Blockchain and Smart-Contract Technologies for Innovative Applications

✍ Scribed by Nour El Madhoun (editor), Ioanna Dionysiou (editor), Emmanuel Bertin (editor)

• Publisher: Springer
• Year: 2024
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 304
• Edition: 2025
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

This book is an in-depth exploration of blockchain and smart contracts technologies, systematically addressing their theoretical foundations while highlighting concrete applications in several key sectors. It begins by defining the fundamentals of blockchain and smart contracts, then ventures into the legal domain, analyzing the implications of automated contracts from both backend and frontend perspectives. A particular focus is placed on a sustainable design for cryptocurrencies, anticipating the principles and expectations of the future. The book then provides a detailed taxonomy of blockchain's financial applications, while also examining its role in managing scientific workflows. The fascinating world of NFTs is also explored, from the tokenization of fine arts to innovative event ticketing systems. The convergence between ontologies and blockchain technology is then highlighted, followed by an in-depth assessment of the implications of this technology in the telecommunicationssector, including a SWOT analysis of next-generation cellular networks. Written by academic researchers and industry experts, this book offers a complete and nuanced perspective on the transformational potential of blockchain.

✦ Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgments
Contents
Part I Introduction to Blockchain and Smart-Contract Technologies
Fundamentals of Blockchain and Smart Contracts
1 Introduction
2 Key Concepts of Blockchain
2.1 Decentralized Control
2.2 Integrity and Transparency
2.3 Confidentiality
2.4 Enhanced Security
2.5 Faster Processing
3 Components and Blockchain Architecture
3.1 Private Keys
3.2 Public Keys
3.3 Addresses
3.4 Basics of Cryptographic Techniques
3.4.1 Hash Functions
3.4.2 Public-Key Cryptography (Asymmetric Cryptography)
3.4.3 Digital Signatures
3.4.4 Merkle Trees
3.4.5 Symmetric Cryptography
3.5 Blockchain Data Flow in OSI Model
4 Consensus Mechanisms
5 Types of Blockchain
5.1 Public Blockchain
5.2 Private Blockchain
5.3 Consortium Blockchain
6 Application of Blockchain in Real life
6.1 Finance
6.2 Healthcare
6.3 Digital Privacy
6.4 Royalty
6.5 Crowdfunding
6.6 Real Estate
7 Blockchain Challenges
7.1 Decentralization
7.2 Security
7.2.1 51% Attack
7.2.2 Eclipse Attack
7.2.3 Sybil Attack
7.2.4 Time Jacking Attack
7.3 Blockchain Scalability
7.3.1 Blockchain Scalability Layer-2 Solutions
7.3.2 Sharding
7.3.3 Off-Chain Solutions
7.3.4 Protocol Upgrades
7.3.5 Hybrid Solutions
8 Smart Contracts
8.1 Architecture of Smart Contracts
8.1.1 Smart Contract Layers
8.2 Activation and Execution of Smart Contract
8.3 Types of Smart Contracts
8.3.1 Financial Smart Contracts
8.3.2 Identity Smart Contracts
8.3.3 Supply Chain Smart Contracts
8.3.4 Real Estate Smart Contracts
8.3.5 Governance Smart Contracts
8.4 Challenges in Smart Contracts
8.4.1 Security Vulnerabilities
8.4.2 Legal Uncertainty
8.4.3 Interoperability Issues
8.4.4 Complexity
8.4.5 Lack of Standardization
8.4.6 Limited Scalability
8.5 Security and Privacy of Smart Contracts
8.6 Use Cases of Smart Contracts
8.6.1 Real Estate
8.6.2 Healthcare
8.6.3 Banking and Finance
8.6.4 Voting
8.7 Unified Modeling Language (UML) Class Diagram and Coding Examples of Smart Contracts
8.7.1 Insurance Contracts
8.7.2 Supply Chain Management
8.7.3 Crowdfunding Smart Contract
8.8 Programming Languages for Writing a Smart Contract
8.9 Smart Contracts and Decentralized Applications (DApps)
9 Blockchain Oracle
10 Conclusion
References
Smart Contract: The Contract Automation Climax. Back-End and Front-End Legal Implications
1 Introduction
2 The Evolution of the Computer Contract: The Form and Expression of Will in the Digital Age
2.1 Legal Basic Knowledge
2.2 Contract Evolution
3 Smart Contract and Smart Legal Contract: A New Contract Paradigm
3.1 From Software to Smart Contract
3.2 From Smart Contract to Smart Legal Contract
3.3 Smart Contract Life-Cycle
4 Smart Contract Standards
4.1 Importance of Standards
4.2 Example of Useful Standards
5 Front-End Necessity and Legal Implications
6 Conclusion
References
Designing Future Sustainable Cryptocurrencies: Principles and Expectations
1 Introduction
2 The Technology Behind Digital Money
3 Essential Components of Digital Currencies
3.1 Hash Functions
3.2 Data Structure
3.3 Digital Signatures
4 Designing a Cryptocurrency
4.1 How to Achieve Decentralization?
4.2 The Process of Mining and Verifying Transactions
4.3 Different Consensus Protocols
5 The Main Features of Future Crypto Networks
5.1 Scalability
5.1.1 How Does Ethereum Address Scalability Issues?
5.1.2 Scalability Solutions
5.2 Sustainability
5.2.1 Power Consumption, Carbon Footprints, and the Role of Miners
5.2.2 Electronics Waste Generation of Mining Hardware
5.2.3 Sustainability Applications of Cryptocurrencies
5.2.4 Social Sustainability
6 Conclusion
References
Part II Surveys on Blockchain and Smart-Contract Technologies
A Taxonomy on Blockchain-Based Technology in the Financial Industry: Drivers, Applications, Benefits, and Threats
1 Introduction
2 The Taxonomy Construction
2.1 Blockchain and Decentralization Idea
2.2 Decentralized Versus Traditional Finance
2.3 Token and Tokenization
2.4 Technological Issues and Regulations
3 The Taxonomy
3.1 Drivers
3.1.1 Smart Contract
3.1.2 Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT)
3.2 Benefits
3.2.1 Security
3.2.2 Governance
3.3 Applications
3.3.1 Decentralized Finance (DeFi)
3.4 Threats
3.4.1 Scalability and Speed
3.4.2 Security
3.4.3 Cost
3.4.4 Regulation
3.4.5 Environment and Energy
4 Approaches to Mitigate Blockchain Threats
4.1 Scalability and Speed
4.2 Security
4.3 Cost
4.4 Regulation
4.5 Environment and Energy
5 Discussion
6 Conclusion
References
Scientific Workflows Management with Blockchain: A Survey
1 Introduction
2 Background
2.1 DLTs and Blockchains
2.2 Scientific Workflows
3 Methodology
4 Scientific Workflows Management with Blockchain: A Synopsis
4.1 System Architecture Choices
4.1.1 Distributed Ledger Architectures
4.1.2 Data Storage Strategies
4.1.3 Off-Chain Data Storage Support
4.2 Archiving Data On-Chain: Overview of Notarization Strategies
4.2.1 Smart Contract Based Notarization Lifecycle
4.2.2 Data Quality
4.3 Imperative Control-Flow Notarizations with Workflows
4.4 Security and Privacy Strategies
4.4.1 Managing Actors and Digital Assets Access Control
4.4.2 Smart-Contract-Based Sharing Policies for Anchored Data
4.4.3 Encrypting Sensitive Data
4.5 Auditing Track
4.5.1 Integrity Checking Tools
4.5.2 Backward Tracing
4.5.3 Forward Tracking
5 Applications and Use Cases
6 Research Challenges
6.1 Intellectual Property and Confidentiality of Scientific Experiments
6.2 Auditing Support
6.3 (Re)execution Flexibility
6.4 Interoperability of Systems and Data Models/Data Understanding
6.5 Managing Data Complexity
7 Comparison
8 Conclusion and Future Research
References
Part III NFT Applications
Tokenization of Fine Arts: Revolutionizing the Fine Arts Industry with Blockchain
1 Introduction
1.1 Bringing Art to the Future
1.2 The Obstacle of Opaqueness
2 Understanding Blockchain
2.1 Blockchain Architectures
2.1.1 Public Blockchain
2.1.2 Private Blockchain
2.1.3 Consortium Blockchain
2.2 Blockchain Features
2.2.1 Distribution
2.2.2 Decentralization
2.2.3 Immutability
2.2.4 Traceability
2.2.5 Pseudonymity
2.2.6 Transparency
2.2.7 Security
2.3 Blockchain Consensus
2.3.1 Leader-Based Mechanisms
2.3.2 Byzantine Fault Tolerance-Based Algorithms
2.4 Blockchain and Smart Contracts
2.4.1 Security
2.4.2 Automated Execution
2.4.3 Cost Reduction
2.4.4 Application of Smart Contracts
2.5 Non-fungible Tokens
2.5.1 NFT Minting
2.5.2 NFT Uses
2.5.3 NFT and Metaverse
3 Blockchain Enters the Fine Art Industry
3.1 Digital Art and the Protection of Intellectual Property Through Blockchain
3.2 Digital Art NFTs
3.3 Tokenization Challenges
4 Art Garde: A Secure Solution to Bring Fine Arts to the Future
4.1 Understanding Art Garde
4.2 Obstacles in Implementation
4.2.1 Apprehension from the Fine Arts Market
4.2.2 Apprehensions Regarding Cryptocurrencies
4.2.3 Creating a Secure Link
4.3 Understanding CSR Crystals
4.3.1 Uniqueness
4.3.2 Unclonable
4.3.3 Tamper-Proof
4.3.4 Versatility
4.3.5 Optical Readout
4.4 Understanding How Art Garde Works
4.4.1 NFT Minting
4.4.2 Ownership Transfer
4.4.3 Ownership Verification
4.4.4 Tag Replacement
5 Conclusion
References
VeraciTIX: An NFT-Based Event Ticketing System
1 Introduction
2 Background
2.1 Blockchain
2.2 Smart Contracts and Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)
3 Related Works
3.1 Requirements Analysis
4 VeraciTIX Ticketing Solution
4.1 Key Components
4.1.1 Custodial Wallets
4.1.2 On/Off Ramping
4.1.3 Rolling QR Codes
4.2 Architecture
4.3 Use Cases
4.3.1 User Account Creation
4.3.2 Ticket Purchase
4.3.3 Secondary Market Transfer
4.3.4 Administrator Functions
4.4 Implementation
5 Experiments
5.1 Methodology
5.1.1 Testnet Experimentation
5.1.2 Local Experimentation
5.2 Results
6 Evaluation
6.1 Functionality
6.2 Security
6.2.1 Application Design Analysis
6.2.2 Smart Contract Vulnerability Analysis
6.3 Costs
7 Conclusion
References
Part IV Ontologies and Telecommunications Applications in Blockchain Technology
Auto-generation of Blockchain-Based Distributed Applications Using Ontologies
1 Introduction
2 Background
2.1 Blockchain Frameworks
2.1.1 Bitcoin
2.1.2 Ethereum
2.1.3 Issues with Public Blockchains
2.2 Permissioned Blockchains
2.2.1 Quorum
2.2.2 Hyperledger Fabric
2.2.3 Corda
2.3 Smart Contracts
2.4 Semantic Web
2.4.1 Semantic Web
2.4.2 Semantic Web Architecture
2.4.3 RDF
2.4.4 SPARQL
2.4.5 Ontologies
2.5 JavaParser
3 Literature Review and Motivation
4 Methodology
4.1 Corda Key Concepts
4.1.1 State
4.1.2 Contract
4.1.3 Flow
4.2 Ontology Development
4.2.1 Determine Scope
4.2.2 Reuse of Ontologies
4.2.3 Enumerate Terms
4.2.4 Define Classes
4.2.5 Define Properties
4.2.6 Create the Instances
4.2.7 RDF* to Annotate Constraints
4.3 Auto-generation Tool
4.3.1 Architecture
5 Evaluation
5.1 Invoice (IOU)
5.2 Car Rental
5.3 Clinical Trial Patient
6 Conclusion and Future Work
6.1 Conclusion
6.1.1 Future Work
References
Blockchain and Smart Contracts for Telecommunications: The Whys and Wherefores
1 Introduction
1.1 The Evolution of Telecommunications
1.2 The Structure of the Chapter
2 Potential Contributions of Blockchain and Smart Contracts in Telecommunications
2.1 Spectrum Management
2.2 Network Resource Management
2.3 Service Level Agreements (SLAs), Billing, and Business-Related Agreements
2.4 Mobility and Signaling
3 Innovative Blockchain-Based Networks: Decentralized Wireless (DeWi)
4 Business and Regulatory Aspects of Using Blockchain and Smart Contracts in Telecommunications
5 Challenges and Future Research Directions
6 Conclusion
References
Distributed Ledger Technology for Next-Generation Cellular Networks: A SWOT Analysis
1 Introduction
2 Background
2.1 Background on Telecommunication
2.2 Blockchain Application in Telecommunication Use Cases
2.3 SWOT Analysis
3 Challenges in Existing Cellular Networks
3.1 Business-Related Challenges
3.2 Technical Challenges
4 DLT for Next-Generation Network: SWOT Analysis
4.1 Strength of DLT in NGNs
4.2 Weaknesses of DLT in NGNs
4.2.1 Performance
4.2.2 Security
4.3 Opportunities of DLT in NGNs
4.4 Threats of DLT in NGNs
5 Discussion and Conclusion
References
Index