Blockchain Papers

Nir Chemaya, Lin William Cong, Emma Jorgensen, Dingyue Liu · 5 authors

Decentralized Finance (DeFi) is reshaping traditional finance by enabling direct transactions without intermediaries, creating a rich source of open financial data. Layer 2 (L2) solutions are emerging to enhance the scalability and efficiency of the DeFi ecosystem, surpassing Layer 1 (L1) systems. However, the impact of L2 solutions is still underexplored, mainly due to the lack of comprehensive transaction data indices for economic analysis. This study bridges that gap by analyzing over 50 million transactions from Uniswap, a major decentralized exchange, across both L1 and L2 networks. We created a set of daily indices from blockchain data on Ethereum, Optimism, Arbitrum, and Polygon, offering insights into DeFi adoption, scalability, decentralization, and wealth distribution. Additionally, we developed an open-source Python framework for calculating decentralization indices, making this dataset highly useful for advanced machine learning research. Our work provides valuable resources for data scientists and contributes to the growth of the intelligent Web3 ecosystem.

Zach Zinn

No abstract is available for this record.

Mutlu Tahsin Üstündağ, Gizem Yıldız, Mustafa TANRIVERDİ, Togay Seçkin BİRBUDAK

In this study, it is aimed to analyze the articles on Web3 and present the general situation about Web3 to researchers. Within the scope of this purpose, the trends of the studies published on Web3 according to years, the trends of the journals in which they were published, the institutions and countries that contributed the most, the keywords used in the studies, the topics and themes based on the studies, and the distribution of research areas were revealed. The research is based on bibliometric analysis. A total of 280 articles published in WoS and SCOPUS databases were analyzed. WoSViewer and Bibliometrix programs were used in data analysis. The findings were analyzed and interpreted separately in WoS and SCOPUS. As a result of the research, there was a significant increase in studies on Web3 in 2022, and the journals with the highest number of publications in WoS and SCOPUS differ. The countries that contributed the most to Web3 were China, The USA, India, England, Germany. The most cited countries are China, the USA, India, England, Iran and Canada. In general, it can be said that countries and institutions have conducted studies on Web3 by addressing many issues related to Web3. Within the scope of the results, Web3 studies address many different disciplines with many topics. However, there is a need to deepen the studies. The policies, practices and even the laws created by countries on Web3 are important for studies on Web3. Blockchain is one of the most studied topics, but it is understood that there are some hesitations about blockchain security. For this reason, Web3 studies can be conducted to increase blockchain security.

Thomas Hardjono, Alexander Lipton, Alex Pentland

<p>If tokenized assets are to be a reality in the future decentralized Web3 then transaction keys need to be distributed and under the control of the asset-owners. This requires a careful design of wallet systems based on trusted hardware. A core feature needed for wallet systems is the attestation of the state of the transaction keys in the wallet without disclosure of the keys. This feature is relevant for relying parties such as insurance providers who need to perform risk assessment based on the security quality of the environment inside the wallet system that is protecting the transaction keys. In the longer term, all key-bearing devices that participate in a decentralized tokenized asset network will need to be hardened using trusted hardware, with attestation capabilities for detecting and countering cyberattacks.</p>

Kai Liu, Minghao Yu, Yang Jin, Yue Wang · 6 authors

The Web3 social platform Friend.Tech, launched in August 2023, enables users to tokenize and trade their social influence. While quickly attracted 139 thousand users in one month, Friend.Tech’s economic model and business strategies face significant challenges. After conducting a qualitative analysis of this platform, we collected and analyzed relevant on-chain data, and found that the platform’s economic model generates early substantial returns for key opinion leaders (KOLs) but also restricts community size and stable earning potential, with 99.4% of accounts having fewer than 100 followers. Numerous speculative users were attracted to the platform, but only 22.1% of speculative returns were positive, and the trading frequency rapidly declined, with the average token holding period exceeding four days. The reliance on new users, combined with an inevitable decline in platform activity, indicates a less optimistic outlook for the sustainability of this economic model. The platform demonstrates a prominent level of transitivity and tighter social connections compared to existing social platforms. In conclusion, while Friend.Tech appears economically unsustainable, its social model exhibits unique characteristics and serves as a remarkable exploration for the development of Web3.

Seung-Seok Lee, Sang-Joon Lee

With the rapid development of blockchain technology, it is expected to be combined with Web3.0, leading to increased global interest in a new internet system based on blockchain. As the e-commerce market has grown rapidly, the popularity of cryptocurrency and the opportunities for e-commerce utilizing them are also increasing. However, there’s limited direction on integrating cryptocurrencies into e-commerce, with few studies addressing Web3-based e-commerce includes them. Therefore, this paper proposes a Web3-based e-commerce cryptocurrency payment system. We designed and implemented a DApp that can create packs to sell online and offline contents and transact securely through an escrow account implemented through a smart contract. By presenting a Web3-based e-commerce cryptocurrency payment system, it is expected to promote the revitalization and growth of the e-commerce market and create new business opportunities as it can be used in various industries.

Umer Majeed, Sheikh Salman Hassan, Zhu Han, Choong Seon Hong

In the rapidly evolving landscape of Web3 and blockchain technologies, decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) have emerged as innovative structures that operate autonomously through blockchain and smart contracts, eliminating the need for centralized control. The federated learning (FL) process, akin to an information flow under structured transparency, involves local models (LMs) as inputs and the global model (GM) as the output for each global iteration. The lack of transparency and security in traditional FL systems can be attributed to the centralized validation of LMs and GM updates. In this paper, we propose DAO-FL, a smart contract-based framework that leverages the power of DAOs to address these FL challenges. DAO-FL introduces the concept of DAO Membership Tokens (DAOMTs) as a governance tool within a DAO. DAOMTs play a crucial role within the DAO, facilitating members’ enrollment and expulsion. Our framework incorporates a Validation-DAO for decentralized input verification (DIV) of the FL process, ensuring reliable and transparent validation of LMs. Additionally, DAO-FL employs a multi-signatures approach facilitated by an Orchestrator-DAO to achieve decentralized GM updates, and thus decentralized output verification (DOV) of the FL process. We present a comprehensive system architecture, detailed execution workflow, implementation specifications, and qualitative evaluation for DAO-FL. Evaluation under threat models highlights DAO-FL’s out-performance against traditional centralized-FL, effectively countering input and output attacks. DAO-FL excels in scenarios where DIV and DOV are crucial, offering enhanced transparency and trust. In conclusion, DAOFL provides a compelling solution for FL, reinforcing the integrity of the FL ecosystem through decentralized decision making and validation mechanisms.

Lide Xue, Wei Yang, Wei Li

The development of underlying technologies in blockchain mostly revolves around a difficult problem: how to enhance the performance of the system and reduce various costs of nodes (such as communication, storage and verification) without compromising the system's security and decentralization. Various layer-1 and layer-2 protocols have provided excellent solutions for this challenge. However, they cannot yet be considered as a ``silver bullet". This paper proposes EZchain -- a novel decentralized ``scale-out" ledger system designed for web3.0, aiming to enable blockchain technology to truly support ledger applications in large-scale fully decentralized networks. Without compromising security and decentralization, EZchain successfully accomplishes the following milestones: 1) Scalability: The theoretical throughput of EZchain can be infinitely expanded, nearly unaffected by bandwidth and other resource constraints. 2) Consumer-Grade Hardware Compatibility: EZchain is designed to be compatible with consumer-grade hardware, supporting storage, computation, and verification requirements. 3) Efficient Transaction Confirmation: EZchain strives to maintain transaction confirmation delays within one minute. Our prototype experiment demonstrates that under typical daily bandwidth network conditions, EZchain's performance in all aspects approaches that of the accounts in centralized payment systems. This provides a solid infrastructure for realizing mobile payments in web3.0.

Authors unavailable

Since years the hackers' movement warns about it. For a huge cultural misunderstanding, we are going on trying to learn new technologies according to the rules of the old school or using them as if we could learn directly from the market. The most cannot properly use the present devices too powerful and easy, and many ideas on the future come from science fiction. It's difficult to understand that the Web is made by each of us and depends on what we put in it, more than on our visits online. Once the Internet was attended by a small vanguard capable of managing websites and blogs, gathering in communities, innovating audiovisual and media, sharing experiences and knowledge. Since several years we are billions crowded in networks much more commercial than social, where no technical skills or references to reality are required: Really “ready” for the incoming metaverse, AI and the Web3?

Fabio Bassan

The evolution of market regulation in recent years has accelerated the combined outcome of market globalization and digitalization. The regulatory frontier is therefore represented by digital platforms and, in recent years, by the blockchain. Apparently, the rules regulating digital platforms (Web2) and blockchains (Web3) on each side of the ocean appear mutually incompatible on a legislative (primary) level. Nevertheless, we have recently witnessed a significant convergence between the regulation ofthe two ecosystems on the implementation (secondary) level. Convergence arises from the ‘regulatory circle’, typical of co-regulation in the EU, but also compatible with self-regulation in the US. Co-regulation and self-regulation, both implemented through the ‘regulatory circle’, generate a ‘participatory regulation’: regulatory and supervisory authorities cooperate with operators to set the rules, which are embedded in the technology. Technology is a discriminating element. Hence, what we see in practice both in the EU and in the US is a ‘participatory regulation by technology’. Participatory regulation by technology overcomes twenty years of regulation based on network neutrality, changing its fundamentals from the outset. Blockchain, DLT, regulation, self-regulation, co-regulation, participatory regulation, digital transformation, command and control, DLT Pilot, regulatory circle, Web3

Rajendra Hegadi, Syam Sankar Karthik Akella, K. Om Prakash Reddy, C. Pavan Kumar

As we enter a new era of decentralized applications and blockchain technology, the issue of Web3 security becomes crucial and requires immediate attention. Given the growing popularity of using smart contracts in web3, it is vital to ensure the protection of digital assets and user data online. This paper aims to examine the different security risks associated with smart contracts in web3 and propose measures to mitigate them. This research article delves into the identification, causes, and potential mitigation steps for common vulnerabilities found in smart contracts in web3. Specifically, we focus on six major vulnerabilities: overflow and underflow, access control vulnerabilities, re-entrancy attacks, price manipulation attacks, signature reply attacks and self-destruct attacks. By comprehensively discussing these vulnerabilities and offering mitigation strategies, this research aims to disseminate the security vulnerabilities in smart contracts in Web3 ecosystem and provides a path way for adoption of blockchain technology.

Josh Wei-Jie Hsiao

This project embarks on a spatial inquiry into Web3. Often hailed as the next iteration of the internet, Web3 is more than a facelift; it’s a calculated unveil that prompts us to re-examine Web2’s participatory past. Importantly, Web3’s algorithmic architecture both expands the web’s horizons and reflexively delineates its own perceptual identity. As it rises alongside digital platforms’ hegemony, we must scrutinize the territories it foregrounds — the very “wheres”— and the underlying “whys” that sculpt its distinct vantage for vested agendas. Drawing insights from media studies, critical data studies, and STS, this project focuses on influential powers sculpting the interplay between corporate developers and the Web3 landscape. The theoretical framework is primarily organized around the concepts of news cartography, architects’ gaze, and software performativity. Methodologically, this tripartite study leans on multiple ethnographic works to go beyond just studying tech structures, capturing both material and discursive forces that mold them. My empirical focus is grounded in specialist journalistic publications (in chapter 1), ethnographic observations, and aggregated data of sites (in chapters 2 and 3). Each chapter underscores its rationale for data collection, yet aliging with the ethos of infrastructure ethnography. My research pivots on the argument that Web3 gives rise to “algorithmic spatiality.” It extends beyond software’s materiality, echoing geographers’ assertions that (digital) space is programmed, assembled, and arranged. Thus, I view Web3 not just as a deliberate construct, but also as a dialogical practice of shaping and organizing its very essence. Influenced by Massey’s (1999) portrayal of power as spatial-relational dynamics, I employ “power-geometries” as a foundational lens to discern the varied influences of Web3 on sociality. This juxtaposes with the pervasive power of existing digital platforms, often termed the Web2 status quo, awaiting transition. For new media research, approaching Web3 with an algorithmic and spatial lens invites us to see sociality as a dynamic reshaping, subtly directed by coded practices, often obscuring their corporate genesis. I argue that to truly fathom our unfolding digital landscape, it’s imperative to closely scrutinize the pivotal roles of key actors. Especially, the corporate-scripted agents, in all their forms, actively molding these emerging topographies.

Juanjuan Li, Xiaolong Liang, Rui Qin, Fei–Yue Wang

As the key component of the emerging Web3, Decentralized Autonomous Organizations and Operations (DAOs) enables decentralized decision-making and governance mainly driven by blockchain and smart contracts. This paper first provides a comprehensive examination of DAOs’ evolution, tracing their historical development and the progression of their definitions and underlying concepts. Then, it presents their classical governance models founded on token economics and analyzes typical practical cases, subsequently identifying the current dilemmas faced by DAO governance. To address these dilemmas, TRUE Autonomous Organizations and Operations (TAOs) are proposed, which underscores the trustable, reliable, usable, efficient and effective essence of decentralization. Besides, the distinctions between TAOs and DAOs are discussed from perspective of the value systems, governance structures, incentive allocation, decision-making model. Furthermore, it highlights the research issues that need to be addressed to realize the full potential of TAOs.

Authors unavailable

WPA2 is the most used wireless communication protocol in the world (2023). It first appeared in 2006, and now several vulnerabilities have been identified. To use WPA2-EAP or WPA3 (2018), which were released to compensate for the vulnerabilities of WPA2, additional equipment upgrades are required for STA (station) and AP (access point, router), which are connecting devices. We are currently living in the Web3 era. In the future society, people will have more than one NFT each. It is possible to improve the security of WPA2 by using this as an authentication means. In this paper, see the principles of WPA2 crack tools that are currently used today and suggest a way to defend against them using NFT. An experiment was carried out on the security of WPA2, which is widely used in SOHO environments, using only SBC (Single Board Computer) and NFT without expensive routers or additional authentication means. Hacking time, Internet connection delay time, download speed, etc. were compared on various PCs. In conclusion, this proposal demonstrated that representative WPA2 cracking tools can be defended without performance degradation compared to existing WPA2.

Weidong He, Jiahe Yu

With the advent of the Web3.0 era, virtual assets have gained prominence in individuals’ asset portfolios, making Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) increasingly significant within the financial trading landscape. To address the issue of multicollinearity in regression analysis, this paper employs Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to perform dimensionality reduction on five correlated foundational sectors. Moreover, to enhance the accuracy and reliability of predictive outcomes, the study combines the Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) model with the Autoregressive Moving Average-Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity (ARMA-GARCH) model. Through the application of these methods and practical implementation, the study forecasts the NFT index of the Hong Kong stock market for the next 30 days. This forecasting of return volatility contributes vital insights for investment decision-making. The research complements and offers application recommendations in financial innovation, deepening, and regulation. By devising novel products and tools to meet investor demands, providing risk management and investment opportunities, the model’s predictive outcomes can be utilized in regulatory and risk management strategies within the national financial trading market. This study provides regulatory guidance, policy formulation insights, and envisions further refinements of the research methodology by integrating information shock effects.

Kalpesh Barde

The rise of Web 3.0, which is based on independent technologies like blockchain and smart contracts, marks a big change in the financial technology field. This research looks at all the different ways that Web 3.0 can be used in FinTech by looking at real-life examples from Ethereum, Betterment, Wealthfront, DeversiFi, Synthetix, Kyber Network, and Curve Finance. By combining ideas from McKinsey's research, the study shows that Web3 lending sites are growing quickly. In 2021 alone, they gave out over $200 billion in loans. The study shows how Ethereum can be used for smart contracts, how Betterment and Wealthfront's robo-advisory services use AI and machine learning, how DeversiFi's decentralized exchange handles privacy issues, how Synthetix creates on-chain digital assets, how Kyber Network's blockchain-based liquidity protocol is put into use, and how Curve Finance's decentralized platform handles stablecoin transactions. Although there has been success, integrating these technologies is still very hard. The main problems are unclear regulations and technical issues with security, scalability, and interoperability. The final success of Web 3.0 in FinTech will depend on how well these problems are solved, which will help find a good balance between fast technological progress and strong risk management.

Felix Stöger, Anxin Zhou, Huayi Duan, Adrian Perrig

No abstract is available for this record.

Thomas Hardjono, Alexander Lipton, Alex Pentland

<p>In order for tokenized asset networks to be accountable as Web3 marketplaces for token-related transactions, identity verification must be conducted by gateways into those token networks. This includes the identity validation and legal status verification of the originators and beneficiaries, the gateway owners/operators, and other relevant service providers. The classic identity provider model could be enhanced to support anti-money laundering regulations, notably the Travel Rule. A privacy-preserving IdP model in combination with a legal service provider is explored where the IdP becomes the issuer of a blinded attestation regarding the user attribute, and where the legal representative with attorney-client privilege becomes the first point of contact for requests for the disclosure of the blinded attestations.</p>

Renke Huang, Jiachi Chen, Yanlin Wang, Tingting Bi · 6 authors

Web3, the next generation of the Internet, represents a decentralized and democratized web. Although it has garnered significant public interest and found numerous real-world applications, there is a limited understanding of people's perceptions and experiences with Web3. In this study, we conducted an empirical study to investigate the categories of Web3 applications and their popularity, as well as the potential challenges and opportunities within this emerging landscape. Our research was carried out in two phases. In the first phase, we analyzed 200 popular Web3 projects associated with 10 leading Web3 venture capital firms. In the second phase, we collected and examined code-related data from GitHub and market-related data from blockchain browsers (e.g., Etherscan) for these projects. Our analysis revealed that the Web3 ecosystem can be categorized into two groups, i.e., Web3 infrastructure and Web3 applications, with each consisting of several subcategories or subdomains. We also gained insights into the popularity of these Web3 projects at both the code and market levels and pointed out the challenges in the Web3 ecosystem at the system, developer, and user levels, as well as the opportunities it presents. Our findings contribute to a better understanding of Web3 for researchers and developers, which in turn promotes further exploration and advancement in this innovative field.

Richard Li, Brian Heng

Various types of financial businesses and services developed around cryptocurrencies provide the financial system necessary for the development of the Web3 World.At present, it seems that only El Salvador and the Central African Republic recognize Bitcoin as legal tender. Even though many countries still do not recognize Bitcoin or other forms of cryptocurrency and award them the fiat currency status, they do not restrict the uses or trading of cryptocurrencies. In many instances, cryptocurrencies are also being considered as a legitimate asset…

Mozhi Wang, Xueyan Qin, Yu-chen Hung, Swee Won Lo

The Web3 revolution may have started long ago, but the epoch of blockchain history marked its beginning with the birth of Bitcoin in 2009. The public chain is arguably the most important infrastructure in the short history of blockchain. The evolution of public chains has undergone three significant iterations in the past 13 years — from Bitcoin’s Proof of Work (PoW) to Ethereum 1.0 with smart contract functionality and the various Layer 1 networks based on Proof of Stake (PoS). Today’s Web3 is a hybrid system where the three models coexist and thrive in the ecosystem.

Jiajian Wang, Qinxu Ding

Metaverse is a new Internet application and social form that integrates various new technologies. It provides an immersive experience based on extended reality technologies, generates a mirror image of the real world based on digital twin technology, and builds an economic system based on blockchain technology…

Gavin Qu, Bosheng Ding

Beginning in late 2021, the search volume of the keyword “Web3” on the Internet has grown rapidly. People started talking about Web3, and it seemed that the Web3 dream could become a reality tomorrow.Web3 is not a product that appeared out of thin air but a continuation of the spirit of cyberpunk and cypherpunk in the 1980s and 1990s. The current Web3 revolution resembles a renaissance with the economic stimulus flowing into cyberspace.

Weihong Wang

The promise of a fully decentralized web is too big to ignore. The bridging of Web2 and Web3 infrastructure is crucial for realizing this decentralized future. However, the current computational and storage demands in blockchain systems often result in challenges for users, leading to reliance on centralized endpoint API services in Web3 application designs. This dependence raises concerns about privacy, availability, and security. This doctoral study aims to enhance the accessibility and decentralization of blockchains, especially by facilitating the participation of resource-constrained devices such as smartphones and browsers. The goal is to facilitate the widespread adoption of decentralized systems that are secure, reliable, and scalable.