The recent surge in renewable energy in the distribution grid could transform the generation side to be more variable, which potentially reduces power quality. This technical local challenge could be compensated by introducing a market solution, which could be realised in the form of a local energy market. Such markets requires a comprehensive infrastructure, where a centralised database solution traditionally have been used. However, blockchain technology have lately been presented as a possible preferable alternative. Blockchain is a decentralised communication platform, which logs all information in a structured and tamper-proof manner. This design makes it potentially suitable for operating a local energy market. However, there have not been performed a lot of research on the feasibility of developing local energy markets using blockchain technology. This will be therefore be the focus of this thesis, where a technical, economic and regulatory analysis are performed.\n\nThis thesis address this feasibility by developing a complex local energy market, deploying this on a test blockchain and analyse the results. The market consists of three unique trading mechanisms, where all explores the benefits of flexible loads. These trading mechanisms are then represented as blockchain applications, and simulated over a range of scenarios. The results illustrate a proof of concept, in addition to measure the usage of computational resources of operating blockchain applications.\n\nThe market simulation proved the technical feasibility of running several complex mechanisms in a blockchain environment, with an integrated payment solution. The observed computational resource consumption of the market revealed that a complex real time trading with 600 nodes and a trading frequency of 5 minutes requires a blockchain that can process 10.2 standard Ethereum transactions per second. This is considered to be possible for a modern blockchain protocol to process. The blockchain application design is also analysed, where it is identified how applications should be designed in order to lower the resulting computational consumption. In result, this thesis identifies blockchain technology as suited to operate a local energy market, without significant negative computational consequences. \n\nRegarding the economical feasibility, such a solution is considered to be more expensive than a database solution when it comes to development costs. However, a blockchain solution presents new market possibilities, which could result in a more efficient market, and hence be more economically beneficial. Regarding a regulatory analysis, the Norwegian energy market regulations presents several challenges towards decentralised local energy markets. However, the technology behind blockchain could provide arguments for changing these regulations, and hence make it possible for end users to participate actively in an energy market.
Intelligent space is an environmental robot system where many intelligent sensor nodes are distributed for supporting humans and mobile robots. This paper introduces a blockchain-based sensor network system for the intelligent space. Blockchain is a system for distributed ledgers of crypto currencies such as bitcoin. Recently, blockchain is considered to be effective for construction of distributed sensor network systems without central servers. In this paper, a prototype sensor system with blockchain based on Ethereum is introduced for intelligent space.
Open access
Innovation in Digital Healthcare Systems
Robotics and Automated Systems
Internet of Things and Social Network Interactions
Digital coin software could be infecting your desktops and servers with malware, opening the doors to hackers. They could be after your customer lists, your passwords, your databases. Or they could be looking to turn your computers and devices into bots. Jesse Sampson of Ziften explains the nature of the threat and what to do about it. Bitcoin? Monero? Ethereum? It doesn't matter. Coin mining and trading activities by employees – or by hackers – is a huge security problem that every organisation needs to address.
The purpose of this thesis was to investigate and study the various issues faced by educational and technological researchers while raising the funds for their respective projects and the issues faced by the fund’s providers. Multiple existing traditional fundraising platforms were identified, and their advantages and disadvantages were studied to check if it was suitable for educational and technological researchers to carry on their funding campaign using the existing platforms. Finally, the goal was to develop a decentralized research funding application which would replace the existing traditional methods of raising funds by providing the researchers the ability to create a fundraising campaign on Ethereum blockchain while ensuring the transparent and auditable usage of the funds provided for the development of the project by the stakeholders.\n\nThe research funding application was developed and deployed to Ethereum blockchain. During the development process, the technologies used were Solidity, HTML, CSS, Javascript and React. The requirements for the Minimum Viable Product of the research funding application were finalized and the project was implemented by following the Waterfall software development model. \n\nAs a result, the requirements set for the research funding application were accomplished and the application was deployed to the blockchain and can be accessed by the general public. Furthermore, additional features such as the ability to create and manage multiple funding campaigns by a single entity were also developed successfully.
Боровик Владимир Сергееви, Зенин Михаил Максимович, Гатчин Юрий Арменакович, Югансон Андрей Николаевич
Смарт-контракты предназначены для заключения и поддержания коммерческих контрактов в технологии блокчейн. Эта технология лежит в основе децентрализованных приложений. Наибольшую популярность на данный момент имеют приложения, написанные с помощью смарт-контрактов на платформе Ethereum. Смарт-контракты, как и обычные программы, подвержены различным уязвимостям. В данной работе описаны результаты исследования безопасности смарт-контрактов, написанных на языке Solidity, для блокчейна на платформе Ethereum. Рассмотрены наиболее популярные уязвимости, даны рекомендации по их устранению. Итогом работы стала классификация уязвимостей, основанная на оценке степени возможного ущерба, а также актуальности, сложности и вероятности реализации.
With innovation always comes unknowns. Blockchain technology and crypto–assets are no different. Often times, innovators are so worried about getting their product to market or scaling at mass that they overlook the legal ramifications of their innovations. As Mark Zuckerberg infamously said, “move fast and break things.” Facebook was in no way alone in this style of innovation. However, with respect to crypto–assets, the SEC has stepped in and is attempting to prevent the “break things” aspect. One of the major issues relating to crypto–assets is that many people still do not understand what they are, or how the underlying technology works. At the moment, we do not know what to classify crypto– assets as: property, commodities, or something else . If the SEC determines that crypto–assets are investment contracts, the regulation that follows is at risk of putting stranglehold on the underlying innovation and technology. It becomes an issue of balancing consumer protection and innovation for society. SEC v. W.J. Howey Co. laid out a pronged test to determine whether a transaction is an investment contract, subjecting it to securities laws. This note examines the Howey Test to explain why two popular crypto–assets, Bitcoin and Ethereum, are unlikely to satisfy the Howey Test, and briefly addresses the need for clarity in this area. }
Eduardo Salcedo, José Pineda, Karlene Cousins, Daniel G. Conway · 7 authors
Blockchain is one of the 21st centuries most impactful inventions. In addition to creating and facilitating crypto-tokens such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Stellar, Ripple, etc. this technology is impacting several industries. Blockchain technology is playing an important role in decentralizing transaction based systems that were otherwise traditionally managed centrally. In addition to decentralizing transaction networks, Blockchain has been at the center of developments in the field of smart contracts, information systems such as logistic management systems, payroll management systems, human resource management systems, medical information systems and other fin-tech infrastructure. We propose this panel to engage the Information Systems Community about the current and future research trends in Blockchain based information systems.
The aim of the paper is to fit a regression model which can be used commonly for the four important crypto currencies: Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum and Ripple to predict the prices. The data has information over the past six years regarding price, transaction volume, transaction count, exchange volume, generated coins etc of these currencies. Understanding the dynamics of crypto currency market can help to a certain extent to take wise investment decisions. Among the variables under consideration the study revealed that transaction volume can be used as an influencing variable to fit a quadratic regression model and predict the prices of the crypto currencies.
This is the first of the project and game chapters that will take us through the remainder of the book. The first six chapters covered the basics of Ethereum and Solidity. We will now move away from theory and dive in to practical examples of Solidity code. Admittedly, Ponzi schemes do not seem at first glance to be the most practical of examples. Surprisingly, though, some of the first interactive smart contracts released on Ethereum were verifiable Ponzi schemes. In this chapter, we will first write a simple Ponzi contract and then explore examples that were deployed on the Ethereum mainnet.
This paper intends to follow the evolution of the processing power needed to mine cryptocurrencies. Because by this year, 2018, they evolved to being over 1500 cryptos, we shell consider reviewing the first 5: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin (a hierarchy given by coinmarketcap.com. We shall closely overview the first 2: Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH – Ether).
As mentioned in Chapter 2 , Solidity is the most widely used language for writing smart contracts with Ethereum. Basic Solidity programming is quite easy to learn. It’s similar to JavaScript and yet has some features of object-oriented languages such as Java and C++. Hence, some programming experience is desirable before jumping to development in Solidity, although it’s not mandatory. These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
Blockchain is first introduced by Bitcoin [1] in 2009 and developers all around the world have been trying to apply Blockchain in different areas, like revolutionize finance services, credit and ownership management, resource sharing, investment management, IoT etc. Ethereum [2] is a Blockchain platform that allows developers to build a decentralized application without building a new Blockchain from the scratch. Internet of Things is the technology to embed all the physical devices with sensors and chips to provide automation process via machine-to-machine communication. Blynk is a platform that provides iOS and Android app for the users and developers to collect data from or control microcontroller. This project is aiming to build a system with Ethereum private Blockchain, Raspberry Pi, Blynk platform, DHT11 temperature and humidity sensors. The system is a prototype to simulate the smart home applications. It collects the real-time room temperature and humidity by DHT11 via Raspberry Pi. The sensor data will be updated to the Blynk App and stored on the smart contract deployed on the Ethereum private Blockchain. If the real-time temperature or humidity value exceeds the threshold value set by the users, red or green LEDs will be turned on as warnings. This system can be improved by some possible future work.
Digital assets can serve several functions. Some digital assets, such as Bitcoin or Litecoin, are widely regarded as decentralized stores of value or mediums of exchange due to certain common economic features that support these functions; these are sometimes referred to as “pure cryptocurrencies.” Other digital assets, such as Monero or Zcash, are a subset of pure cryptocurrencies that also possess certain features designed to enhance transaction privacy and confidentiality (“privacy-focused coins”). Beyond pure cryptocurrencies and privacy-focused coins, there exists a broad array of general purpose digital assets (“platform coins”), such as Ethereum, NEO and Ravencoin, which are designed to facilitate various peer-to-peer activity, from decentralized software applications to “smart” contracts to digital collectibles, such as CryptoKitties. Platform coins also enable the creation of new digital assets called “tokens”, which are described further herein.
The digital asset market extends beyond the assets themselves. As this industry continues to grow, it has captured the attention of retail and institutional investors alike, including asset managers seeking to develop investment strategies and products involving these emerging assets and companies. Some strategies resemble early-stage growth strategies, featuring long-term investments either directly in certain digital assets or in start-up ventures developing complementary goods and services for the industry. Other strategies include hedge fund strategies, such as long/short funds, which often use derivatives, or arbitrage strategies, which seek to capitalize on the price fragmentation across the hundreds of global online exchanges.
This chapter outlines the current U.S. regulatory framework applicable to cryptocurrency and other digital asset investment funds (“digital asset funds”) offered to U.S. investors and how those regulatory considerations affect fund structuring decisions.
Over the past decade, there have been many innovations in new payment and care delivery models and technology, from telemedicine to artificial intelligence (AI) to blockchain. These innovations, however, must be used in tandem to drive real change. We review each of these innovations and propose a model for how they can be combined to be greater than the sum of their parts. In doing so, we can create a global, decentralized health system that truly puts patient care at the center, while supporting and further enabling the clinicians who make this care possible, to deliver higher quality care at a fraction of the cost. Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, Behavioral Health, Blockchain, Collaborative Care, Decentralization,Direct Primary Care, Ethereum, Integration, Payment Models, Telemedicine, Virtual Assistants
Open access
Biomedical Ethics and Regulation
Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare and Education
With the invention of the cryptocurrency Bitcoin in 2009, the world's first blockchain application was developed. While academic research gradually begins to investigate cryptocurrencies more closely and attempt to understand their functioning, technology is rapidly evolving and ecosystems grow exponentially. The research is still scattered and chaotic and has not produced common guidelines. Therefore, the question remains: how sustainable cryptocurrencies and their digital ecosystems are.Only a few models and frameworks take a holistic view on digital sustainability. Only two frameworks were identified that take distributed ledger technologies (blockchain) or cryptocurrencies into consideration: the three governance strategies for digital sustainability of Linkov et al. (2018) and 10 basic conditions of sustainable digital artifacts according to Stuermer, Abu-Tayeh and Myrach (2016). These two frameworks were combined into a new integrated sustainability framework for cryptocurrencies. The developed integrated sustainability framework consists of four dimensions and 12 categories.Existing secondary data, self-conducted social media interviews and practical insights gained through an ASIC mining experiment were used to fill the framework with sufficient data. It confirms Bitcoin's sustainability problems in energy consumption and scalability, highlights Ethereum's great potential as a blockchain platform and explains the higher scalability and faster payment of Ripple and IOTA.While 2017 marked the temporary peak of the cryptocurrency hype, 2018 was a transformative year in which the leading cryptocurrencies were increasingly occupying more specialised niches.
You know what the Ethereum architecture looks like, and you have practiced enough basic Solidity programming. Now it’s time to learn some advanced topics such as how to interact with services outside the blockchain by invoking calls through Oraclize, how to optimize gas usage by saving data to IPFS storage, and how to adopt best practices to write production-ready code in Solidity.