Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assist records managers and information governance professionals to understand the challenges presented by their organization’s use of blockchain distributed ledger technology (DLT). Design/methodology/approach An extensive literature review was conducted, which revealed a multitude of articles based on research into blockchain DLT, most written from the technology perspective. This paper differs in that it applies a records management lens to an analysis of the records created, registered or stored on a blockchain. A six-stage blockchain records consideration model is provided to illustrate examples of the records management challenges presented by the implementation of blockchain DLT. Questions are posed and recommendations are made to aid the reader in developing a blockchain DLT records management and information governance strategy. Findings Because there is no one universal configuration for a blockchain DLT solution, each implementation must be analyzed to understand the resultant records management and information governance challenges. A series of questions that should be asked and answered can not only help records management and information governance professionals adapt their policies and practices to the technology but also provide a basis for discussion with those designing the blockchain DLT solutions so they can include records management features in their designs. Originality/value This paper contributes an original analysis of the implications of the adoption of Blockchain DLT for records management and information governance programs through the lens of a six-stage Blockchain Records Consideration Model.
Jørgen Svennevik Notland, Jakob Svennevik Notland, Donn Morrison
Corruption is a major global financial problem with billions of dollars rendered lost or unaccountable annually. Corruption through contract fraud is often conducted by withholding and/or altering financial information. When such scandals are investigated by authorities, financial and legal documents are usually altered to conceal the paper trail. Smart contracts have emerged in recent years and appear promising for applications such as legal contracts where transparency is critical and of public interest. Transparency and auditability are inherent because smart contracts execute operations on the blockchain, a distributed public ledger. In this paper, we propose the Minimum Hybrid Contract (MHC), with the aim of introducing 1) auditability, 2) transparency, and 3) immutability to the contract's financial transactions. The MHC comprises an online smart contract and an offline traditional legal contract. where the two are immutably linked. Secure peer-to-peer financial transactions, transparency, and cost accounting are automated by the smart contract, and legal issues or disputes are carried out by civil courts. The reliance on established legal processes facilitates an appropriate adoption of smart contracts in traditional contracts.
Purpose - The main purpose of the study is to classify the different barriers in adoptions of Bitcoins and provide the appropriate elucidations for the problems faced by Bitcoin users in India.Design/ methodology/ approach - The study reviews researches on the adoption of Bitcoin as a medium of transactions and investments. A review of literature has been carried out to explore various existing Bitcoin. A case study has been conducted on Bitcoin and its adoption by individuals in different countries. AHP has been used to propose the model and for insights.Originality/value - Bitcoin adoption is still an unexplored area of research. This research has attempted to explore the root causes of the non-adoption of Bitcoin in different countries.
Our current banking system is based on a central server where every branch is connected to each other. If the server made any changes to the data of a branch then other branches get affected. In this system, Corruption can be easily occurred because of unauthorized access which is totally insecure in transaction systems. But, Blockchain is a secure system where the transactional history regarding crypto-currency cannot be modified or destructed. Since 2008, Blockchain has gained immense interest due to exclusion of third-party organization participation in monitoring of the transactions. Ethereum is a protocol which is based on Blockchain technology and has several benefits over other crypto-currency based system and is best suited for creating a secure lending system. Every Ethereum based system runs on 'Smart-Contracts' which are lines of code and makes the system automated. As the system gets automated, proper algorithms can make the system reliable and secure as each and every step of the system is maintained and executed by the algorithm inside the Smart-Contracts. Blockchain systems work with peer-to-peer networks and also uses a consensus algorithm that's why there is no possibility of data modification.
With a view to overcome the shortcomings of traditional Electronic Health Record (EHR) system so as to assure the interoperability by providing open access to sensitive health data, while still preserving personal data privacy, anonymity and avoiding data misuse, Decentralized Electronic Health Record System was developed. The aforementioned issue concerning traditional EHR system can be addressed by implication of emerging technology of the era namely Block chain, together with Inter Planetary File System (IPFS) which enables data sharing in decentralized and transactional fashion, thereby maintaining delicate balance between privacy and accessibility of electronic health records. A block chain based EHR system has been built for secure, efficient and interoperable access to medical records by both patients and doctors while preserving privacy of the sensitive patient’s information. Patients can easily and comprehensively access to their medical records across providers and treatment sites using unique properties of block chain and decentralized storage. A separate portal for both the patients and doctors has been built enabling the smart contracts to handle further interaction between doctors and patients. So, in this system, it is demonstrated how principles of decentralization and block chain architectures could contribute to EHR system using Ethereum smart contracts and IPFS to orchestrate a suitable system governing the medical record access while providing patients with comprehensive record review along with consideration for audit ability and data sharing.
Information systems and technology has changed the world in every aspect. One of them is how a contract is made. Smart contract technology has offered a new, efficient, and secure way to automatically execute the terms of the agreement with no third-party to perform such contracts. The objective of this paper is to conduct a systematic overview of how the smart contract can bring opportunities and also challenges to Indonesia. We propose this paper due to the benefits Indonesian businesses will have by implementing smart contracts. Apart from the benefits, in Indonesia, there are still very few journals discussing smart contracts implementation. In this paper, there will be our findings of how smart contracts are utilized currently in industries, the challenges, and the current smart contract in Indonesia. The result will be used as guidance when considering, planning, and applicating smart contracts in Indonesia.
Digitalization in finance is an irreversible process, which manifests itself in many different dimensions. Blockchain is an innovative technology that can significantly increase the operational effectiveness of key processes in the financial services industry by reducing costs, enhancing the security and transparency of transactions, and speeding up the settlement process. The idea of smart contracts’ implementation in blockchain is suitable for financial transactions, where a link between fulfilling contractual terms and performing actual transactions is established. The ‘’blockchain - smart contract’’ combination forces the execution of all transactions in accordance with the contract terms and leaves a door, wide open for the automation of key processes. What makes using a ‘smart contract’ beneficial is its ability to eliminate mediation from third parties, such as agents or trustees. The invasion of digital technology is expected to bring dramatic changes in the nature of financial intermediation. This research paper is focused on assessing the expected degree of blockchain penetration and its impact on selected key segments of the financial industry (e.g. global payments, trade finance, capital market trading, syndicated lending, insurance and compliance). Barriers and challenges to the new application’s wide spreading are also analyzed. Based on this research, conclusions about the expected degree of applicability of blockchain in the financial sphere are drawn, and proposals for the initial steps in this direction are made.
Green investment vehicles are limited by multiple market failures, such as high transaction costs for certification and monitoring, and high minimum investment sizes. In this exploratory study, we apply an inductive approach based on qualitative evidence from expert feedback to assess the potential of blockchain-based security tokens to address these market failures. The tokenization of real assets or debt/equity instruments reduces transaction costs through disintermediation and automation, enhances transparency, and reduces size and liquidity requirements due to lower transaction costs. The main constraints to the adoption of tokenized securities are software risk, regulatory uncertainty, and immature investment infrastructure. These constraints can be addressed by decision- and policy makers in Asia. Through developing pilot use cases and establishing regulatory sandboxes for tokenized securities, valuable experiences and stakeholder feedback can be merged into coherent regulatory and investment frameworks. Even though tokenized securities are a nascent technology and currently limited by immaturities, it is important to consider and develop this financing mechanism in a proactive manner, given its high potential to democratize green finance.
Antonio López Vivar, Alberto Turégano Castedo, Ana Lucila Sandoval Orozco, Luis Javier García Villalba
Smart contracts have gained a lot of popularity in recent times as they are a very powerful tool for the development of decentralised and automatic applications in many fields without the need for intermediaries or trusted third parties. However, due to the decentralised nature of the blockchain on which they are based, a series of challenges have emerged related to vulnerabilities in their programming that, given their particularities, could have (and have already had) a very high economic impact. This article provides a holistic view of security challenges associated with smart contracts, as well as the state of the art of available public domain tools.
Christian Sillaber, Bernhard Waltl, Horst Treiblmaier, Ulrich Gallersdörfer · 5 authors
Abstract Smart contracts are seen as the major building blocks for future autonomous blockchain- and Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT)-based applications. Engineering such contracts for trustless, append-only, and decentralized digital ledgers allows mutually distrustful parties to transform legal requirements into immutable and formalized rules. Previous experience shows this to be a challenging task due to demanding socio-technical ecosystems and the specificities of decentralized ledger technology. In this paper, we therefore develop an integrated process model for engineering DLT-based smart contracts that accounts for the specificities of DLT. This model was iteratively refined with the support of industry experts. The model explicitly accounts for the immutability of the trustless, append-only, and decentralized DLT ecosystem, and thereby overcomes certain limitations of traditional software engineering process models. More specifically, it consists of five successive and closely intertwined phases: conceptualization, implementation, approval, execution, and finalization. For each phase, the respective activities, roles, and artifacts are identified and discussed in detail. Applying such a model when engineering smart contracts will help software engineers and developers to better understand and streamline the engineering process of DLTs in general and blockchain in particular. Furthermore, this model serves as a generic framework which will support application development in all fields in which DLT can be applied.
Lei Xu, Lin Chen, Zhimin Gao, Larry Carranco · 8 authors
The smart device owning rate such as smart phone and smart watch is higher than ever before and mobile payment has become one of the major payment methods in many different areas. At the same time, blockchain-based cryptocurrency is becoming a nonnegligible type of currency and the total value of all types of cryptocurrency has reached USD 200 billion. Therefore, it is a natural demand to support cryptocurrency payment on mobile devices. Considering the poor infrastructure and low penetration of financial service in developing countries, this combination is especially attractive. The high storage cost and payment processing latency are the two main obstacles for mobile payment using cryptocurrency. We propose two different schemes for cryptocurrency mobile payment, one involves a centralized bank and the other one does not require any centralized party. We also provide a solution for the bank to meet KYC (know your customer)/AML (antimoney laundering) compliance requirements when it is involved in cryptocurrency mobile payment processing.
Block chain is the latest technology in the IT industry for securing blocks of data. Secure online bidding system is designed with blockchain technology using hyper ledger saw tooth framework. Currently, there is a lot of data integrity problems with respect financial services in the market. Block chain overcomes this flaw by decentralizing the information. In the proposed work, the client can connect to the validator network to put an item or commodity of their choice for auction. Other users can view the items and connect to the validator network to bid their items using user interface. All the information regarding the items are stored on the Blockchain. Information is safe and integrity is achieved. Detailed records cannot be altered and the highest bidder has to make the purchase. Once the purchase is done, nobody can alter the data. Information is safe and integrity is achieved as both seller and bidder are enabled with security.
The emerging e-commerce systems open the way for several applications to be viable from off-line to online system. E-Auction is an effective ecommerce system that allows bidders and sellers to interact through online platforms. However, providing completely secure e-auction system that satisfies security conditions for all players in these systems requires very complex efforts in the traditional design. Blockchain and smart contract, as a revolutionary technology, has attracted the interest of different industries including the designing of e-auction systems. In this paper, our aim is to provide a prototype of secure blockchain e-auction system that lowering the uncertainties about identities of long-distance complex trade in an e-auction system that can be implemented in UAE services, especially, UAE Auction. In our implementation, we use smart contract in order to guarantee the necessary security requirements. The smart contract contains important information about the transaction details such as auctioneer data, the start time and the deadline of auction, the current winner data, and the current highest price.
Muhammad Asif Habib, Muhammad Bilal Sardar, Sohail Jabbar, C. M. Nadeem Faisal · 6 authors
The transaction issue in the area of supply chain management plays a vital role among stakeholders. For the reasonable processes of transportation and logistics in the supply chain, the sharing of the transaction is very crucial. The current supply chain management has several shortcomings in security and trust issues in the transaction process. Therefore, information is shared on paper-based and a semi digitalizes way. In this paper, we analyze a trust issue in supply chain and design a new propose scheme based on blockchain technology for resolving the problem in the supply chain and automate the whole payment process through a smart contract. The case study based validation is performed. The result shows that blockchain improves the transaction process.
The contract is the sovereign tool employed to manage agreements between entities in today’s society. It plays a crucial role in a variety of different fields, ranging from politics to finance. This fact implies the efficiency of these applications is determined in part by the efficiency of the contracts they rely on. Despite their important role, contracts have changed relatively little in the last few centuries and remain based on an outdated technology of bureaucracy and procedures done by hand. Such systems are full of unnecessary complications, are incredibly wasteful in terms of time, money and resources, and are susceptible to human failure. In the last few years, a type of contract represented by a computer program has appeared. This concept, known as a smart contract, is based on the emerging blockchain technology. Blockchain is a type of distributed system which assures the immutability of data via the use of mathematically secure cryptographic techniques and that, as will be discussed, is well-suited for the implementation of smart contract systems. Transitioning contracts into the digital era would not only allow them to catch up to the technological pace of society but also would be advantageous from a safety and efficiency standpoint. This body of work will test the feasibility of using blockchain-based smart contracts to facilitate the first steps of this evolution. This thesis assembles a proof of concept platform that supports the specification and execution of smart contracts on a blockchain network. This proof of concept will in particular target the use case of opening a bank account, aiming to create an efficient, permanent, reliable and safe process. To achieve this, we constructed a Hyperledger Fabric network. We present herein the system developed and discuss the nuances pertaining to deploying a codebase on a blockchain, the evaluation of our system, and finally some visions for further development of this and related use cases.
The copyright of data is a key point that needs to be solved in spatial data infrastructure for data sharing. In this paper, we propose a decentralized digital rights management model of spatial data, which can provide a novel way of solving the existing copyright management problem or other problems in spatial data infrastructure for data sharing. An Ethereum smart contract is used in this model to realize spatial data digital rights management function. The InterPlanetary File System is utilized as external data storage for storing spatial data in the decentralized file system to avoid data destruction that is caused by a single point of failure. There is no central server in the model architecture, which has a completely decentralized nature and it makes spatial data rights management not dependent on third-party trust institutions. We designed three spatial data copyright management algorithms, developed a prototype system to implement and test the model, used the smart contract security verification tool to check code vulnerabilities, and, finally, discussed the usability, scalability, efficiency, performance, and security of the proposed model. The result indicates that the proposed model not only has diversified functions of copyright management compared with previous studies on the blockchain-based digital rights management, but it can also solve the existing problems in traditional spatial data infrastructure for data sharing due to its characteristics of complete decentralization, mass orientation, immediacy, and high security.
Open access
Blockchain Technology Applications and Security
FinTech, Crowdfunding, Digital Finance
Advanced Steganography and Watermarking Techniques
Toqeer Ali Syed, Adnan Nadeem, Ali Alzahrani, Salman Jan
Performing various transactions on real estate records in the government organization is a cumbersome task and has many pitfalls. There are a number of problems with the existing land registry systems. First, the process of land registry and transferring of a land is currently manual. Even though, some of the processes and records are digitized, however, it still has many problems, such as, it is developed on a centralized system, it cannot maintain the complete history of the land and it does not have a built-in mechanism for record tempering detection. To overcome these problems there is no viable solution based on a centralized system. The decentralized systems, such as, Blockchain comes built-in with this feature. In this proposal, aforementioned problems are addressed. The lands are registered over Blockchain network by designing a smart contract. The proposed studies can provide several features to the stakeholders including efficiency, transparency, trustworthiness, integrity for various entities and processes involved in buying and selling a property. Essentially the framework offers services that will provide a detailed history and untampered information regarding a property to ensure that the record is not manipulated. There is an external link available via Restful to the traditional property dealing apps so they can extract the real-time record of the land, such as, dimension, location, price of that specific land. The proposed system will ultimately safeguard confidence in doing real estate business over the Internet.
Blockchain is a distributed database or a decentralized ledger which is most commonly used to exchange digital currency and perform transactions securely. Every participant of the network has access to the ledger which will be updated by every new transaction. The Blockchain ledger is a collection of all transactions executed in the past. The Blockchain ledger is a continuously growing tamper-proof data structure containing blocks that hold batches of individual transactions. The completed blocks are added in chronological order. Blockchain via Bitcoin has had a massive impact on the world in the past decade and it's safe to say that this will continue, especially with many people working tirelessly to remove the various limitations that are prohibiting blockchains from becoming mainstream. One such limitation is the high processing and electrical costs that come from the Proof-of-Work consensus protocol. In this paper, we propose an alternative proof-by-approval protocol which is a more advanced form of the proof-of-reputation protocol, that offers better security and is a more decentralized approach than the former at the cost of being less performant and harder to setup.
Smart contracts are an innovative contract type best described as digital and decentralized agreements which are stored on a blockchain. The automatisms included in blockchain-based smart contracts as well as their transparency and irreversibility contribute to their increasing popularity and made proponents of smart contracts suggest that they will replace traditional written contracts and become the (only) contract type in the long run. However, seminal problems prevail, including technical, legal, and also economic questions. This paper addresses the latter: Using theoretical approaches of New Institutional Economics, such as the theory of transaction cost or the theory of agency, it shows that smart contracts are no cure-all, but another (process) innovation of considerable, but not unlimited potential. Smart Contract, Blockchain, Distributed Ledger Technology, New Institutional Economics, Principal Agent Theory, Transaction Cost, Property Rights, Positive Economics, Synchronous Interaction, Datatrusted Exchange
Meghali Nandi, Rajat Bhattacharjee, Amrit Kumar Jha, Ferdous Ahmed Barbhuiya
Land is an immovable and non-liquid asset having high value. The integrity and proper track of ownership/transfer records of land is a highly challenging task. As the ownership of land can constantly change over time and that too sometimes very frequently, it poses a daunting task of keeping elaborate and long ownership transfer records. The problem further escalates due to presence of fraudulent or incomplete registries which are very difficult to trace back through time. Thus ownership disputes in the system, lead to litigation running for years, leading to wastage of valuable time, energy and resource for solving these disputes. Most of the issues root from the problem of the current land registration systems being either having legacy paper document trails or from poorly kept non-transparent centralized systems. Fraudulent users may try to forge paper documents or modify electronic records to change the land ownership record. This paper proposes a secure record keeping mechanism that addresses these issues using a Blockchain based system which can create record for the physical assets into an immutable liquid Blockchain based token asset. This new block chain token asset can now be used to keep a digitally secured and selectively visible record of ownership, solving the mentioned issues. An implementation of this system has been done using Ethereum and the benchmark data shows that the transaction processing time of such a system is reasonably low thereby making it suitable for practical implementation.