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Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System
Abstract
A purely peer-to-peer version of electronic cash would allow online payments to be sent directly from one party to another without going through a financial institution. Digital signatures provide part of the solution, but the main benefits are lost if a trusted third party is still required to prevent double-spending. We propose a solution to the double-spending problem using a peer-to-peer network. The network timestamps transactions by hashing them into an ongoing chain of hash-based proof-of-work, forming a record that cannot be changed without redoing the proof-of-work. The longest chain not only serves as proof of the sequence of events witnessed, but proof that it came from the largest pool of CPU power. As long as a majority of CPU power is controlled by nodes that are not cooperating to attack the network, they'll generate the longest chain and outpace attackers. The network itself requires minimal structure. Messages are broadcast on a best effort basis, and nodes can leave and rejoin the network at will, accepting the longest proof-of-work chain as proof of what happened while they were gone.
... Be that as it may, blockchains' huge and constantly developing size presents critical difficulties for asset-secured gadgets like portable wallets. Lightweight clients depend on conventions like the Improved on Installment Check (SPV) [1], presented in the first Bitcoin whitepaper, to work without downloading and storing the whole blockchain. SPV decreases capacity and computational overhead by downloading just block headers rather than the full block information. ...
... Whether or not it is imaginable to plan more effective synchronization conventions, which permit lightweight clients to safely and dependably interface with blockchain networks while downloading fewer block headers, remains an open and pressing research issue. An ideal synchronization convention ought to meet a few basic prerequisites: (1) it should save decentralization, guaranteeing that no single party is confided in more than others; (2) it ought to empower clients to derive fundamental realities about the blockchain, for example, the Merkle foundation of record adjusts in Ethereum [2], [3] or the legitimacy of explicit exchanges, in light of the downloaded information; and (3) it ought to accomplish huge decreases in data transmission and computational asset utilization without compromising security. ...
... Empowering lightweight synchronization for blockchain clients was first recognized by Nakamoto in the first Bitcoin whitepaper [1]. Early work zeroed in on conventions like SPV, which established the groundwork for asset-proficient blockchain communications; however, it missed the mark regarding adaptability and productivity as blockchain networks grew. ...
... In the late 90s, Nick Szabo proposed using a blockchain as a secure digital payment system called "bit gold", but it was never implemented. It was not until 2009, when the Bitcoin was launched [15], that blockchain had its first real-world application. ...
... Bitcoin was referred to as a "new electronic cash system that is fully peer-to-peer, without trusted third party." [15] Bitcoin was introduced shortly after the financial collapse of traditional banking infrastructure in 2008. The idea of Bitcoin was set out in a white paper by the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto [15]. ...
... [15] Bitcoin was introduced shortly after the financial collapse of traditional banking infrastructure in 2008. The idea of Bitcoin was set out in a white paper by the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto [15]. Today, Bitcoin is the world's largest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation. ...
This paper provides results and conclusions of empirical analysis of two protocols intended for handling blockchain transactions in the Lightning Network (LN), Blitz and HTLC. HTLC protocol is already implemented and widely adopted protocol in the Lightning Network. Blitz is a newer protocol, officially presented in the spring 2021, and it is not yet implemented in the Lightning Network. The objective of this paper is to compare two protocols which operate over payment channel networks (PCN), and to conduct experiments that display advantages of the Blitz protocol. Experiments are made on generated transactions based on the topology of a real LN snapshot.
... This setup blocks unauthorized access, tampering, or data corruption, ensuring patient information stays secure and trustworthy. It's a vital tool for protecting sensitive health records [1], [14], [22] -Blockchain: Building Trust without a Boss: By running on a network of computers instead of a single authority, blockchain is like a shared notebook everyone can see but no one can change alone. This openness fosters trust and ensures data accuracy, which is critical in healthcare where mistakes can't be afforded [5], [18], [32] -Blockchain: Giving Patients Control: Blockchain hands patients the keys to their health data, letting them decide who gets access. ...
... This openness fosters trust and ensures data accuracy, which is critical in healthcare where mistakes can't be afforded [5], [18], [32] -Blockchain: Giving Patients Control: Blockchain hands patients the keys to their health data, letting them decide who gets access. It's like choosing who can read your diary, aligning with privacy laws and empowering people to share only what they're comfortable with [1], [23], [32] -Node-RED: Linking Health Gadgets: Node-RED works like a digital bridge, connecting devices like fitness trackers, hospital sensors, and more. It's simple, visual interface lets developers easily pull together data from all these sources, creating a flexible hub for health information [30]. ...
In today’s healthcare landscape, where data is the backbone of effective care and seamless supply chains are essential, system inefficiencies and data vulnerabilities can seriously impact patient safety. This paper introduces a novel, integrated framework that combines Blockchain technology, Node-RED, and cloud computing to transform how healthcare data is managed and how emerging diseases are detected. A private Blockchain acts as the backbone for securely storing electronic health records (EHRs) and tracking supply chain activities, ensuring data integrity and traceability. To streamline real-time operations, Node-RED provides a user-friendly, visual programming interface that automates critical processes like prescription verification and inventory synchronization among healthcare stakeholders. Cloud infrastructure complements the Blockchain by handling high-volume data processing and analytics, helping the system scale without compromising performance. At the core of the framework lies the Enhanced Supervised Learning Chain Model (ESLCM), a machine learning model designed to analyse patient symptoms and regional health data. This model can identify unusual patterns that may signal the onset of novel diseases, making it a vital tool for early detection and pandemic preparedness. By combining transparency, automated workflows, and intelligent analytics with a strong commitment to data privacy, this integrated system empowers healthcare providers to respond faster, collaborate more effectively, and deliver smarter, more secure care in a world where every second matters.
... Despite its potential, the adoption of blockchain technology requires overcoming challenges. These include developing robust technological infrastructure, investing in the training of qualified human resources, and formulating public policies that support innovation and digital governance (Nakamoto, 2008). ...
... Blockchain technology originates from a decentralized transaction protocol that operates on a peer-to-peer (P2P) network, allowing participants, who may not trust each other, to interact without relying on a central authority (Nakamoto, 2008). This architecture enables the secure and decentralized exchange of information, effectively eliminating the need for intermediaries. ...
The application of blockchain technology and the implementation of synthetic diamond production represent innovative strategies to transform the mineral resources sector in Angola, with a specific focus on the province of Lunda Sul, where the Catoca mine is located. Blockchain technology aims to improve the governance model and promote greater transparency and traceability in mining operations, a factor that contributes to the mitigation of corrupt practices and the strengthening of corporate responsibility. In addition, the production of synthetic diamonds emerges as a sustainable alternative, capable of reducing the environmental impact associated with traditional mining, and at the same time increasing the competitiveness of the sector in the global market. To support this work, an exploratory and explanatory methodology was adopted, including interviews with key stakeholders, such as two mining companies and the Department of Mines at the Faculty of Engineering of Agostinho Neto University. The referenced interviews enabled a detailed analysis of the current challenges of the sector and the opportunities related to the integration of disruptive technologies, such as blockchain technology, and sustainable practices, such as diamond synthesis. Therefore, the combination of such approaches can transform the Angolan mineral sector, aligning it with contemporary demands for transparency, sustainability, and operational efficiency.
... When a user submits a transaction to the network, each local record state is updated by applying the changes specified in the transaction. Cryptocurrency ledger behavior is often described by as a deterministic state transition systems [15,7,23,31,28]. The main functionality supported by blockchain ledgers programs is a single atomic operation: the application of a transaction to the given state, and all state updates can be decomposed into applications of single transactions. ...
... transaction outputs) in a UTxO set. This model was first introduced in the BitCoin system [23], and currently in use by the Cardano [19] and Ergo [12]. A UTxO entry contains some funds, together with a specification of what kinds of transactions are allowed to "spend" this record, e.g. ...
Trace-based properties are the gold standard for program behaviour analysis. One of the domains of application of this type of analysis is cryptocurrency ledgers, both for the purpose of analyzing the behaviour of the ledger itself, and any user-defined programs called by it, known as smart contracts. The (extended) UTxO ledger model is a kind of ledger model where all smart contract code is stateless, and additional work must be done to model stateful programs. We formalize the application of trace-based analysis to UTxO ledgers and contracts, expressing it in the languages of topology, as well as graph and category theory. To describe valid traces of UTxO ledger executions, and their relation to the behaviour of stateful programs implemented on the ledger, we define a category of simple graphs, infinite paths in which form an ultra-metric space. Maps in this category are arbitrary partial sieve-define homomorphisms of simple graphs. Programs implemented on the ledger correspond to non-expanding maps out of the graph of valid UTxO execution traces. We reason about safety properties in this framework, and prove properties of valid UTxO ledger traces.
... The principle of blockchain systems to organize data not in a relational way, but as a chain of cryptographically linked transactions, which enables a tamper-proof transaction record, is attributed to Haber and Stornetta (1991). However, the rise of such blockchain systems has become popular with the publication of the Bitcoin whitepaper by Nakamoto (2008), which was also inspired by prior ideas on electronic cash systems (e.g., ECash, Chaum et al. 1990). Since then, blockchain systems have seen an evolution along application domains and technical advancements, which is reflected in the differentiation of multiple generations. ...
Distributed ledger technology (DLT) emerged as a disruptive force towards decentralization and has expanded beyond its origins in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. At the heart of DLT is an infrastructure that replicates data across multiple network nodes, enabling new opportunities for data integrity, transparency, and trust in distributed business environments. In recent years, technological advances have improved the performance, energy efficiency, and functionality of DLT, expanding its application to various sectors such as finance, healthcare, trade and media, logistics, and the public sector. Despite these advances, adoption remained limited, with notable successes primarily in areas such as decentralized finance and non-fungible tokens. By placing DLT within the historical development of ledgers and distributed databases, this Fundamental provides a business-oriented foundation for structuring and assessing DLT-based solutions. It presents, a unified definition covering blockchain technologies, describes the key characteristics of DLT, and offers a structured analysis of its potential and challenges using a multi-dimensional interaction framework. Ultimately, it serves to carve out where and under which conditions DLT infrastructures add value for interorganizational relationships.
... Ethereum [14] was the first blockchain [15] to support smart contracts by providing a Turing-complete execution environment called the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). Currently, Ethereum is the second blockchain in the world in terms of total market value, after Bitcoin [16], with a total market value of $460 billion as of May 2024. By supporting smart contracts, Ethereum is one of the main choices of Web3 developers who implement decentralized apps (dApps) using smart contracts. ...
Zero-knowledge proofs (ZKP) are becoming a gold standard in scaling blockchains and bringing Web3 to life. At the same time, ZKP for transactions running on the Ethereum Virtual Machine require powerful servers with hundreds of CPU cores. The current zkProver implementation from Polygon is optimized for x86-64 CPUs by vectorizing key operations, such as Merkle tree building with Poseidon hashes over the Goldilocks field, with Advanced Vector Extensions (AVX and AVX512). With these optimizations, a ZKP for a batch of transactions is generated in less than two minutes. With the advent of cloud servers with ARM which are at least 10% cheaper than x86-64 servers and the implementation of ARM Scalable Vector Extension (SVE), we wonder if ARM servers can take over their x86-64 counterparts. Unfortunately, our analysis shows that current ARM CPUs are not a match for their x86-64 competitors. Graviton4 from Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Axion from Google Cloud Platform (GCP) are 1.6X and 1.4X slower compared to the latest AMD EPYC and Intel Xeon servers from AWS with AVX and AVX512, respectively, when building a Merkle tree with over four million leaves. This low performance is due to (1) smaller vector size in these ARM CPUs (128 bits versus 512 bits in AVX512) and (2) lower clock frequency. On the other hand, ARM SVE/SVE2 Instruction Set Architecture (ISA) is at least as powerful as AVX/AVX512 but more flexible. Moreover, we estimate that increasing the vector size to 512 bits will enable higher performance in ARM CPUs compared to their x86-64 counterparts while maintaining their price advantage.
... Despite these regulatory advances, detecting fraud in BTC transactions remains challenging due to the complex nature of cryptocurrency transactions and the evolving sophistication of illicit activities. Unlike traditional financial systems with known identities, BTC transactions occur between cryptographic addresses without revealing personal information (Nakamoto, 2008). This poses challenges in identifying fraudulent activities, as malicious transactions can appear legitimate while concealing illicit behavior (Weber et al., 2019). ...
The use of cryptocurrencies corresponds to a remarkable moment in global financial markets. The nature of cryptocurrency transactions, done between cryptographic addresses, poses many challenges to identify fraudulent activities, since malicious transactions may appear as legitimate. Using data with these transactions, one may learn machine learning models targeted to identify the fraudulent ones. The transaction datasets are typically imbalanced, holding a few illicit examples, which is challenging for machine learning techniques to identify fraudulent transactions. In this paper, we investigate the use of a machine learning pipeline with di-mensionality reduction techniques over Bitcoin transaction data. The experimental results show that XGBoost is the best performing method among a large set of competitors. The dimensionality reduction techniques are able to identify adequate subsets suitable for explainability purposes on the classification decision.
... Blockchain underpins Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency introduced in a 2008 whitepaper by the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto [12]. Bitcoin's launch began with the mining of its genesis block on January 3, 2009, followed by the release of its first client application six days later. ...
... After the global financial crisis in 2008-2009, financial institutions recognized the need to restructure financial systems to create better models with enhanced security. In 2009, the fintech world was introduced to Bitcoin (Nakamoto, 2008;Narayanan et al., 2016). The advancement of fintech led to the creation of Google Wallet, Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, AliPay, and many other e-wallets (Alam et al., 2021). ...
The purpose of this study is to address the concept of e-wallet from a Sharīʿah perspective and its potential Sharīʿah concepts, issues, and challenges and to provide relevant recommendations to overcome those issues and challenges. A qualitative research method is adopted in this study to address the concept of e-wallet, Sharīʿah contracts, issues, and challenges from the Sharīʿah perspective. The collected data of this study is analyzed through an explanatory research approach to fulfill the objectives of this study. The study finds that the Sharīʿah compliant e-wallet is realizable from the Sharīʿah perspective. Although a wadīʿah contract is used for deposit/safekeeping purposes, in this study the concept of qarḍ seems to be a better choice for a contract between user and issuer. However, the cashback and rewards are some issues that arise while using the qarḍ contract since a borrower (issuer) is not allowed to return additional benefits/amount to the lender. In this regard, the study concludes that the benefits of e-wallets either might come from the merchant or the issuer. If those benefits are given by the issuer out of his generosity, and without any condition from the borrower (user), the offer of such benefits will be permissible, on the other hand, if it comes in return for a condition, that will be impermissible. Moreover, the benefits provided by the merchants seem to be permissible due to sale contracts in that transaction. The study also finds that a Sharīʿah compliant e-wallet is required to transfer the funds to a trust account under an Islamic financial institution so that it does not issue an interest for that fund. Additionally, if the fund is allowed to invest, it should be invested in a Sharīʿah compliant investment. The results of this study assist the e-wallet providers to consider Sharīʿah compliance of the e-wallet. In particular, the findings reveal the possibilities of Sharīʿah compliant e-wallet regardless of the issues and challenges it might face. Moreover, it provides room for users who are Islamic fintech enthusiasts. This research presents a deeper insight into wadīʿah and qarḍ contract to be used as underlying contracts between e-wallet providers and users.
... En este sentido la idea básicamente es distribuir el control y la autoridad El concepto de descentralización que se aborda desde este estudio es el relacionado con la cadena de bloques, vista como un vehículo perfecto que proporciona una plataforma para eliminar a los intermediarios y funciona agregando múltiples lideres elegidos a través de mecanismos de consensos. Una verdadera innovación en el paradigma descentralizado que ha iniciado esta nueva era de aplicaciones de descentralización es el consenso descentralizado, que se introdujo con bitcoin [10][11], proporcionando a los usuarios seguridad, confiabilidad y escalabilidad por medio de las plataformas desarrolladas. ...
The advances of new blockchain technologies are innovative strategies, which artificial intelligence has undoubtedly contributed to achievements in different applications. Blockchain-designed architectures provide the internet environment with security and reliability in massive data processing. The objective of this article is to provide an overview of the architectures used in traditional and decentralized systems using artificial intelligence tools applying the methodology of systematic mapping.
... After the global financial crisis in 2008-2009, financial institutions recognized the need to restructure financial systems to create better models with enhanced security. In 2009, the fintech world was introduced to Bitcoin (Nakamoto, 2008;Narayanan et al., 2016). The advancement of fintech led to the creation of Google Wallet, Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, AliPay, and many other e-wallets (Alam et al., 2021). ...
The purpose of this study is to address the concept of e-wallet from a Sharīʿah perspective and its potential Sharīʿah concepts, issues, and challenges and to provide relevant recommendations to overcome those issues and challenges. A qualitative research method is adopted in this study to address the concept of e-wallet, Sharīʿah contracts, issues, and challenges from the Sharīʿah perspective. The collected data of this study is analyzed through an explanatory research approach to fulfill the objectives of this study. The study finds that the Sharīʿah compliant e-wallet is realizable from the Sharīʿah perspective. Although a wadīʿah contract is used for deposit/safekeeping purposes, in this study the concept of qarḍ seems to be a better choice for a contract between user and issuer. However, the cashback and rewards are some issues that arise while using the qarḍ contract since a borrower (issuer) is not allowed to return additional benefits/amount to the lender. In this regard, the study concludes that the benefits of e-wallets either might come from the merchant or the issuer. If those benefits are given by the issuer out of his generosity, and without any condition from the borrower (user), the offer of such benefits will be permissible, on the other hand, if it comes in return for a condition, that will be impermissible. Moreover, the benefits provided by the merchants seem to be permissible due to sale contracts in that transaction. The study also finds that a Sharīʿah compliant e-wallet is required to transfer the funds to a trust account under an Islamic financial institution so that it does not issue an interest for that fund. Additionally, if the fund is allowed to invest, it should be invested in a Sharīʿah compliant investment. The results of this study assist the e-wallet providers to consider Sharīʿah compliance of the e-wallet. In particular, the findings reveal the possibilities of Sharīʿah compliant e-wallet regardless of the issues and challenges it might face. Moreover, it provides room for users who are Islamic fintech enthusiasts. This research presents a deeper insight into wadīʿah and qarḍ contract to be used as underlying contracts between e-wallet providers and users.
... To illustrate this, we give a simplified example, inspired by an actual vulnerability we found in the ckBTC contracts. ckBTC [14] is a token on the Internet Computer that is securely backed 1:1 by Bitcoin [15] (BTC), allowing faster and cheaper transactions compared to the Bitcoin network. The ckBTC ledger smart contract manages the users' balances of ckBTC. ...
Reentrancy is a well-known source of smart contract bugs on Ethereum, leading e.g. to double-spending vulnerabilities in DeFi applications. But less is known about this problem in other blockchains, which can have significantly different execution models. Sharded blockchains in particular generally use an asynchronous messaging model that differs substantially from the synchronous and transactional model of Ethereum. We study the features of this model and its effect on reentrancy bugs on three examples: the Internet Computer (ICP) blockchain, NEAR Protocol, and MultiversX. We argue that this model, while useful for improving performance, also makes it easier to introduce reentrancy bugs. For example, reviews of the pre-production versions of some of the most critical ICP smart contracts found that 66% (10/15) of the reviewed contracts -- written by expert authors -- contained reentrancy bugs of medium or high severity, with potential damages in tens of millions of dollars. We evaluate existing Ethereum programming techniques (in particular the effects-checks-interactions pattern, and locking) to prevent reentrancy bugs in the context of this new messaging model and identify some issues with them. We then present novel Rust and Motoko patterns that can be leveraged on ICP to solve these issues. Finally, we demonstrate that the formal verification tool TLA+ can be used to find and eliminate such bugs in real world smart contracts on sharded blockchains.
... In relation to the developments in artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, and biometric authentication, immense improvement in the security and efficiency of various sectors has been facilitated by the discoveries, e.g., (Chen et al., 2020;Geebren et al., 2021). Blockchain, which is fundamentally an open-source ledger that encourages return to decentralized and tamper-proof transaction records, has the benefit of solving trust and fraud-related problems (Nakamoto, 2008;. NFC (Near Field Communication) technology has made contactless payment solutions more successful, and people can now easily pay for their purchases on their smartphones. ...
Digital payments have become very popular nowadays just to the fact that they are able to process the business transactions without cash. While there are no comprehensive researches that integrate bibliometric analysis with a systematic literature review (SLR) around the area of digital payments, there are many studies underway. This study is intended to review and analyze existing literature on electronic payments both through peer-reviewed publications and open-access data. The research is based on 835 publications from the Scopus database that cover the period of 2000 to 2023. The dataset includes 494 journal articles, 303 conference papers, 26 review papers, and 12 conference reviews. The study utilizes bibliometric techniques, systematic literature review methods, and visualization tools such as VOSviewer to ensure a comprehensive analysis. The current state of digital payments is quite unclear in the research literature. By providing the structure of the ongoing research on digital payments, this study is of great value that will help the future researchers in the conduction of qualitative literature reviews more efficiently.
In an era characterized by rapid technological advancements, the convergence of blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a catalyst for transformative innovation. This comprehensive essay explores the symbiotic relationship between these two cutting-edge technologies, highlighting their individual strengths and unveiling the multifaceted opportunities arising from their integration. By harnessing the foundational trust-building capabilities of blockchain and the data-driven insights of AI, this dynamic partnership is poised to revolutionize data management, privacy, decentralized intelligence, smart contracts, and tokenized services. Real-world applications across healthcare, finance, energy, and beyond underscore the transformative potential of this synergy. As we navigate the complex landscape of technological progress, the intersection of blockchain and AI stands as a beacon of possibility, reshaping industries and steering us towards an empowered future.
Bitcoin is the world’s first cryptocurrency, created by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008. Initially designed as a currency, Bitcoin has increasingly been used as a speculative investment instrument in recent years. The growing popularity of Bitcoin investment among investors has raised questions about its compatibility with the principles of maqasid syariah in general and the concept of ḥifẓ al-māl in particular. This study aims to analyze the concept of ḥifẓ al-māl from the perspective of maqasid syariah in relation to Bitcoin investment. Ḥifẓ al-māl is one of the five essential objectives of maqasid syariah, emphasizing financial security, asset protection, avoidance of excessive risk, fraud and other non-compliant elements. This study adopts a qualitative approach through a literature review to assess the suitability of Bitcoin investment within the framework of ḥifẓ al-māl and maqasid syariah. Data was collected from primary and secondary sources. The data were than analyzed based on the established themes. The findings indicate that Bitcoin investment carries both high profit potential and significant risk. Furthermore, ensuring that Bitcoin investment fully aligns with maqasid syariah, particularly in the context of ḥifẓ al-māl, present considerable challenges due to elements that may lead to both benefit and harm. Contribution: This study makes a significant contribution in legal, economics and social aspects. From a legal perspective, it proposes a comprehensive guideline for Bitcoin investment. Economically, it enhances understanding of Bitcoin’s potential as an alternative investment within the framework of ḥifẓ al-māl. Socially, it promotes awareness of syariah-compliant financial management within community.
The growing concerns about the exorbitant energy usage by the cryptocurrency market have become a topic of much discussion lately. With the aim of achieving the 17 SDG goals by 2030, finding effective solutions for making cryptocurrencies sustainable is important. One such solution is sustainable cryptocurrencies. This article employs time-varying parameter vector autoregression to examine the linkages between the sustainable cryptocurrencies (Ripple and Cardano), and fiat currencies of G7 and BRICS nations. The study considers the daily closing prices of the variables from 6 June 2019 to 6 June 2024 to identify the total connectedness among these variables, the net transmitters, and the net receivers of shocks. The analysis concludes that there is moderate connectedness among the variables. The findings reveal that Ripple, Cardano, Chinese Yuan, and Japanese Yen were net transmitters during the period studied. The study also concludes that global catastrophic events have little influence on the connectedness among the variables. The article has important implications for both investors and policymakers. Investors can rely on sustainable cryptocurrencies as hedges against fiat currency fluctuations, and policymakers can devise regulatory frameworks promoting more use of sustainable cryptocurrencies for a sustainable future.
The freight forwarding (FF) industry plays a key role in running global supply chains, with a sales revenue of $180.66 billion in 2021. Digitization in supply chain management, a thriving topic in the past few years, has been accelerated by the challenges of COVID-19 and presents both challenges and opportunities for the FF industry which requires freight forwarders to adapt. Since technological foresight studies for the FF space are scarce, the specific expected impacts of digitization in FF remain unrevealed today. The aim of this study is to examine upcoming changes in the FF industry expected by FF professionals and academics over the next 30 years against the background of current technological developments and to identify related resilience measures for FF organizations. Overall, 84 international experts shared their estimates in a Delphi survey. The results are clustered into four clusters that provide an outlook for the future of FF. The results show that FF organizations should adapt to developing customer expectations, a change in the FF profile due to new requirements and a change of vision for the development of human resources. Still, experts see a high relevance for FF services in the future despite all technological developments.
The pharmaceutical supply chain (PSC) is extremely complex and its administration challenging. Yan Pang, Zhen Yu, Haisheng Zhang, Corinne Sim, Marianne Louise Chang, and Ashley Chong propose a blockchain-based framework to improve its operations and management. Zuellig Pharma, one of the largest healthcare services groups in Asia, has adopted this method, developing a commercial PSC management tool and deploying it in several Asian markets.
Hyperledger Fabric (HF), one of the private
blockchain architectures, that has gained popularity for enterprise
use cases, namely supply chain management, finance,
healthcare, etc., while focusing on the demand of users and functionalities
like privacy, scalability, throughput, and modular architecture.
Here, among multiple aspects, enhancing performance
is a crucial focus in the ever-changing field of blockchain (BC)
technology, particularly for private blockchains like HF. This
paper focuses on the inherent difficulties related to scalability,
throughput, and efficiency in handling large transactions. Our
framework establishes a solid network architecture with two
organizations, each having two types of peers (i.e., endorsing,
and anchor peers) and three raft orderers. It brings innovation
to the chaincode, addresses functionalities like registration and
transaction management via CouchDB, and integrates transaction
management and block retrieval. Additionally, it includes a
distributed consensus mechanism to gain maximum performance.
Eventually, the findings assert an apparent enhancement in
scalability, transaction speed, and system responsiveness, highlighting
the effectiveness of our framework in optimizing the HF
architecture.
Blockchain systems are global-scale peer-to-peer systems that integrate many techniques and protocols from cryptography, distributed systems, and databases. In a blockchain system, nodes agree on their shared states across a large decentralized network of possibly untrusted participants. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are permissionless blockchain systems. In permissionless blockchain systems, computing nodes without a priori known identities can join or leave the blockchain network at any time. On the other hand, a permissioned blockchain system uses a network of a priori known and identified nodes to manage the blockchain. While the focus of this monograph is on permissioned blockchains, in this chapter, we present preliminary concepts and techniques used in both permissionless and permissioned blockchains.
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency returns show higher volatility than equity, bond, and other asset classes. Increasingly, researchers rely on machine learning techniques to forecast returns, where different machine learning algorithms reduce the forecasting errors in a high-volatility regime. We show that conventional time series modeling using ARMA and ARMA GARCH run on a rolling basis produces better or comparable forecasting errors than those that machine learning techniques produce. The key to achieving a good forecast is to fit the correct AR and MA orders for each window. When we optimize the correct AR and MA orders for each window using ARMA, we achieve an MAE of 0.024 and an RMSE of 0.037. The RMSE is approximately 11.27% better, and the MAE is 10.7% better compared to those in the literature and is similar to or better than those of the machine learning techniques. The ARMA-GARCH model also has an MAE and an RMSE which are similar to those of ARMA.
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) has revolutionized traditional banking paradigms, offering transparent, peer-to-peer financial services without intermediaries. This paper presents a novel DeFi banking system that leverages advanced blockchain technologies including Solana and Ethereum networks, integrated through React, Node.js, and Metamask. The system facilitates seamless ETH transactions both sending and receiving across multiple networks using Hard Hat for simulation and testing. By implementing decentralized transaction history tracking, it aims to enhance transparency and user autonomy in digital banking. Our project addresses key issues of scalability, security, and ease of access, which are fundamental in current decentralized applications. We analyze the interplay between decentralized systems and traditional banking infrastructures, shedding light on how DeFi could offer faster, cheaper, and more secure financial services. Additionally, we discuss potential challenges, such as regulatory uncertainties and smart contract vulnerabilities, which need to be addressed for DeFi systems to gain widespread adoption. Through this system, we envision a future where DeFi can complement, rather than disrupt, traditional banking by providing secure, scalable, and user-centric financial services.
Ensuring the authenticity and safety of pharmaceuticals is a growing concern in today’s complex and globalized healthcare supply chains. Counterfeit drugs and inefficiencies in tracking systems threaten patient health and burden healthcare providers. This paper investigates how blockchain technology can offer a reliable solution by enabling end-to-end drug traceability. With its decentralized, tamper-proof ledger, blockchain allows all stakeholders—including manufacturers, distributors, regulators, and pharmacies—to securely access and verify real-time data throughout a drug’s lifecycle. We examine key use cases, recent pilot projects, and regulatory frameworks to demonstrate how blockchain enhances transparency, reduces fraud, and improves recall management. By streamlining data sharing and strengthening accountability, blockchain not only ensures drug safety but also supports compliance with evolving healthcare regulations. This paper concludes that blockchain has strong potential to reshape pharmaceutical traceability, contributing to a safer and more efficient healthcare system
Smart contracts are self-executing programs that facilitate trustless transactions between multiple parties, most commonly deployed on the Ethereum blockchain. They have become integral to decentralized applications in areas such as voting, digital agreements, and financial systems. However, the immutable and transparent nature of smart contracts makes security vulnerabilities especially critical, as deployed contracts cannot be modified. Security flaws have led to substantial financial losses, underscoring the need for robust verification before deployment. This survey presents a comprehensive review of the state of the art in smart contract security verification, with a focus on Ethereum. We analyze a wide range of verification methods, including static and dynamic analysis, formal verification, and machine learning, and evaluate 62 open-source tools across their detection accuracy, efficiency, and usability. In addition, we highlight emerging trends, challenges, and the need for cross-methodological integration and benchmarking. Our findings aim to guide researchers, developers, and security auditors in selecting and advancing effective verification approaches for building secure and reliable smart contracts.
While traditional financial intermediaries are often seen as crucial in reducing transaction costs and addressing information asymmetry issues, the rise of decentralized finance (DeFi) has the potential to diminish or even eliminate the need for such intermediaries and central authorities. DeFi functions on a decentralized network where information is publicly shared, validated through dispersed consensus, and stored across multiple peers to establish distributed trust using blockchain technology. This chapter intends to explain the conceptual framework of DeFi, its advantages and drawbacks, and its business models. Furthermore, the chapter explores how the future of the banking industry and DeFi might evolve. Although there are some disadvantages to DeFi, it appears to be a viable alternative to traditional finance. While a hybrid approach may be more likely at present, it would not be surprising if DeFi completely replaces financial intermediaries in the future, with technological advances overcoming current limitations.
Cloud-based healthcare computing has significantly transformed the healthcare landscape. Key advantages include the scalability of services and the flexibility to adjust data capacity as needed. However, this evolution also introduces challenges, such as data breaches, insider threats, phishing attacks, and the use of weak passwords. To overcome these issues, an authentication technique based on blockchain is introduced to ensure the privacy protection of medical data transmitted over the cloud. Here, data authentication is performed by five entities that include patient, cloud server, doctor, Trusted Authority (TA) and blockchain. Then, data augmentation is performed using the processes, such as initialization, registration, key generation. authentication, data protection, data upload, data sharing and data decryption. Further, data is encrypted by the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) method, which is based on a secret key generated by Deep Maxout Network (DMN). Additionally, KeyGenDMN outperformed the existing technique with a value of 1.533 sec, 41.926 Mb, 3.504 sec, 0.003, 0.770, and 0.535J for computational time, memory usage, latency, throughput, packet loss, reliability metrics, and energy consumption.
New cryptographic protocols which take full advantage of the unique properties of public key cryptosystems are now evolving. Several protocols for public key distribution and for dig~tal signatures are briefly compared with each other and with the conventional alternative. 1.
This paper presents our design of a timestamping system for the Belgian project TIMESEC. We rst introduce the timestamping method used and we justify our choice for it. Then we present the design of our implementation as well as some of the important issues we found and the solutions we gave to them
Hashcash was originally proposed as a mechanism to throttle systematic abuse of un-metered internet resources such as email, and anonymous remailers in May 1997. Five years on, this paper captures in one place the various applications, improvements suggested and related subsequent publications, and describes initial experience from experiments using hashcash.
To establish that a document was created after a given moment in time, it is necessary to report events that could not have been predicted before they happened. To establish that a document was created before a given moment in time, it is necessary to cause an event based on the document, which can be observed by others. Cryptographic hash functions can be used both to report events succinctly, and to cause events based on documents without revealing their contents. Haber and Stornetta have proposed two schemes for digital time-stamping which rely on these principles [HaSt 91].
We reexamine one of those protocols, addressing the resource constraint required for storage and verification of time-stamp certificates. By using trees, we show how to achieve an exponential increase in the publicity obtained for each time-stamping event, while reducing the storage and the computation required in order to validate a given certificate.
We show how time-stamping can be used in certain circumstances to extend the useful lifetime of different kinds of cryptographic certifications of authenticity, in the event that the certifying protocol is compromised. This can be applied to digital signatures, or to time-stamping itself, making the digital time-stamping process renewable.
The prospect of a world in which all text, audio, picture, and video documents are in digital form on easily modifiable media raises the issue of how to certify when a document was created or last changed. The problem is to time-stamp the data, not the medium. We propose computationally practical procedures for digital time-stamping of such documents so that it is infeasible for a user either to back-date or to forward-date his document, even with the collusion of a time-stamping service. Our procedures maintain complete privacy of the documents themselves, and require no record-keeping by the time-stamping service. Appeared, with minor editorial changes, in Journal of Cryptology, Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 99--111, 1991. 0 Time's glory is to calm contending kings, To unmask falsehood, and bring truth to light, To stamp the seal of time in aged things, To wake the morn, and sentinel the night, To wrong the wronger till he render right. The Rape of Lucrece, l. 941 1 Introduction ...
The increasing use of digital documents, and the need to refer to them conveniently and unambiguously, raise an important question: can one "name" a digital document in a way that conveniently enables users to find it, and at the same time enables a user in possession of a document to be sure that it is indeed the one that is referred to by the name? One crucial piece of a complete solution to this problem would be a method that provides a cryptographically verifiable label for any bit-string (for example, the content, in a particular format, of the document). This problem has become even more acute with the emergence of the WorldWide Web, where a document (whose only existence may be on-line) is now typically named by giving its URL, which is merely a pointer to its virtual location at a particular moment in time. Using a one-way hash function to call files by their hash values is cryptographically verifiable, but the resulting names are unwieldy, because of their length and randomn...