Recent years have seen extensive adoption of blockchain technology across a variety of application domains, all with the goal of enhancing data privacy, system trustworthiness, and security. One of the biggest problems with blockchain is its inability to scale; other problems include energy consumption, latency, throughput, and the ever-increasing volume of daily transactions. The consensus technique relies on hash functions, which are important to highlight. Thus, such development is fundamental to blockchain advances in terms of structure. This study introduces a revolutionary change to the Proof-of-Stake (POS) consensus methods by suggesting the replacement of the commonly used SHA256 hash function with the extremely efficient Blake3. Many blockchain-based systems, including POS algorithms, still employ the widely used SHA256 algorithm for cryptographic hashing. Nevertheless, fresh research has shown that SHA256 has performance and security flaws. We show that the Blake3 hash function, is better than the SHA256 hash in many respects, including latency, throughput, and energy, via rigorous testing and functional analysis. Diverse parameters were utilized, including the quantity of blocks and validators. Seen cases are taken into account for performance evaluation. In the initial scenario, utilizing 500 blocks and 4 validators, our proposed methodology has surpassed the benchmark by achieving a 66% reduction in latency, over 50% in throughput, and a 55% decrease in energy consumption. The rate of enhancement is nearly uniform across all other instances, indicating that the implementation of Blake3 within the conventional POS consensus mechanism has demonstrated its advantages.
This research introduced a new novel “Unified Quantum-Resilient Blockchain-Zero-Knowledge Proofs Privacy Authentication Framework (QBC-ZKPAF)” to upgrade the IoT environments with greater security. To enable privacy-preserving authentication, access control, and secure communication, the framework integrates blockchain technology with Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA) and post-quantum cryptography. A hybrid Reinforcement-Lattice Blockchain KeyGen for quantum-resilient key generation, Deep Q-Network Multi-Factor Secure Key (DQN-MFSK) for dynamic selection of keys, and Zero-Knowledge Proof for privacy-preserving signatures are employed to achieve secure IoT settings. This architecture entails data privacy and confidentiality, auditability and traceability, and withstanding evolving threats, including potential threats in terms of quantum attacks. It then uses blockchain technology for recording unalterable data of identity and access management while Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKP) ensures authentication and verification without revealing sensitive information. By decentralizing identity management and enabling multi-factor authentication, QBC-ZKPAF provides robust security and privacy solutions for IoT networks. The experimental results demonstrate the model’s effectiveness with 98% privacy preservation, 700 TPS throughput, 0.7 J energy consumption, 0.98 quantum resilience, and 96% access control effectiveness, making it highly suitable for modern IoT and blockchain applications.
William Villegas-Ch, Rommel Gutierrez, Alexandra Maldonado Navarro, Aracely Mera-Navarrete
The Internet of Things (IoT) expansion has exposed connected devices to significant security vulnerabilities, particularly in terms of authentication and authorization. Traditional solutions, such as centralized servers or Proof of Work (PoW)–based blockchain, are unfeasible due to the resource limitations of IoT devices, such as their low processing capacity and dependence on batteries. This study proposes a lightweight blockchain system based on a simplified Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism designed to optimize energy consumption and improve resilience to attacks in IoT networks. The system implements a hierarchical network topology that improves data propagation and transmission times, significantly reducing latency compared to distributed topologies. In addition, it uses lightweight cryptographic algorithms such as ECDSA for authentication and AES-128 for authorization, ensuring transaction security without compromising the efficiency of IoT devices. The results show that the system reduces energy consumption by 54% compared to PoW solutions in high-load scenarios while maintaining an average latency below 30 ms. Furthermore, the system achieved a 92.5% attack detection rate under low malicious load, demonstrating its effectiveness in high-threat environments. This work offers a scalable and efficient solution that optimizes security and performance in IoT networks, opening new possibilities for its application in critical infrastructures and real-time sensor networks.
This paper presents a multi-contract blockchain framework for inter-provider agreements in 6G networks, emphasizing performance analysis under a realistic Proof-of-Stake (PoS) setting on Ethereum's Sepolia testnet. We begin by quantifying Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-based gas usage for critical operations such as provider registration, service addition, and SLA penalty enforcement, observing that cold writes and deep data structures can each inflate gas consumption by up to 20\%. We then examine block-level dynamics when multiple transactions execute concurrently, revealing that moderate concurrency (e.g., 30--50 simultaneous transactions) can fill blocks to 80--90\% of their gas limit and nearly double finalization times from around 15~seconds to over 30~seconds. Finally, we synthesize these insights into a practical design guide, demonstrating that flattening nested mappings, consolidating storage writes, and selectively timing high-impact transactions can markedly reduce costs and latency spikes. Collectively, our findings underscore the importance of EVM-specific optimizations and transaction scheduling for large-scale decentralized applications in 6G telecom scenarios. The implementation is available online.
Open access
3 source records
Blockchain Technology Applications and Security
IoT and Edge/Fog Computing
Innovative Microfluidic and Catalytic Techniques Innovation
Tanuj Surve, Amit Kumar Tyagi, Bukola Fatimah Balogun
Blockchain’s use in smart finance is transforming financial technology. This detailed study examines blockchain’s role in decentralized governance and its potential to transform digital transactions. An enlightening introduction emphasizes blockchain’s importance in the ever-changing banking sector. Blockchain, originally connected with digital money, is now a versatile technology that has influenced banking. The literature review dominates, covering blockchain in finance studies on decentralized governance. Smart contracts and distributed ledger architecture are game-changers, promising transparency, security, and efficiency. Decentralized governance undermines centralized authority systems, creating a more inclusive and democratic financial landscape. The article highlights the adoption of blockchain by traditional banks and creative fintech startups as it explores blockchain’s impact on finance. Blockchain applications range from digital identity verification to supply chain financing on public, private, and group blockchains. The methodology section emphasizes the research methodologies’ robustness and completeness. A review of relevant studies and case studies as far as observed are capable of helping comprehend blockchain in smart finance. Blockchain architecture and decentralized governance in smart finance are explored in the article. A detailed review of blockchain systems and consensus processes illuminates their merits and cons. Decentralized finance (DeFi) and smart contracts show how blockchain technology might alter financial systems. Considering the changing regulatory landscape and the need for clear frameworks, challenges and prospects are examined. The paper suggests researching decentralized governance in financial services and its effects on existing banking models.
Burhan Ul Islam Khan, Khang Wen Goh, Abdul Raouf Khan, Megat F. Zuhairi · 5 authors
A typical Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) defines the usage of static sensors; however, the growing focus on smart cities has led to a rise in the adoption of mobile sensors to meet the varied demands of Internet of Things (IoT) applications. This results in significantly increasing dependencies towards secure storage and effective resource management. One way to address this issue is to harness the immutability property of the Ethereum blockchain. However, the existing challenges in IoT communication using blockchain are noted to eventually lead to symmetry issues in the network dynamics of Ethereum. The key issues related to this symmetry are scalability, resource disparities, and centralization risk, which offer sub-optimal opportunities for nodes to gain benefits, influence, or participate in the processes in the blockchain network. Therefore, this paper presents a novel blockchain-based computation model for optimizing resource utilization and offering secure data exchange during active communication among mobile sensors. An empirical method of trust computation was carried out to identify the degree of legitimacy of mobile sensor participation in the network. Finally, a novel cost model has been presented for cost estimation and to enhance the users’ quality of experience. With the aid of a simulation study, the benchmarked outcome of the study exhibited that the proposed scheme achieved a 40% reduced validation time, 28% reduced latency, 23% improved throughput, 38% minimized overhead, 27% reduced cost, and 38% reduced processing time, in contrast to the existing blockchain-based solutions reported in the literature. This outcome prominently exhibits fairer symmetry in the network dynamics of Ethereum presented in the proposed system.
The development of artificial intelligence (AI) based medical Internet of Things (IoT) technology plays a crucial role in making the collection and exchange of medical information more convenient. However, security, privacy, and efficiency issues during information exchange have become pressing challenges. While many scholars have proposed solutions based on AI and blockchain to address these issues, few have focused on the impact of the slow consensus algorithm of blockchain on the efficiency of information exchange. To improve the efficiency of information exchange, we propose an information exchange approach based on AI and DAG-enabled blockchain, providing a secure and efficient environment for information exchange in the medical IoT. Additionally, to enhance the efficiency of information exchange in the medical IoT, a novel tip selection algorithm is introduced to reduce the time delay in reaching consensus, thereby enabling faster acquisition of trusted information via blockchain. Simulation results demonstrate that compared to methods based on traditional DAG-enabled blockchain, the approach proposed in this paper improves the efficiency of information exchange.
Blockchain technology is transforming the safe sharing and patient data management in a healthcare setting becoming more and more digital. Blockchain's distributed ledger design is challenging conventional centralised systems, often typified by data silos and vulnerability to cyber-attacks. This study offers a complete architecture for blockchain-based health informatics systems guaranteeing data integrity, privacy, and interoperability across many healthcare systems. The suggested system provides a strong solution for automated permission management and safe data exchange by using smart contracts, consensus mechanisms, and cryptographic approaches as well as To effectively manage vast amounts of data while preserving strict security criteria, the architecture combines off-chain storage with on-chain transaction recording. By means of transparent, unchangeable records, and thus build confidence among healthcare professionals, insurance companies, and research organisations, extensive academic analysis and empirical assessments emphasise the potential of blockchain to empower patients. All important for real-time clinical applications, performance benchmarks from pilot tests show gains in transaction throughput, reduced data retrieval latency, and excellent network uptime. Furthermore, the threat modelling and regulatory compliance studies solve important issues around data protection and scalability thus making sure the system fits strict legal frameworks like HIPAA and GDPR. Although perfect integration with legacy systems still presents difficulties, this study highlights the transforming power of blockchain technology in building an interoperable, patient-centric, safe healthcare environment. Future research will concentrate on maximising scalability and improving the regulatory environment to fully exploit blockchain possibilities in health informatics.
Oleksandr Kuznetsov, Emanuele Frontoni, Alexandr Kuznetsov, Олексій Смірнов · 5 authors
The integration of blockchain technology into the metaverse represents a pivotal development in the evolution of digital environments, offering enhanced security, transparency, and user empowerment. This chapter delves into the theoretical foundations, applications, benefits, and challenges of leveraging blockchain within the metaverse. Through a comprehensive analysis, we examine how blockchain technology underpins the operational dynamics of the metaverse, facilitating secure transactions, authentic digital ownership, and decentralized governance models. We also explore the practical applications of blockchain in the metaverse, including tokenization of assets, smart contracts, and decentralized autonomous organizations, which collectively enhance the functionality and economic viability of virtual worlds. The chapter highlights the benefits of blockchain integration, such as improved security, user autonomy, and interoperability among diverse virtual environments. Addressing the challenges and limitations of blockchain in the metaverse, such as scalability, user accessibility, and regulatory hurdles, we present current solutions and future directions for research and development. Importantly, we underscore the critical role of wireless communication systems in supporting and enhancing the metaverse experience, arguing for a synergistic relationship between these technologies. Our analysis suggests that the integration of blockchain in the metaverse holds significant promise for creating more immersive, efficient, and user-centric digital ecosystems. As we navigate the complexities of this integration, ongoing innovation and collaboration among technologists, researchers, and policymakers will be essential in realizing the full potential of the metaverse as a platform for diverse applications and experiences.
The accelerating pace of adoption of decentralized applications requires the use of efficient, high-performance blockchain infrastructures. These blockchains are supported by consensus algorithms that are critical determinants of scalability, transaction speed, costs, and security. Developers are still unaware of the most useful options because there is a large gap in information regarding the comprehensive evaluation of these algorithms in practice. This study aims to test and compare the performance of the three most popularly used blockchain consensus protocols - Proof of Work (PoW), Proof of Stake (PoS) and Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) with the aim to improve the application of decentralized systems. By deploying smart contracts on real blockchain test networks (Callisto for PoW, Sepolia for PoS, and Tron Nile for DPoS), the research explores key performance metrics such as block time, deploy gas fee, block gas limit, and block size. The experiments utilize tools like Remix IDE and Tron-IDE, highlighting the practical implications of consensus algorithms under varying real-world conditions, including network congestion and transaction volatility. Tron Nile excels in speed and capacity but incurs high gas fees, Sepolia balances performance with moderate costs, and Callisto emphasizes cost efficiency at the expense of speed and scalability. Insights derived from this study provide valuable guidelines for developers to choose suitable consensus mechanisms based on the specific requirements of decentralized applications
Large quantities of processing resources with strict latency specifications are needed for Internet ofThings (IoT) devices due to the rise of compute-intensive and delay-sensitive mobile apps. One promising solutionis to transfer resource-intensive computational tasks from IoT devices to either edge computing servers or cloud computing servers. This paper aims to apply a simplified distributed ledger to an edge network to follow up the offloaded data and maintain the response time as much as possible. The voting process is used as a consensus to validate the new block, while the offloading decision is based on a fixed processing time offloading threshold value. The proposed model has been programmed and the experimental evaluation of the proposed model shows that the ledger did not significantly lengthen the response time and the offloaded task has been successfully tracked
The importance of secure data sharing in fog computing is increasing due to the growing number of Internet of Things (IoT) devices. This article addresses the privacy and security issues brought up by data sharing in the context of IoT fog computing. The suggested framework, called “BlocFogSec”, secures key management and data sharing through blockchain consensus and smart contracts. Unlike existing solutions, BlocFogSec utilizes two types of smart contracts for secure key exchange and data sharing, while employing a consensus protocol to validate transactions and maintain blockchain integrity. To process and store data effectively at the network edge, the framework makes use of fog computing, notably reducing latency and raising throughput. BlocFogSec successfully blocks unauthorized access and data breaches by restricting transactions to authorized nodes. In addition, the framework uses a consensus protocol to validate and add transactions to the blockchain, guaranteeing data accuracy and immutability. To compare BlocFogSec's performance to that of other models, a number of simulations are conducted. The simulation results indicate that BlocFogSec consistently outperforms existing models, such as Security Services for Fog Computing (SSFC) and Blockchain-based Key Management Scheme (BKMS), in terms of throughput (up to 5135 bytes per second), latency (as low as 7 ms), and resource utilization (70% to 92%). The evaluation also takes into account attack defending accuracy (up to 100%), precision (up to 100%), and recall (up to 99.6%), demonstrating BlocFogSec's effectiveness in identifying and preventing potential attacks.
Because block chain technology can improve distributed systems' security, dependability, and resilience, it has been gaining popularity. Research based on this technique has helped a number of fields, including data analysis, finance, remote sensing, and healthcare. The primary characteristics that make block chain technology appealing include distributed ledgers, decentralization, privacy, transparency, and data immutability. However, because there is a chance of a privacy breach, medical records that hold private patient information make this system extremely complex. The purpose of this project is to investigate block chain applications in the healthcare sector. We also include articles that touch on other topics, like the Internet of Things, information management, medicine supply chain tracking, and privacy and security issues. Lastly, we aim to investigate block chain concepts in the medical field by evaluating their advantages and disadvantages and providing direction to other studies in the field. We also provide a summary of the Block chain's techniques. Index Terms—IoT, Block Chain, Healthcare, Smart Contract, Etherum.
Nassmah Y. Al-Matari, Ammar T. Zahary, Asma A. Al-Shargabi
The emergence of 6G cognitive radio IoT networks introduces both opportunities and complexities in spectrum access and security. Blockchain technology has emerged as a viable solution to address these challenges, offering enhanced security, transparency, and efficiency in spectrum management. This survey paper offers a thorough analysis of recent advancements in blockchain-enabled security mechanisms specifically for spectrum access within 6G cognitive radio IoT networks. Covering literature from 2019 to the present, the paper highlights significant contributions and developments in integrating blockchain technology with cognitive radio and IoT systems. It reviews spectrum access security and shows how blockchain's decentralized approach can solve related issues. Key areas of focus include secure authentication systems, tamper-resistant spectrum sensing, decentralized databases, and smart contracts for spectrum management. The paper also addresses ongoing challenges like interoperability, scalability, and the need for comprehensive security frameworks. Future research directions are proposed, emphasizing the development of advanced blockchain protocols, integration with machine learning, and addressing regulatory and standardization concerns. This paper provides valuable insights for researchers and practitioners aiming to leverage blockchain technology, alongside ML/AI, to enhance security and efficiency in next-generation cognitive radio IoT networks.
V Kumaraguru, K.C. Nithyasree, N. Palanivel, V.T. Rithikka · 6 authors
The Know Your Customer (KYC) procedure is essential to contemporary regulatory and financial frameworks. Its goals are to stop illegal activity and confirm the identification of clients. Traditional KYC procedures, however, have issues with accessibility, privacy, and data security. In order to overcome these obstacles, this article presents an innovative integration of the Stroj decentralized storage network into blockchain-based KYC systems. Numerous built-in characteristics of blockchain technology can improve KYC procedures. Transparency and immutability are two of these qualities. Blockchain guarantees that KYC-related data cannot be changed or tampered with by using a distributed ledger. Furthermore, the KYC process may be audited and held more accountable because to blockchain's transparency. The problems that conventional KYC systems have can be uniquely solved by the decentralized storage network Stroj. Stroj's distributed data storage features minimize the possibility of data loss or manipulation by ensuring that KYC information is safely saved among several nodes. The suggested KYC solution makes it possible to securely and effectively share KYCrelated data by fusing blockchain technology with the Stroj decentralized storage network. Cryptographic methods and smart contracts are employed to guarantee that the data is only accessible to those who are permitted. This preserves sensitive information's security and privacy while enabling smooth cooperation between financial institutions, authorities, and clients.
The integration of Blockchain technology into Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystems has emerged as a transformative approach to address critical security and privacy challenges in connected devices. This chapter explores the innovative convergence of Blockchain and IoT, focusing on the enhancement of data security, privacy, and trust through decentralized solutions. By leveraging the immutable and transparent nature of Blockchain, IoT networks can achieve secure, efficient, and automated data exchanges. The chapter delves into key Blockchain trends that are shaping IoT security, including decentralized identity management, smart contracts, and consensus mechanisms, while addressing the specific challenges of resource-constrained IoT devices. The use of advanced cryptographic techniques such as encryption, Zero-Knowledge Proofs, and homomorphic encryption ensures that sensitive data remains private and secure. The application of Blockchain in facilitating secure data sharing, device authentication, and access control was discussed, alongside the potential of permissioned blockchains to balance privacy with scalability. The chapter concludes by identifying the future directions for Blockchain and IoT innovations, emphasizing their role in the evolution of secure, autonomous, and scalable connected environments.
Blockchain and artificial intelligence are two of the most prominent technologies in computer science today and have attracted considerable attention from various research communities. Recently, several initiatives have been launched to explore the combination of these two pioneering technologies. The main goal is to combine the data integrity, privacy, and decentralization properties of blockchain with the ability of artificial intelligence to process, analyze, predict, and refine massive data sets. The combination of blockchain and AI technologies is expected to address key challenges in the digital realm, such as data security, transparency, and streamlined decision-making. However, there is a problem that many studies have focused on the advancement of a single technology as the main perspective. To overcome these recent research limitations, we provide a broad view of the combination of blockchain and artificial intelligence and analyze the limitations of existing research and their causes. Furthermore, we identify challenges and attempts to be addressed through this analysis. The analysis in this paper is organized into a comprehensive section dedicated to the application of artificial intelligence in blockchain and vice versa. Based on our analysis, we identify existing challenges and propose a novel framework for researchers to overcome these limitations, thus expanding new research opportunities.
This chapter explores the critical intersection of consensus mechanisms and performance metrics in blockchain systems for the Internet of Things (IoT). As IoT networks expand, the demand for scalable, efficient, and secure blockchain solutions intensifies. This chapter evaluates the trade-offs between energy efficiency, latency, scalability, and security within IoT-integrated blockchain frameworks. Key consensus protocols such as PoW, Proof of Stake (PoS), and Delegated DPoS) are analyzed for their applicability in IoT environments, highlighting their impact on transaction speed, resource utilization, and network resilience. Hybrid consensus models are examined for their potential to balance performance with robust security. The chapter also provides real-world case studies that benchmark latency and energy efficiency, offering insights into the practical challenges and opportunities for IoT-based blockchain applications. Key findings contribute to the ongoing development of optimized blockchain solutions for IoT networks.