Blockchain Papers

Vikas Khare, Monica Bhatia, Miraj Ahmed Bhuiyan

No abstract is available for this record.

Mukhtaruddin Mukhtaruddin, Hirut Assegid, Mohit Verma, Meenakshi Verma

The international obligation to reach the net-zero level of emissions has enhanced the requirement to develop new financial tools that would be able to raise funds to support sustainable development. One of the factors in this transition has been financial technology (FinTech) that has employed digital innovation and financial services to help provide sustainable investment, transparency, and efficiency in capital allocation. Green FinTech is the intersection of FinTech innovations and environmentally sustainable goals, especially those of assisting climate mitigation and climate adaptation policies. The chapter analyzes the examples of green FinTech, and the way they facilitate net-zero transitions. Based on theoretical frameworks and new trends in the world, the chapter outlines the major models such as digital green lending systems, carbon markets facilitated by blockchain, AI-based climate risk analytics, and crowdfunding solutions to sustainable projects.

Shubham Kumar, S. K. Mittal, Mansi Panwar

Cryptocurrencies have also seen their development within the last decade becoming a globally popular financial phenomenon that once existed as a niche technological experiment. What started with the launch of the bitcoin in 2009 has grown into a massive ecosystem of digital assets, decentralized applications and blockchain-based financial services (Zribi et al., 2023). These inventions have been a paradigm shift in the conventional concept of money, trust and the financial intermediation. Cryptocurrencies have provided new avenues in financial inclusion, especially in areas whose banking systems are poorly developed, due to the ability to conduct peer-to-peer transactions that do not require centralized institutions, like banks or governments (Sapra & Shaikh, 203).

Hirut Assegid, Priyanka Gupta, Mansi Panwar

Switching to a low-carbon economy will demand significant funding of environmentally-friendly investments. Nevertheless, commonly traditional financial systems are known to experience problems like high transaction costs, information asymmetry and less transparency which limits the efficient mobilization of green capital. The chapter discusses the potential of financial technology (FinTech) to revolutionize the green credit market and institutional channels of carbon reduction. The conceptual and analytical approach incorporating the results of the literature on sustainable finance, digital financial ecosystem, and climate policy, the chapter examines how digital lending platforms, blockchain-based verification, artificial intelligence-based credit evaluation, and data-driven environmental monitoring can improve the effectiveness and reliability of the green finance.

Gurpreet Kaur, Mushtaq Ahmad Shah

The urgency of climate change has increased the need for effective mechanisms to reduce emissions and mobilize climate finance. Carbon markets provide a market-based approach through trading carbon credits from verified projects, but they face issues such as low transparency, double counting, weak monitoring, and lack of trust. This chapter examines how blockchain technology can address these challenges by improving transparency, traceability, and efficiency in carbon trading systems. Based on a conceptual review and global case studies, it highlights how blockchain enhances tracking, verification, and trading of carbon credits. The findings suggest that blockchain strengthens monitoring and reporting, reduces fraud risks, and improves accountability. It also enables more accessible and efficient carbon markets with broader stakeholder participation. The chapter concludes that blockchain-enabled carbon markets can enhance credibility and support the transition to a low-carbon economy.

Maroua Jerbi, Nourhaine Nefzi, Ines Zarraa

This chapter investigates the nexus between blockchain and green markets by employing the wavelet coherency time-frequency analysis from July 14, 2021, to March 20, 2024. The study employs an index- based approach to represent the blockchain market and focuses on four green financial Assets: green bonds, clean energy, clean cryptocurrency and sustainable equities. Findings entail a weak to absent long run co-movement. The mid-run result shows a moderately positive co-movement, which suggests that these markets tend to move in the same direction, with the blockchain index showing the leading role in most cases. These results have significant implications for market participants and policy makers. In fact, investors can use these findings to diversify their portfolios by incorporating blockchain and green financial instruments and, therefore, mitigate portfolio risk. Policymakers could also take advantage of these findings by promoting sustainable economic policies which capitalize on the stabilizing effects that blockchain technology has.

Zheng Lin Chia, Hui Wei You, Sardar Muhammad Usman, Bee Wah Yap

Purpose Following the introduction of the European Crowdfunding Service Providers Regulation (ECSPR), crowdfunding has experienced rapid growth within the European alternative finance sector. However, the harmonisation of regulatory requirements has not fully eliminated concerns regarding information asymmetry among investors. This study aims to examines how financial disclosure (FINANCIALD) and alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) function as disclosure-based signals that influence the success of equity and debt crowdfunding campaigns regulated under the ECSPR. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on signalling theory, this study examines campaign-level data from a single ECSPR-authorised crowdfunding platform: 154 Invesdor campaigns (123 equity crowdfunding and 31 debt crowdfunding campaigns) operating in Germany. Logistic regression is used as the primary estimation technique. The models account for a comprehensive set of campaign characteristics, including the number of project updates, fundraising-target disclosure, financing type and engagement-related features. Findings The results indicate that both FINANCIALD and SDG alignment have a positive and statistically significant relationship with crowdfunding success. Voluntary disclosure of accounting-related financial information and alignment with the SDGs are associated with a higher probability of achieving funding targets. In contrast, commonly studied campaign characteristics, such as media presence and the disclosure of founder background, do not show a strong influence on the success of equity and debt crowdfunding campaigns. Research limitations/implications The generalisability of the findings may be limited due to the study’s focus on ECSPR-regulated campaigns in Germany. Future research could extend the analysis to cross-country comparisons, examine the quality of disclosures and investigate the impact of emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI)-based auditing and blockchain-based reporting, on disclosure practices within crowdfunding markets. Practical implications The findings highlight the importance of transparent FINANCIALD and clearly communicated sustainability orientation for entrepreneurs seeking to raise capital through crowdfunding. For policymakers, the results highlight the complementary roles of regulation and voluntary disclosure in supporting trust and efficiency in financial technologies (FinTech)-enabled capital markets. The observed association with SDG alignment should not be interpreted as evidence of the credibility or actual sustainability performance of the disclosed commitments. Originality/value The research contributes to the evolving literature on FinTech regulation by providing a timely assessment of the ECSPR’s impact on investor behaviour. It identifies a critical shift in the crowdfunding landscape: while regulatory harmonisation provides a baseline, voluntary financial transparency remains a primary differentiator for campaign success. The findings offer unique value to policymakers by demonstrating how standardised European regulations interact with voluntary disclosures to enhance market efficiency.

Bashar Yaser Almansour, Ammar Yaser Almansour, Seyed Amirhossein Shojaei

No abstract is available for this record.

Risnawati Risnawat

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) is the primary financial mechanism under the Paris Agreement, yet its governance architecture remains underexplored theoretically. This study examines how multiple decision centers and actors interact within the GCF’s governance structure and what coordination mechanisms are built into it, using a polycentric governance lens. By analyzing 43 official GCF documents (2015–2024) through qualitative content analysis and the polycentric orders framework, the study finds that the GCF’s governance structure exhibits formally institutionalized coordination mechanisms consistent with a strong polycentric order. These structural features are designed to support problem-solving and adaptive management, although their operational effectiveness requires further empirical investigation. Contributions include a replicable, document-based coding and network-analysis method for characterizing polycentric governance, along with evidence that formal decentralization in the GCF coexists with a concentration of documented coordination ties among a small core of actors.

Pham Ngoc Toan, Le Tran Trung Hieu, Nguyen Vu Trung Nguyen

Carbon pricing is jurisdictional, while proof-of-work cryptocurrency mining is a highly mobile electricity load. We examine whether daily power-sector emissions display a cross-regional and distributional pattern consistent with short-run emissions displacement. Using daily observations covering calendar years 2019–2025 (with a boundary observation on 1 January 2026; N = 2550 after transformation and cleaning), we estimate quantile regressions for the EU27, the Russian Federation and the rest of the world using the interaction between Bitcoin returns and European carbon-allowance returns. The focal Russian lower-tail interaction is positive (q10 beta = 0.0662); OLS and dynamic specifications remain positive, and a 1000-replication pairs bootstrap gives p = 0.0077. The association survives a trading-day-only sample, calendar and persistence controls, and a seven-lag specification, while randomised-carbon and non-power-sector placebo outcomes are null. However, the coefficient loses conventional significance without Winsorisation, the May-2021 Chinese-ban timing prediction is not supported, and a direct EU27-minus-Russia substitution diagnostic is null. Quantile-on-quantile estimates place the largest Russian Bitcoin-return coefficients in high-carbon-price, low-emission states, but remain descriptive. Because the design does not observe mining capacity moving across jurisdictions and the available full-sample Russian emissions series is national rather than subnational, the evidence supports a leakage-consistent operational association rather than proof of physical relocation or a broad causal effect of EU carbon pricing.

Vaibhav Sharma, Rajesh Jain, Vinita Parashar

The paper focuses on the interaction between the fields of financial technologies and sustainable development, highlighting the contribution of technological advancements in the financial field towards economic development, social inclusion, and environmental protection. Financial technologies (FinTech), utilizing blockchain, mobile banking, and artificial intelligence technologies, have completely transformed the world of finances making it more efficient, transparent, and accessible. The application of FinTech in sustainability projects is essential for the accomplishment of important SDGs such as financial inclusion, poverty reduction, and the establishment of green finance mechanisms, including carbon trade and green bonds. Yet, the study notes several barriers to the successful integration of the two spheres that can include regulatory uncertainty, data protection problems, and the problem of digital divide.

Dr. P. Jayapradha

Green finance has emerged as a transformative mechanism for achieving sustainable economic development by integrating environmental sustainability with financial decision-making. The increasing challenges posed by climate change, environmental degradation, and resource depletion have encouraged governments, financial institutions, and private investors to allocate capital toward environmentally sustainable projects. Green finance encompasses financial instruments such as green bonds, green loans, sustainability-linked loans, ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) investments, climate finance, and carbon financing that promote low-carbon and climate-resilient economic growth. This paper reviews recent developments in green finance and examines its contribution to sustainable economic development through a systematic review of contemporary literature. The study analyzes the evolution of green financial instruments, policy frameworks, investment trends, and their impact on economic growth, renewable energy development, environmental protection, employment generation, and financial inclusion. The paper further discusses the challenges hindering green finance implementation, including regulatory inconsistencies, greenwashing, limited disclosure standards, inadequate investor awareness, and financing constraints in developing economies. The review also highlights the role of technological innovations such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, fintech, and big data analytics in improving transparency, risk assessment, and investment efficiency in green financial markets. Based on recent empirical evidence, the paper concludes that green finance significantly contributes to sustainable development by encouraging environmentally responsible investments while supporting long-term economic resilience. Finally, policy recommendations and future research directions are proposed to strengthen global green financial ecosystems and accelerate progress toward the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Rejaul Karim, Md. Mustaqim Roshid, Bablu Kumar Dhar, Abdul Waaje

This study explores the evolving role of green financial technology (Fintech) in sustainability-oriented financial innovation, with a particular focus on climate finance, digital innovation, and environmental governance. Using bibliometric methods, we analyze 72 peer-reviewed publications indexed in Scopus from 2019 to 2024 to map the intellectual structure and emerging trends of green Fintech research. Key technological domains, including blockchain-based carbon markets, AI-powered ESG analytics, and green digital payment systems, are frequently associated in the literature with several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), notably SDG 13 (Climate Action), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), and SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth). This analysis reveals how digital financial innovations are conceptualized as mechanisms for facilitating access to green capital, strengthening carbon credit ecosystems, and enhancing transparency in climate-aligned investment. However, persistent barriers such as fragmented regulatory frameworks, cybersecurity risks, and digital divides are recurrently identified in the literature as constraints, particularly in emerging economies. Interpreted through Institutional Theory and Stakeholder Theory, the study highlights the importance of coordinated policy innovation, inclusive digital infrastructure, and harmonized ESG standards in shaping the diffusion and governance of green Fintech solutions. By positioning theory as an interpretive lens rather than an empirical test , this research offers a theory-informed, data-driven synthesis that contributes to the growing interdisciplinary discourse on digital finance as a potential enabler of low-carbon, inclusive, and resilient sustainability transitions.

Xingchen Zhou

Under the dual carbon targets, China's energy companies are speeding up their green transformation, but they usually encounter some common obstacles including lack of capital, weak technical assistance and an incomplete risk control system. The combination of digital technology and financial services provides new approaches to solve these problems. According to the specific characteristics of the transformation of energy enterprises, this research examines the mechanisms of digital finance from two aspects – financing enhancement and technological enhancement. It is found that methods such as digital green loans, bonds and equity financing can efficiently relieve the financial pressure of enterprises, while technologies like big data, blockchain and artificial intelligence can greatly improve the accuracy of emission reduction and the efficiency of energy operation. Furthermore, the enhancing effects have regional differences and threshold characteristics. Thus, countermeasures are put forward from four fields: improving service provision, deepening technological integration, setting up a risk management system and improving policy regulation, which offer guidance for the actual transformation of energy enterprises and the development of relevant policies.

Arpita Paul

Abstract: The evolution of monetary systems has transformed human civilization from simple barter exchanges to sophisticated digital financial ecosystems powered by blockchain technology. This review examines how barter systems evolved into con-temporary virtual currencies across history and assesses how cryptocurrencies fit into the circular economy. The study explores the shortcomings of conventional monetary systems and looks at how decentralized, transparent, and effective forms of economic transaction have been made possible by digital currencies like Bitcoin. Additionally, the study examines how blockchain technology might be used to support waste reduction, sustainability, resource efficiency, and transparent supply chain management. The study also assesses the difficulties posed by virtual currencies, such as market volatility, cybersecurity threats, regulatory ambiguity, and environmental issues pertaining to cryptocurrency mining. The review identifies significant research gaps and future prospects for incorporating virtual currencies into sustainable economic systems by synthesizing the body of existing work. The results indicate that through openness, decentralization, and technological innovation, blockchain-enabled financial systems have a great deal of potential to promote circular economy goals. Keywords: Virtual Currency, Cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, Blockchain, Circular Economy, Sustainable Finance, Digital Economy, Decentralization, Green Finance, FinTech, Supply Chain Management

Fernando Frachone Neves, André Luiz Oliveira, Flávia Vancim Frachone MASSA, Tainara Adriani Ribeiro de Jesus · 5 authors

A proliferação da tecnologia blockchain e da mineração de criptomoedas tem gerado interesse de especialistas em sustentabilidade, emergindo um novo campo de estudo, desenvolvendo o conceito de criptomoedas verdes e a sustentabilidade digital. Neste sentido, este estudo realizou uma análise bibliométrica com o objetivo de mapear as tendências, estruturas temáticas e avanços na literatura científica sobre sustentabilidade digital no ecossistema blockchain, com foco em criptomoedas verdes. Para isso, foram analisados 133 artigos científicos extraídos do Web of Science (WOS), utilizando-se o software RStudio. Os resultados revelaram um crescimento acelerado de publicações, com um pico em 2024, indicando um campo de pesquisa em rápida expansão. As contribuições em pesquisa demonstram uma polarização, destacando a China e a Índia como principais polos. Temas dominantes incluem "cryptocurrency", "bitcoin", "blockchain technology", "green bonds", "clean energy" e "renewable energy", enquanto o mapeamento temático identificou "energy consumption", "risk" e "green challenges adoption" como temas motores. Esta revisão bibliométrica confirma o crescente interesse em criptomoedas verdes, impulsionado pela necessidade de mitigar impactos ambientais e alinhar a inovação tecnológica aos Objetivos de Desenvolvimento Sustentável (ODS) da ONU. Conclui-se que o estudo oferece percepções importantes aos formuladores de políticas, investidores e desenvolvedores, visando promover um desenvolvimento digital mais equitativo e alinhado à sustentabilidade.

Md Mehedi Hasan Emon, Ratul Islam

This chapter explores the transformative role of Financial Technology (FinTech) in advancing green finance, a crucial component in addressing global sustainability challenges. By integrating technologies such as blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI), big data analytics, and smart contracts, FinTech facilitates the efficient allocation of capital towards sustainable projects. The chapter examines how these innovations enhance transparency, optimize risk assessment, and enable decentralized financing models like peer-to-peer energy trading and tokenization. Additionally, it addresses the challenges posed by greenwashing, market volatility, and regulatory uncertainty, while highlighting the future opportunities for growth in green finance. Ultimately, the chapter underscores the potential of FinTech to drive systemic change and promote a low-carbon, sustainable economy.

Md Mehedi Hasan Emon, Ratul Islam

This chapter explores the transformative potential of blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI) in revolutionizing green finance. It begins by examining the role of digital transformation in driving sustainable financial practices, highlighting the integration of blockchain and AI. The chapter delves into blockchain's applications in enhancing transparency, traceability, and security within green finance, particularly through smart contracts and decentralized finance solutions. It further discusses AI's contributions to improving risk assessment, ESG evaluation, and combating greenwashing. The synergies between blockchain and AI are explored, showing how their combined use optimizes sustainability-focused investments. Additionally, the chapter addresses regulatory and ethical considerations surrounding these technologies. Finally, it discusses emerging trends and opportunities in green finance, providing insights into the future of sustainable financial systems driven by technological innovation.

Huriye Gonca Di̇ler, Münevvere YILDIZ, N. Serap VURUR, Letife Özdemir

In today's world, sustainability strategies play a critical role in the transformation of global economies and industries. Green Economic Growth (GEG), which prioritizes environmental factors, is gaining increasing importance. Financial and green innovation are identified as the main driving forces behind GEG. However, research on the effects of these factors in OECD countries remains limited, and existing findings often show inconsistencies regarding the direction and magnitude of these effects. This study aims to comprehensively examine the impact of financial and green innovation on GEG in OECD countries. Using annual data from 15 OECD countries for the period 1996–2021, panel data techniques are applied. Cointegration tests are conducted to determine the presence of long-run relationships among the variables. Subsequently, long-run coefficients are estimated using the panel quantile regression method. The robustness of the findings is tested through OLS and fixed effects models. Additionally, causality tests are employed to explore the directional relationships between the variables. The results indicate that green innovation has a positive long-run effect on GEG, whereas financial innovation exerts a negative impact. Causality tests reveal bidirectional relationships among all variables. Policy recommendations include the promotion of green bonds and sustainable finance instruments, support for green investments through regulations that take environmental risks into account, and the expansion of access to green projects via technologies such as blockchain-based carbon markets. This research provides valuable insights for policymakers in designing more effective strategies to foster sustainable economic growth.

Dr. Neha Kumar

The Financial Technology (FinTech) ecosystem has become a disruptive one which changed the face of the financial services industry with digital technology, innovative business models and new regulatory framework. The development, distribution and use of financial products and services have been revolutionized by technologies like artificial intelligence, blockchain, cloud, big data analytics, Internet of Things and open banking. This review paper aims to integrate and consolidate the available literature to gain an overview of the development of FinTech from Finance 1.0 to Finance 4.0, and their technological innovations as the backbone of the modern financial systems. It also explores some of the key FinTech business models like digital payments, digital lending, WealthTech, InsurTech and embedded finance, and the essential role of relevant government policies, digital public infrastructure and governance for responsible FinTech innovation. The paper also identifies relevant challenges in the fields of cybersecurity, data privacy, ethics in artificial intelligence, regulatory complexity and digital inclusion that remain to significantly impact the sustainable development of the FinTech ecosystem. Last but not least, new research opportunities are identified in the field of generative artificial intelligence, decentralized finance, green FinTech, and digital financial governance to be pursued by academia in the future. The multidisciplinary perspective employed in this review gives a comprehensive picture of the current developments in FinTech and can help researchers, practitioners and policymakers to understand the opportunities and risks associated with digital financial transformation.

Shan Miao

The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence, particularly the breakthroughs in large language models and AI agents, is driving a fundamental paradigm shift in the fintech sector. This paper proposes a theoretical framework to characterize the transition of fintech from a "tool empowerment" phase, where technology serves as an efficiency-enhancing instrument within existing financial structures, to an "ecological reconstruction" phase, where AI agents, embedded finance, and decentralized technologies fundamentally reshape the organizational forms, value creation mechanisms, and competitive dynamics of the financial industry. We develop a three-dimensional analytical framework encompassing technological architecture, institutional logic, and value network to systematically examine this transformation. Through a mixed-methods approach combining comparative case studies of 12 representative financial institutions and quantitative analysis of patent data from 2015 to 2025, we find that: (1) the paradigm shift follows a non-linear S-curve trajectory, with a critical inflection point occurring around 2023-2024; (2) AI agent-driven autonomous workflows can reduce operational costs by 35-48% while improving risk assessment accuracy by 22-31%; (3) the ecological reconstruction phase exhibits distinct network effects where platform-based financial ecosystems achieve 2.3-3.7 times higher customer lifetime value compared to traditional linear models; (4) the transition presents significant regulatory challenges, particularly regarding algorithmic accountability, data sovereignty, and systemic risk aggregation in interconnected AI-financial networks. Our findings contribute to the theoretical understanding of technology-induced institutional change in financial systems and offer practical implications for financial institutions, technology firms, and policymakers navigating this transformative period.

Saeid Eslamian, Yaser Sabzevari

Climate change presents complex challenges requiring transparent, efficient, and verifiable mechanisms for monitoring, reporting, and managing environmental impacts. Blockchain technology, with its decentralized, immutable, and transparent ledger system, offers innovative solutions to enhance climate action and sustainability initiatives. This chapter explores the application of blockchain in addressing climate change, including carbon credit tracking, renewable energy trading, climate finance, supply chain emissions monitoring, and decentralized environmental governance. Case studies and pilot projects are examined to illustrate how blockchain enables secure, real-time data sharing, improves accountability, and fosters stakeholder collaboration in climate mitigation and adaptation strategies. The chapter also discusses challenges such as scalability, energy consumption, regulatory compliance, and integration with existing environmental frameworks. By bridging the fields of digital technology and climate action, this chapter provides insights into how blockchain can support transparent, resilient, and efficient climate solutions.

Hongli Fan, Yuqi Wang, Zhi Zhuo, Zhengtang Zhao

No abstract is available for this record.

PAUL RICARDO PRUDENCIO GALVEZ

Abstract The growth of Decentralized Finance (DeFi) and Real-World Asset (RWA)-backed stablecoins in emerging economies has raised growing concern regarding their potential impact on the systemic stability of the traditional financial system. RWA tokenization reached USD 36 billion in 2026, and its concentration in private credit and U.S. Treasury bonds configures a bidirectional risk transmission channel between the crypto ecosystem and the regulated banking system. This study aims to quantitatively analyze the systemic contagion risk between DeFi and traditional banking in the Peruvian context, and to propose a tiered regulatory framework adapted to the country's institutional particularities, integrating the supervisory role of SUNAT, the consumer protection role of INDECOPI, and the prudential supervision of the SBS. A sequential-explanatory mixed-methods design (QUAN→qual) was employed based on: systematic review of 47 studies with verified DOI (2020–2026); financial contagion network analysis through betweenness centrality metrics; a comparative risk matrix with 12 quantified dimensions; and documentary study of the current Peruvian regulatory framework. Results reveal that the DeFi + RWA ecosystem concentrates 68% of its assets in illiquid instruments, presents tail correlations of 0.73 with traditional markets during stress episodes (TerraUSD 2022, First Brands 2025), and that the DeFi + RWA contagion risk profile reaches 4.8 out of 5. In the Peruvian context, SUNAT's 30% tax rate on crypto assets generates disincentives to formalization, driving an informal market estimated at USD 450 million annually. A three-level regulatory framework is proposed: (1) 100% reserve requirement in liquid assets supervised by SBS; (2) differentiated 15% taxation for SUNAT-regulated stablecoins; and (3) INDECOPI consumer protection mechanisms within a maximum of 30 days. Gradual implementation of this architecture would reduce systemic contagion risk by 38% and increase crypto asset tax collection by 42% annually.