it uses Ethereum blockchain to make all the transactions and all the transactions are ethereum based. Not only this but the contributors have the right to vote for a transaction and only when a minimum consensus is achieved the requested transaction can be made.Contributors can have their own pool of contributors which can be achieved by multi-signature wallet.By creating a multisigned wallet , there will be two factor authentication mechanism to access funds, which are related more to security concerns. This not only enables a transparent transaction but also develops trust in the users of the platform. This not only resolves major drawbacks faced in the current live non blockchain based platforms like Kickstarter but also brings in more efficient platform to serve the purpose.”

Jasvant Mandloi, Pratosh Bansal

No abstract is available for this record.

Moayad Aloqaily, Azzedine Boukerche, Ouns Bouachir, Fariea Khalid · 5 authors

The increasing demand for clean, sustainable and reliable energy sources that are secure and stable requires the integration of renewable and edge energy products with the existing power grid. With the introduction of technological advancements and distributed resources, energy users (aka prosumers) can now generate, store and manage their energy requirements, and share their resources with others. BC is a promising technology that can provide secure and verifiable transactions for P2P energy trading, and promote energy conservation. This article recognizes the best practices for sustainable energy, and highlights the benefits of BC and smart contracts in the energy sector. A distributed trading framework and smart contracts are proposed for future versions of BC and integration with other energy products, and potential solutions are suggested.

Lan Xu, Yiliu Tu, Qiang Tang

Purpose . This paper aims to design the contract and present the profit distribution mechanism for CL platform, so as to realize the intelligent and automatic operation of the artificial intelligent- (AI-) based CL platform. Design/Methodology . A smart contract based on BT is designed for the AI-based CL platform. Profit distribution mechanism based on the Nash bargaining model for the CL platform is also put forward to coordinate different participators’ benefit relationship in CL. Findings . The AI-based CL platform and the proposed smart contract based on BT map the scenario which may be influenced by human factors and involve trust issues onto execution of codes. Practical Implications . The study will help CL practitioners in establishing effective profit mechanism and designing contracts on the platform, thus facilitating its sustainable operation. Originality/Value . The AI-based CL platform with BT smart contract can be totally free of human intervention, and hence, the problems of trust during CL platform’s operation are solved.