In Kenya’s small-scale agricultural sector, where productivity is often hindered by limited credit access, delayed payments, and exploitative intermediaries, blockchain-based smart contracts offer a bold new frontier. This study explores how these automated, self-executing agreements built on decentralized blockchain platforms are reshaping the performance landscape for smallholder farms. By enabling secure, transparent, and trustless transactions, smart contracts promise to streamline value chains, enforce agreements without intermediaries, and accelerate financial flows. Guided by a pragmatic philosophy and a mixed-methods design, this research draws on both quantitative and qualitative data. Focus group discussions with village champions provided contextual insight into farmers’ lived experiences with smart contract platforms. A census of 52 blockchain-enabled agricultural firms yielded structured survey data, analyzed using descriptive statistics, thematic coding, Pearson and Spearman correlation tests, and regression modeling. Findings show that smart contracts significantly improve farm performance by enhancing payment reliability, reducing transactional friction, and increasing transparency in financial and operational records. The technology also fosters trust and coordination among stakeholders, while facilitating access to financing and new markets. Ultimately, this study underscores the transformative potential of blockchain smart contracts in small-scale farming not only as a technical innovation but as a catalyst for inclusive agricultural development. However, realizing this potential at scale will require sustained investment, policy support, and farmer-centered digital literacy initiatives.
Blockchain technology has rapidly evolved as a decentralized solution offering high security and transparency; however, several challenges still hinder the effective management of workflows within blockchain based environments. This study aims to develop an adaptive workflow management model that utilizes decentralized artificial intelligence (AI) and distributed ledger technology (DLT) to enhance the performance, security, and flexibility of processes in blockchainn networks. A mixed method approach combining simulation and experimentation on a dedicated blockchain platform was employed. The adaptive workflow model consists of a realtime process monitoring module, a decentralized AI module for adaptive decision making, and a DLT component that ensures data consistency and security. Statistical methods and system performance evaluations were used to analyze the experimental data. Results show that the proposed model can reduce workflow response times by up to 25% and increase the successful execution rate of smart contracts to 98%. Moreover, the integration of decentralized AI optimizes workload distribution across nodes, enabling network scalability improvements of up to 150% without significant performance degradation. The findings demonstrate that the adaptive workflow model combining AI and DLT enhances the flexibility and governance of blockchain networks through AI’s predictive capabilities and DLT’s security. Nevertheless, challenges such as high computational resource demands and technical complexities must be addressed. This research opens opportunities for further development to expand the scope of complex and dynamic blockchain applications and supports their integration with technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT).
Farangis Azim, Qurratulain Razak, Surayya Jamal, Abdullah Shah · 5 authors
This study examines how Bitcoin has emerged in South Asia and how it can negatively disrupt the traditional banking system or become an enabler of financial innovation. Bitcoin, as a decentralized digital currency, has received a lot of attention in the region especially in states with high unbanked populations and remittance inflows like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. The analysis delves into how Bitcoin is used in remittance services, cross-border payments and financial inclusion, and how it can be used by financial institutions and regulatory structures. The research examines consumption rates, governmental reactions, and the changing fintech market to conclude that Bitcoin holds the dual value of disrupting traditional financial intermediaries simultaneously with enhancing fintech innovation via blockchain technology. Although regulatory uncertainty and Bitcoin volatility are currently thorny issues, the results indicate that Bitcoin is actively transforming the way people conduct financial activities in South Asia, particularly its ability to increase financial inclusions and transaction fees. The analysis determines that the future of Bitcoin in the region depends on establishment of moderate regulatory frameworks and integration into the financial infrastructure that exist.
With the rapid growth of international trade and cross border capital flows, traditional payment systems such as SWIFT are increasingly challenged by inefficiencies, high fees, and a lack of transparency. As a response, blockchain technology, characterized by decentralization, immutability, and traceability, has emerged as a potential solution for modernizing cross border payments. This paper offers a comprehensive analysis of the current state of blockchain technology in this domain, reviewing its applications, key advantages, and limitations. By examining how distributed ledgers and smart contracts can streamline payment processes, reduce intermediary costs, and enhance transparency and compliance, the study highlights blockchain’s transformative potential. However, challenges such as regulatory fragmentation, limited technological maturity, and accessibility barriers remain significant obstacles to large scale adoption. Relying on secondary data and existing literature, this study also emphasizes the need for future empirical research and case based analysis to evaluate performance, security, and scalability of blockchain based systems in real world cross border payment scenarios.
Digital banking fraud has grown into a multifaceted threat requiring both strong cryptographic protections and advanced machine learning defenses. This paper proposes a unified framework integrating lattice-based cryptography (for post-quantum resilience and privacy) with federated graph neural networks (for collaborative fraud detection) to address the gap in current financial security architectures. We simulate real-world fraud scenarios –including synthetic identity schemes and transaction laundering – using a mix of publicly reported incidents (e.g., the 2023 Log4Shell exploitation, 2022 SolarWinds-style supply chain compromise, and the Mirai botnet’s IoT spread) as motivating cases. Our methodology leverages threshold homomorphic encryption for privacy-preserving analytics, along with adversarial training and diffusion purification to harden models against poisoning and evasion attacks. Experiments using a mixed dataset of EU banking transactions and simulated breach logs show that our approach achieves over 99% accuracy in detecting novel fraud patterns, while reducing false positives by 35% compared to conventional classifiers. We validate these improvements with statistical significance (p<0.001) and illustrate them via ROC curves and network topology maps. Key findings include the identification of specific trade-offs between cryptographic overhead and detection latency, and the observation that cross-institutional intelligence sharing (using zero-knowledge proofs) can halve the response time to coordinated attacks. These results suggest that combining cryptography with machine learning can close existing vulnerabilities in digital banking and guide future work in robust, privacy-aware fraud prevention.
Nur Nisa Humairah Rosdi, Amysha Qistina Amerolazuam, Nur Zafirah Adira Ahmadzamani, Ahmad Anwar Zainuddin
This concise review paper discusses the application of smart contracts to increase blockchain interoperability. The emergence of blockchain has opened many opportunities to explore the advantage of modern technology. Blockchain networks operate as isolated ecosystems, hindering the seamless transfer of assets and data across different platforms. This ecosystem leads to the inability to interact or communicate within the blockchain. Smart contracts present a promising solution for facilitating interoperability between blockchains. In this paper, the potential of smart contracts as bridge technologies between blockchains is explored. The design and implementation of smart contracts to enable secure, trust less communication and asset transfer between disparate blockchain networks are analysed. Several academic papers were reviewed to understand the existing research and development efforts towards smart contract-based interoperability solutions. The ongoing discourse on blockchain interoperability is contributed to by highlighting the potential of smart contracts as bridge technologies, identifying key challenges and research gaps in this domain, and providing insights for further development of secure and efficient cross-chain communication protocols.
Trust has become a significant concern in today’s business world. Recent research highlights a decline in trust towards brands globally. Traditionally, trusted third parties played a role in ensuring trust in business transactions. However, with the advent of digitization, peer-to-peer networks, and cryptographic technologies, blockchain technology emerged as a trust layer embedded in the Internet’s protocol. It serves as the missing trust layer in the evolution of the Internet. Blockchain’s implications on marketing are profound. Customers are no longer just consumers; they can be value creators and brand ambassadors. Marketers must adapt to this evolving landscape, which includes rewarding participants through mechanisms like gamification. On the other hand, blockchain technology presents new challenges, with customer data becoming customer-owned. To succeed, brands must appeal to their audience with compelling stories and causes. Blockchain facilitates these concepts on a technological level. The blockchain has become a viable platform for creating decentralized applications that are ready for the market. Its features, such as consensus, provenance, immutability, and finality, make it ideal for creating apps for decentralized 56markets, primary markets, and trade forums for product sales, income sharing, salary distribution, and record-keeping. This chapter focuses on building blockchain smart contracts (SCs) for multi-level marketing (MLM), a revenue-generating model where non-salaried employees sell a company’s products and earn money through commissions. The design and development of MLM SCs have not been fully explored, but this chapter covers it by first discussing blockchain technology and SCs. Then, the MLM model is defined as a problem statement, followed by the methodical design and development of blockchain SCs to automate core MLM processes such as franchise, membership, and commission management. The SC is written in Solidity and works with the Ethereum blockchain.
Smart contracts and cryptocurrency wallets are foundational components of decentralized applications (dApps) on blockchain platforms such as Ethereum. While these technologies enable secure, transparent, and automated transactions, their integration also introduces complex security challenges. This study presents a security-oriented analysis of smart contract and wallet integration, focusing on BlockScribe—a decentralized Ethereum-based application for digital record certification. We systematically identify and categorize security risks arising from the interaction between wallet interfaces and smart contract logic. In particular, we analyze how user authorization flows, transaction design, and contract modularity affect the security posture of the entire dApp. To support our findings, we conduct an empirical evaluation using static analysis tools and formal verification methods, examining both contract-level vulnerabilities and integration-level flaws. Our results highlight several overlooked attack surfaces in wallet–contract communication patterns, including reentrancy amplification, permission mismanagement, and transaction ordering issues. We further discuss implications for secure dApp development and propose mitigation strategies that improve the robustness of wallet–contract ecosystems. This case study contributes to a deeper understanding of integration-layer vulnerabilities in blockchain-based systems and offers practical guidance for developers and auditors aiming to strengthen smart contract security.
Blockchain-based cryptocurrencies have generated substantially divergent views, opinions, and interpretations about their fundamental nature, sense, and purpose compared to other IT. This study examines what these varying interpretations are and how they influence business decision-makers’ perceptions and acceptance of Bitcoin, the most prominent cryptocurrency, specifically. Drawing on Bijker’s socio-constructivist concepts of “frames”, and using a case study of Bitcoin acceptance, we make two key contributions. First, we identify seven distinct frames used in the cryptocurrency context: currency, asset, novelty, ideological, socio-cultural, business, and IT tool frames of reference. We theorise how these frames emerge from prior frames, drawing on different reference points, foreground or background facets of Bitcoin, and hence lead to constructions of “Bitcoin-as-X” and acceptance or rejection in both conceptual and practical terms. Second, the paper provides an exemplar of how any digital phenomena with ambivalent or conflicting assessments can be studied in general. We conclude by discussing implications for theory and practice.
Purpose:The rapid growth of cryptocurrencies has revealed a significant disconnect between speculative digital assets and the ethical principles of Islamic finance.Bitcoin's volatility, three to four times higher than traditional equity indices, along with its energy-intensive mining process, directly contradict Shariah principles emphasizing stability, asset-backing, and minimization of gharar (excessive uncertainty).This study addresses the gap between blockchain technology's potential and the requirements of Islamic financial systems by proposing and empirically testing a Shariah-compliant digital finance model.Design/Methodology/Approach: A mixed-method approach was employed, integrating a PRISMA-guided systematic literature review, panel data analysis of 100 fintech firms from 2018 to 2024, and Monte Carlo simulation.Fixed-effects regression was used to assess the impact of blockchain adoption on financial performance (ROA, ROE) in both Islamic and conventional fintech firms.The simulation evaluated the efficiency of a Hybrid Shariah Blockchain Model for tokenized waqf (Islamic endowment) operations.Findings: Results indicate that blockchain adoption significantly improves financial performance in Islamic fintech (ROA: = 0.023, t = 3.41; ROE: = 0.067, t = 2.79).Simulation results demonstrate a reduction in transaction latency from 3.2 days to 12.4 seconds (95% CI: 10.1-14.7),complete auditability, and transaction costs below $1.00 per operation.Practical Implications: Policy recommendations include regulatory sandboxing and institutional integration strategies to mainstream Shariah-compliant blockchain applications.Originality/Value: This study presents the first simulation-based validation of waqf blockchain governance grounded in Islamic jurisprudence, offering a scalable framework for ethical, decentralized financial services benefiting 1.8 billion Muslims worldwide.
Fake cheque scams remain a pressing financial concern, leading to substantial monetary losses and legal challenges. The absence of real-time authentication mechanisms often results in delayed scam detection by financial institutions. This report presents a mobilebased blockchain system using wireless communication and distributed ledger technology to authenticate cheques in real-time and prevent fraud. Our system integrates Namecoin, SHA-256 hashing, and elliptic curve digital signature algorithm (ECDSA) into a secure mobile computing environment to enable accessibility and scalability. The system has two significant operational phases: cheque issue and authentication. When issued, banks retain cheque information on the blockchain using Lagrange polynomials, and aggregation is achieved rapidly. Authentication at the point of withdrawal confirms the cheque as valid by verifying blockchain-stored data, preventing reuse and forgery. This framework helps achieve financial inclusion through the enabling of ubiquitous mobile access to secure cheque authentication services, resulting in cost-effective, real-world applications. By virtue of applying mobile technology infrastructures and safe wireless networks, the solution not only enhances transaction safety but also adheres to the changing trends in adaptive digital finance and industrial applications. Mobile apps facilitate users to scan and verify and get instant fraud alerts, highly promoting accessibility, especially for rural dwellers.
Purpose This study aims to critically examine and clarify the interconnections between green finance and distributed ledger technologies (DLTs), focusing on their contribution to climate actand sustainability enhancement. Grounded in Innovation Diffusion Theory, the study analyzes how DLTs are being adopted, disseminated and integrated into green finance and sustainability initiatives across different countries and research domains, thereby uncovering patterns of technological diffusion and institutional uptake in support of environmental objectives. Design/methodology/approach The research uses a bibliometric analysis to analyze the evolving landscape of DLT’s impact on climate change, green finance and sustainability. Drawing on data from the Scopus database and analyzed through VOSviewer, the study aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the field’s evolution, highlighting successes and challenges in integrating DLT with sustainable finance practices. Findings The study highlights blockchain and DLTs as pivotal in tackling global sustainability and climate change challenges, emphasizing their role in fostering sustainable development. Through an analysis of two decades of research, including key contributors and trends, and leveraging the Innovation Diffusion Theory, it offers valuable insights into the adoption and diffusion of these technologies in green finance and climate action, suggesting a pathway toward a more sustainable and technologically harmonized future. Research limitations/implications This study underscores the urgent need for policymakers, industry stakeholders and academia to embrace blockchain and DLTs for tackling climate change and enhancing sustainability. It advocates for cross-sector collaboration, increased R&D investment, supportive regulatory environments and educational initiatives to expedite the adoption and effective application of these technologies, aiming to achieve global sustainability goals more efficiently. Originality/value This research contributes uniquely to the existing body of knowledge by providing a comprehensive analysis of blockchain and DLTs in the context of global sustainability and climate change. It bridges the gap between technological innovation and environmental action, offering a novel perspective on the application of these technologies in green finance and climate initiatives.
Alvy Kenneth Matthew Noya, Yohannes Kurniawan, Lin Li
E-commerce's explosive expansion has brought attention to the need for effective, safe payment solutions that mitigate the drawbacks of conventional payment methods. With their safe and decentralized architecture, cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology present intriguing ways to improve online transaction payment security. In order to investigate the function of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies in ecommerce payment security, this paper offers a comprehensive analysis of recent research. Results show that blockchain's data integrity, transparency, and cryptographic protections can enhance transaction security and lower fraud. 240 papers from different sources were examined as part of the literature evaluation. Only 31 of the 240 papers were considered appropriate for this study. 5 of the 31 publications used in this study were conference proceedings, while the remaining 26 were journal articles. An analysis of these articles shows that publications about cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies that can be applied and implemented for payment security in e-commerce transactions increased during the five years between 2020 and 2024. However, obstacles including customer trust, regulatory uncertainty, and scalability still prevent widespread implementation. In order to facilitate wider integration in e-commerce, the report highlights the necessity of scalable blockchain protocols, more transparent regulatory frameworks, and initiatives to foster customer trust. In order to maximize blockchain applications in safe e-commerce payment systems, future research should focus on the areas highlighted by this study, which offers a fundamental understanding of the promise and limitations of blockchain technology.
Cryptographic-based digital currencies, such as bitcoin, function as a medium of exchange. Bitcoin is a digital currency that exists within the open source P2P payment system. P2P is a computer network model that consists of two or more computers, and each computer in that network has the ability to share with each other. Bitcoin is one of the most famous digital currencies. The benefits and drawbacks of using Bitcoin as a payment tool. This is because bitcoin has not met some criteria to be considered a currency, especially in terms of the principles of buying and selling transactions. While bitcoin does not have an underlying asset used as a basis for transactions. There are two conclusions that can be drawn in this regard. First and foremost, digital money is not a currency. Second, there is an element of ambiguity (Gharar). This research uses academic literature as the main source for information on the use of Bitcoin in online transactions. Other sources include scientific works, fiqh muamalah texts, journals, articles, online media, and more. This research is prescriptive, meaning that it assesses and establishes rules on whether using Bitcoin as a transaction tool in online sales is permissible. Material and pragmatic analysis derived from Islamic law is then applied. Research on normative Islamic law is an example of a study aimed at establishing clear rules on how to use Bitcoin currency. Research findings show that in the view of Islam, Bitcoin transactions as a payment tool do not meet the requirements of al-sharf because they violate Islamic rules stating that transactions must be conducted in cash, even if there are pending orders. This is based on verses in the Qur'an that declare Bitcoin as batil, gharar, and maysir.
The integration of blockchain-based smart contracts technology has emerged as an innovative solution in banking. The utilization of blockchain technology and smart contracts offers great potential in improving operational efficiency and compliance with Shariah principles in Islamic banking products. Overall, blockchain-based smart contracts have the potential to overhaul the traditional way of providing Islamic banking services, by providing more efficient, transparent, and inclusive solutions. This research emphasizes the need for technological readiness and supportive policies for the successful implementation of this technology in the Islamic banking sector. This article discusses the potential use of smart contracts in strengthening automation and sharia compliance in Islamic banking products, focusing on the role smart contracts can play in increasing Islamic financial inclusion and expanding access to Islamic banking services and how prepared Islamic financial institutions are to adopt blockchain technology and smart contracts. That way, the utilization of blockchain-based smart contracts integration can be seen as better to bring significant changes in the Islamic banking sector, both in terms of increasing efficiency and in strengthening sharia principles which are the main foundation of the Islamic financial system.
From the beginning of the World Wide Web, humanity has been demanding social interaction and online activity from the Internet. From Web 1.0 to Web 2.0, users have been offered participation and co-creation tools by the web to mold their internet. This change in the architecture of the internet is what Web3 introduces as decentralization is a leading concept now. The underlying blockchain technology used by Web3 has the possibility to revolutionize all the centralised models of trustless transfers, secure asset ownership, and decentralised administration. The use of smart contracts and DApps promotes transparency and automation and consequently minimises the role of intermediaries. The financial inclusiveness is enhanced and made accessible for unbanked access to global banking services using DeFi. Web3 also meets the Metaverse at a point where the virtual experiences in an immersive nature and user-controlled are actualized. This paper discusses blockchain in Web3 comprehensively from the technology building block, applications, issues, and research trends of the future. This research identifies the overall influence of blockchain on internet governance, economic systems, and social interaction during the decentralized era from the perspective of how the blockchain can reframe the entire portion of Web3.
ABSTRACT Companies of all sizes, including Bitcoin miners, engage in charitable giving. As Bitcoin mining evolves into a substantial industry and integrates into mainstream society, it faces challenges not only from scams and environmental criticisms but also from everyday concerns such as tax compliance. One key area is the role of deductible donations, which sits at the intersection of the cryptocurrency ecosystem and the established U.S. tax system. This paper introduces an innovative approach called “hashrate contracts,” which builds upon the long-standing framework of tolling contracts. Just as tolling contracts allow producers to manage inputs and outputs efficiently while transferring operational responsibilities, hashrate contracts enable charities to assume the income associated with mining activities. This structure not only optimizes tax deductions for Bitcoin miners but allows them to claim a charitable deduction for federal income tax purposes, bridging a key gap between the cryptocurrency ecosystem and established financial and regulatory practices. JEL Classifications: K23; K29; K34.
The traditional content monetization system is plagued by lack of transparency, delays, and inefficiencies in royalty payments. The creators struggle to receive timely and fair compensation for their work, particularly when their content is distributed across various platforms like Spotify, YouTube, and Instagram. This research proposes a novel framework utilizing blockchain technology and smart contracts to simplify and standardize royalty distributions, ensuring they are transparent, efficient, and fair for creators across multiple platforms. We examine the technical structure of the smart contract platform, analyze its financial characteristics, and demonstrate its ability to revolutionize content monetization
Andre Salem Alego, Renata Dellamatriz, Victor Dário, Edson Primo · 9 authors
The tokenization of fixed-income assets is reshaping capital markets by enabling programmable, transparent, and efficient digital representations of real-world value, and presents transformative opportunities but is significantly hindered by the pervasive issue of insecure platforms. Current solutions often lack robust security frameworks, leaving digital assets vulnerable to breaches and undermining investor confidence in both primary and secondary markets for instruments like debentures. This paper introduces CRX, a novel platform meticulously engineered to address these critical security deficiencies, offering a paradigm shift in the tokenization of fixed-income assets. CRX is built upon a foundational Zero Trust segmentation model, ensuring that every transaction and interaction is continuously verified and authorized, regardless of its origin. This core security principle is intrinsically linked to an AI-first architecture, leveraging multi-agent systems for continuous security and observability, proactively identifying and neutralizing threats. Designed to be agnostic and interoperable, CRX seamlessly connects with over 15 integrated public and permissioned blockchains, providing unparalleled flexibility. Its modular, pluggable (composability) architecture ensures adaptability and scalability, making CRX ready for both local and global markets. By prioritizing security as a fundamental design element, CRX delivers a resilient, efficient, and trustworthy infrastructure for tokenized fixedincome in the era of decentralized finance (DeFi).