blockchain applications – usage in different domains · 2019-12-08 · a quick evaluation of the...

Received January 30, 2019, accepted February 19, 2019, date of publication March 1, 2019, date of current version April 16, 2019.

Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/ACCESS.2019.2902501

Blockchain Applications – Usagein Different DomainsJOE ABOU JAOUDE AND RAAFAT GEORGE SAADESupply Chain and Business Technology Management Department, Concordia University, Montreal, QC H3G 1M8, Canada

Corresponding author: Raafat George Saade ([email protected])

ABSTRACT Originally conceived as amechanism to enable a trustless cryptocurrency—Bitcoin, blockchainhas since unbound itself from its original purpose as an increasing number of industries and stakeholders’eye the technology as an attractive alternative to solve existing business solutions as well as disrupt matureindustries. This paper presents a systematic literature review of the blockchain technology, tracking itsincrease in popularity in relation to similar technologies, such as cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin. The objectiveof this paper is to identify the current standing of the blockchain technology within the literature while alsoidentifying the major fields of study and areas of application for which blockchain offers a valuable solution.This paper finds that unique features to the blockchain, such as privacy, security, anonymity, decentralization,and immutability, provide valuable benefits to various fields and subjects. This paper also finds that exploringthe application of blockchain has only begun with some limited studies in areas, such as the Internet ofThings, energy, finance, healthcare, and government, that also stand to benefit disproportionately from itsimplementation.

INDEX TERMS Blockchain, cryptocurrency, energy, eGovernment, finance, healthcare, Internet of Things,applications, review.

I. INTRODUCTIONBlockchain can be considered as the newest technologystressing the paradigms of ‘‘Internet of Things’’, icollab-oration, artificial intelligence, technostress, and the darkside of digital innovations. Blockchain seems to have stungall industries and created a buzz-seeking opportunity forenhanced business processes and building trust. Yet, someindustries such as the financial sector might see it as a dis-ruptive technology that cannot be avoided and needs to bereshaped/managed.

The Blockchain is a technology and a method that allowscommunity users to validate, keep and synchronize the con-tent of a transaction ledger which is replicated across mul-tiple users. In other words, Blockchain is a decentralizedtransaction and data management technology which gainedpopularity in 2008 when an anonymous individual (or group)posted a white paper introducing Bitcoin – a Blockchainapplication of a digital currency [1] [2].

As it stands, most transactions between individuals (finan-cial, education, healthcare, etc.. . . ) are centralized through

The associate editor coordinating the review of this manuscript andapproving it for publication was Giovanni Angiulli.

trusted third-party organizations. For example, when yougraduate, your employer requests an official transcript asproof of completion of your studies. This transcript is col-lected directly from the university, which acts as a trustedintermediary between the student and the employer to ensurethat the information is accurate and truthful. Why doesn’t theemployer ask the student to provide a copy of their transcript?The reason is that of trust, as the candidate can modify thecontent to their advantage. In short, the true service or com-modity offered by a third-party is trust, and that is preciselythe Blockchain proposition.

More specifically, Blockchain offers a decentralized envi-ronment where no third-party is in control of the data and trustis not required between the stakeholders. This is achievedthrough a peer-maintained self-sovereign system where thetransactions are time-stamped in a ledger chronologically.The transactions are broadcast to the people who participatein the system such that the ledger is publicly auditable [2].Since the transaction information is copied and maintainedwith the entire community, it cannot be altered or modifiedwithout the approval and update of the ledger. This preventsfraud and ensures a digital form of verification allowing for‘‘trustless’’ peer to peer transactions.

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J. Abou Jaoude, R. G. Saade: Business Applications—Usage in Different Domains

This proposition offers several advantages to theparticipants within the network. First, the transactions aretransparent and publicly available for everyone to check andvalidate without needing to go through a central authority;Second, the transparency of the information allows for fasterprocessing of transactions and information exchanges dueto the elimination of the middle layer between the parties;Third, the information remains anonymous despite its publicavailability due to the existence of a set of public and privatekeys associated with an account. The public key is availableto everyone, the private key is strictly known by the individualand the identity of that party remains anonymous.

However, while Blockchain technology does offer apromising future, it has likely suffered from the hype ofits potential applications. This hype opened the door forquestionable and fraudulent enterprises claiming Blockchaintechnology as their core business.While this may have erodedsome trust and confidence particularly in the finance andtechnology sectors, it has offered the benefit of increasingpublic attention and interest in the topic. Consequently, it hasprovided an incentive for academic research into its technicalaspects and applications.

To better understand the true potential of Blockchainas well as its various influences on industry, it is impor-tant to assess the current body of research. A systematicreview of the current research on Blockchain technology waspreviously conducted to identify the technical perspectivechallenges and future directions. The study included worksbetween 2013 and 2015 inclusive [1].

A quick evaluation of the research output in Blockchainrevealed that a spike occurred as of 2016. To thateffect, we decided to perform an updated literature reviewto include the research work after 2015 and analyzeother than the technical perspective such as Blockchainapplications.

More specifically, we address the gap with regards to(1) research work since 2015 (during which articles pub-lished on Blockchain have dramatically increased) and(2) focus on the business and management aspects ofBlockchain - thereby mapping the existing literature aroundBlockchain applications and the pertaining fields of indus-try such as finance, healthcare, internet of things, energy,government, etc.. . .

In this paper, we contextualize the initial application ofBlockchain technology and trace its subsequent evolutioninto other fields of studies; identify and discuss our literaturereviewmethodology, and selection and mapping process. Theresults of the process are then elaborated followed by a dis-cussion of the Blockchain application research landscape andthe various fields covered aswell as the respective Blockchaincontributions suggested by the literature.

We would like to stress that the use of Blockchain appli-cation in this article applies within the scope of the busi-ness and industry context and not the technical applications.Consequently, our literature review focuses on the followingresearch questions:

A. WHAT BUSINESS FIELDS HAVE BEEN ADDRESSED INCURRENT RESEARCH ON BLOCKCHAIN APPLICATIONSAND HOW HAS IT EVOLVED SINCE 2015?An important outcome of the present literature review is tocompare the current state of research in Blockchain since2015 while exploring, in addition to works with a technicalperspective, other relevant areas such its applications andimplementation. Collecting and consolidating a comprehen-sive body of literature will allow us to better understand thebreadth and depth of related subject matter as we categorizeand map the appropriate components while identifying theimportant areas that have been addressed.

B. WHAT SOLUTIONS HAVE BEEN PROPOSED FOR THEMAJOR FIELDS OF BLOCKCHAIN APPLICATIONS?Blockchain was created as the underlying technological solu-tion for bitcoin. However, as time has passed by and abetter understanding of Blockchain technology has evolved,its potential application to different sectors of the indus-try has surfaced. We aim to identify the current researchedBlockchain solutions for various industries and businessapplications.

C. WHAT ARE CURRENT RESEARCH GAPS INBLOCKCHAIN BUSINESS APPLICATIONS?The study will help identify the appropriate research gapseither regarding overlooked fields and potential applicationswithin the industry or problems that have yet to be addressedwithin the industry itself in relation to Blockchain implemen-tation. These findings will also help pave the way and provideguidance and ideas for future research contributions.

D. WHAT ARE THE FUTURE DIRECTIONS FORBLOCKCHAIN BUSINESS APPLICATIONS?A direct result of answering the previous research questionsshould lead to the identification of important research topicsand areas of interest for future research. This contributionwill allow the academic community to better leverage theexisting attention on Blockchain technology and address theimportant and needed research questions.

II. BACKGROUNDBlockchain is the foundational technology behind bitcoin(a crypto-currency). It is a decentralized transaction and datamanagement technology allowing, in an ideal state for alow trust (or trustless) exchange system. Information in thissystem does not rely on a third-party and instead leveragesthe economies of scale of the peer network to peer-validatethe entries and disperse transaction details in a ledger. WhileBlockchain originated as a base for the financial services sec-tor, and is revolutionizing the industry itself, its applicationhas begun to spread to other sectors. The rate of Blockchainspread depends on the industry’s potential to benefit from it aswell as its sensitivity to the challenges that Blockchain bringsinto play [2].

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The main driver to the adoption of Blockchain technologywas the ability to solve the double spending problem whilemaintaining the anonymity and privacy of the transactinguser’s information. Double spending is a situation in whicha user of a digital currency can spend several times the sameamount of money before there has been a realization that theamount has already been spent/claimed.

Blockchain solves the double spending problem with theuse of cryptography and having a shared ledger maintainedsimultaneously by the transacting community, the asymmet-ric encryption provides the user with a private and public key(similar to a public mailing address and a private key for themailbox pertaining to that address). Using this combination,users can transact anonymously on the blockchain using theirprivate keys while only being known to the community bytheir public keys. Through the public keys, the communityverifies each transaction across the various copies of theledger in order to ensure the funds or cryptocurrency has notbeen previously transferred from the same public address.In the case where two transactions are conducted simultane-ously, the transaction that receives the greatest number of con-firmations (note not necessarily the one that was conductedfirst) is the transaction that is validated whereas the other isrejected.

This method is currently the dominant form of blockchaintransaction verification and is known as proof of work andsuffers from an intensive need for resources and time to verifytransactions, sometimes in excess of an hour. This standsin contrast to proof of stake whereby instead of splittingtransaction processing relative to computing power, the trans-actions are split based on the wealth of the miners offered ascollateral. Proof of stake offers a faster processing time butposes other risks such as agency issues. The discussion onthe advantages and disadvantages of proof of work and proofof stake constitutes a research area and falls outside the scopeof this study.

Which allows for (relatively) rapid verification of the trans-action’s legitimacy by the network’s nodes thereby clearingthe double-spending problem. User’s private information iskept secure by using a public and private key combinationattributed to each party on the network, the system allowsthe users to utilize the public key in order to conduct thetransaction. These details pertaining to the transaction arestored within the block.

The block is then sent to the various nodes across thenetwork to validate the transaction by ensuring that therewas no double spending, the cryptographic properties of theblockchain allow a low trust system in which a small numberof nodes is required tomaintain the integrity of the blockchainand prevent an attack. Once the nodes clear the transaction,it is validated and added to the public ledger and details arestored thereafter. This entire process is conducted in completeanonymity, with neither of the parties and nodes involvedhaving information concerning the identity of the participant.

Blockchain technology also lends itself well to transitioninto the various industry and business applications due to

FIGURE 1. Publications with blockchain in the title by year. The numberof publications with blockchain or its equivalent in the title has increasedsubstantially since 2015.

the overall adoption of decentralized development and opensource standards. While the above components are importantcharacteristics of most blockchains and contribute signifi-cantly to defining their overall purpose, functionality, andapplicability within the businesses in which they operate;the most important component of the blockchain technologythat cannot be modified or altered is the immutability of theledger itself. When a transaction is processed and validatedby the nodes in the network, the information is permanentlyrecorded in the ledger and cannot be modified or erased fromthe system. In cases, where some modifications and actionare required to be undertaken by an authority, smart contractswould come into play to alleviate the problems posed by theimmutability of the Blockchain [2].

In the present study, we scoped our literature review tofocus on the business management and application aspects(instead of the technical perspective only) of blockchainimplementation. The motivation is threefold:

First, the explosion in Blockchain research starting 2016,with 2017 representing themost significant year thus far. Thisis illustrated in Fig. 1 with the number of articles containingthe term Blockchain in the title (using google scholar).

Second, we believe a current study is warranted on the stateof research into blockchain domains due to an apparent shiftin research trends pertaining to blockchain, cryptocurrencies,and bitcoin within the last 2 years. While roughly 80% ofall research articles prior to 2016 revolved around bitcoin,Fig. 2 shows that the evolution of Blockchain research sig-nificantly surpassed those of bitcoin, in 2016 and 2017. Fur-thermore, interest in cryptocurrency research has increasedin 2018 and surpassed Blockchain research by about 30%,while research on Bitcoin has decreased gradually since 2015to its original level in 2011-2012. This provides further justi-fication for the timeliness of the research itself by indicatinga relative slowdown in blockchain’s research momentum andsuggesting that the future direction of research within thefield pertains to cryptocurrencies. However, it is important tonote that our research focuses on blockchain research specif-ically and other keywords such as those included in Fig.2 falloutside the scope of this study.

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FIGURE 2. Number of publications with cryptocurrency, bitcoin orblockchain in the title by year. In the first four years, bitcoin publicationswere most of the group. However, 2016 onwards saw blockchain overtakebitcoin in title occurrences with cryptocurrency on the rise and overtakingblockchain as well in 2018.

Third, our classification framework focuses on Blockchainrelated applications and explores the associated fields thatthese applications address as well as the proposed benefitsand contributions offered by blockchain to the major areas.This component of our work is the primary contributionas it was not evaluated before, and since practically everyindustry from aerospace to banking and the United Nationsis presently considering its use in one way or another. Yet,the research to help these non-cryptocurrencies focused orga-nizations make sense of blockchain technology while safelyutilizing and taking advantage of the opportunities it bringsis scarce.

III. RESEARCH METHODOLOGYThere are many approaches to literature reviews that havebeen used in previous research. This includes the work of [3]which outlines a systematic mapping process. Similarly,[4] outlines a process to apply the review to the softwareengineering field. While there are many similarities and over-laps between the various methodologies, their evaluation andcomparison fall outside the scope of this paper.

A systematic literature review approach based on the eightcategory coding steps established by was followed and pre-sented schematically in Fig. 3. The literature review approachis made up of three sequential stages, namely criteria andcoding, aggregation and consolidation (article reduction) andsynthesis. The third stage includes the synthesis of the finalarticles set, where we identify the core and most relevantarticles to our research questions [5], [6]. We elaborate onthe phases and steps taken below.

A. STAGE 1: CRITERIA AND CODING1) LEVELS OF SYNTHESISWe mined google scholar for all articles with the word‘‘Blockchain’’ in the title, variations such as ‘‘Blockchains’’were also allowed provided they were included in the titleas well. The search yielded 1512 articles. We attempted toexpand the search to include cryptocurrency and bitcoin in

FIGURE 3. The literature review process. The three stages of the process:Criteria and coding, article reduction and synthesis categorize the 8 stepsof the process.

the article title but that lead to an unmanageable numberof returned articles. Furthermore, the inclusion of bitcoinor cryptocurrency would incorporate a bias into the financeindustry and introduce articles related to the marketing andfinancing of blockchain technology (i.e. discussing the eco-nomic and financial aspects) rather than the applicationof blockchain within the industry. Since the focus of ourresearch is Blockchain and its applications, we decided todrop the pursuit after cryptocurrency and bitcoin as theyfall outside the scope. We then identified the top publishersin order to retain high-quality articles. The resulting pub-lishers/databases are IEEE Xplore, ACM Digital Library,Springer, and Elsevier.

2) CODING STEPSWe screened the articles’ title and abstract to ensure that thetopics fit the scope and research questions.Whenever needed,the full paper text was consulted. Articles not written inEnglish, full text not available, posters, or articles addressingdifferent fields or research were excluded.

3) OCCURRENCE / FREQUENCYThis step involves the decision of whether the inclusionshould be due to the mere occurrence of the criteria(i.e. blockchain or its equivalent) or due to the frequencyby which it occurs. Given that the criteria established inthis paper require the occurrence of blockchain in the title,we believe the likelihood of frequency is relatively low and

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FIGURE 4. Publications from top 4 publishers with blockchain in the titleby year. The number of publications matches the overall trend seen inFig. 1. However, there is a 2-year lag between the first blockchain titledpublication occurrence in 2013 and those of 2015 for the top publishers.

TABLE 1. Distribution of articles with blockchain in the title by publisher.

that occurrence relative to its significance to the subject of thepublication is enough to merit the inclusion of the work.

4) DISTINGUISH AMONG CONCEPTSIn order to distinguish among the various concepts regard-ing the fields of blockchain application literature; We readthrough the abstracts in order to identify the appropriate clas-sification and field of study. Once this phase was completed,we identified common keywords and concepts across theliterature and did a second pass to map the articles to theappropriate categories based on derived classifications andfields. The resulting research resulted in a list of 300 articles.

B. STAGE 2: ARTICLE REDUCTION1) PROCESS RULES FROM STEPS 1-4 AND DOCUMENTTable 1 represents the breakdown of the 300 publicationsby the appropriate publishers. We then categorized the fieldsof those articles that qualified under blockchain businessapplications. The information in Table 1 shows that IEEE hasemerged since 2015 as the leading source for blockchain pub-lication research with Springer as second and the inclusion ofElsevier as a significant knowledge source.

2) EXCLUDE IRRELEVANT ARTICLESWhile the original number of articles by the top 4 publishersyielded 320, several articles were excluded due to irrele-vance, particularly with regards to their fit within the standardclassifications by publication type as well as the field of

TABLE 2. Data items.

study to which they are attributed. This led to a final numberof 300 articles that meet the relevance criteria.

3) ENCODE TEXT / INFORMATION IN ARTICLES ANDDOCUMENTTable 2 highlights the data items (D. . . ) which were extractedfrom the papers in question once the screening criteria werecompleted. D1 to D12 were collected using the informationfrom google scholar whereas D13 to D18 were inputted afterreading and reviewing the articles.

C. STAGE 3: SYNTHESIS1) ANALYSIS OF RESULTSConsidering the 320 articles from the previous step, Fig. 5and Fig. 6 present the number of articles the year and typerespectively. While our broader search does show articlescontaining the term blockchain as of 2013, the data sourcesselected did not contain such articles until 2015. This wasexpected as it would take time for Blockchain to build itsown momentum as compared to bitcoin. Indeed, as shownin Fig. 2, the prevalent keyword in the article titles until 2013was ‘‘bitcoin’’ with blockchain appearing with only 4 articletitles in 2013 and 25 articles in 2014. In relation to ourestablished databases, 2015 was the first year with sucharticles titles in 11 publications. This also further highlightsthe significance of the current research as 2015 represents

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FIGURE 5. Publications from top 4 publishers with Blockchain in the titleby type. The number of conference publications is the most significantfollowed by journal publications. This might indicate a shortage in thenumber of journal submissions pertaining to blockchain technology.

FIGURE 6. Publications from top 4 publishers with blockchain in the titleby classification. The number of applications is 151 out of a total of 300,constituting just over 50%. This is indicative of the overall potential forblockchain applications in various industries.

roughly 3% of all blockchain titles articles, indicating thatmuch of the body of research took place from 2016 onwards.

Fig. 6 provides information concerning the publicationtype of the papers included in our study.While the percentageof conference articles up to 2015 remained the same sincethen at 50%, our findings reveal that the percentage of journalarticles since 2015 is 28% as compared to 2.4% in 2015.This is indicative of the increased interest in the businessof blockchain, and its gradual increase in its maturity as aresearch space.

We adapted the classification terms used in previous stud-ies, namely ‘‘report’’, ‘‘improvement’’ and ‘‘application’’.Note that, an ‘‘improvement’’ article is one that defines anovel approach of protocol in order to address the short-comings and technical limitations of blockchain technol-ogy. A ‘‘report’’ is a discussion, review or incorporation ofpreviously suggested improvements within the context ofa larger topic or area of interest pertaining to blockchain.An ‘‘applications’’ article in our study is interpreted differ-ently and addresses the applicability of blockchain to busi-ness sector [1]. We note that the context of our initial scopeincorporates both technical as well as business applicationsof blockchain.

FIGURE 7. Publications from top 4 publishers with blockchain in the titleby classification by year.

Fig. 7 provides a breakdown of the publication classifi-cations from our study. Business topics were 14 out of thetop 15 application categories. With blockchain based privacyapplication constituting the exception among them.

After breaking down the publications by type, we focusedon the Blockchain applications related class of articles andproceeded to leverage the 2-step mapping process describedearlier in respect to categorizing the primary field coveredby the articles. In cases where there were overlapping topicsin the title and abstract with no clear preference to a specificarea, we went to the article text in order to assess the prevalenttheme of the paper and classify it accordingly.

Fig. 7 displays the classification by year of the articlesin question. We can see in the graph the overall trend ofsignificant increase in ‘‘application’’ articles since 2015.Another notable change is the decrease in the amount of‘‘improvement’’ related publications and the rise of ‘‘reports’’to overtake ‘‘improvements’’.

These results were expected in the initial analysis, as thefirst stage of the research process is the proposal for improve-ments and modifications to the existing technology and giventhat reports are by nature dependent on the prevalence ofimprovements, it follows that they would first lag then over-take them.

Finally, as applications leverage the implementation ofblockchain improvements as well as the reports needed toidentify the core areas of competency where an application isefficient, it is expected that applications would be the last tospike and increase in significance as interest in the applicationand implementation of the technology increases.

Using the mapping process allowed us to identify the com-mon areas of research on blockchain applications. 151 articleswere identified for this analysis. Fig. 8 shows the distribu-tion of these ‘‘application’’ articles by field. The Internet ofThings (IoT) is the dominant blockchain business applicationtopic. This is likely due to the high priority and concernraised by privacy and security problems in relation to theinterconnectivity and data sharing of devices as well as expos-ing consumers and public infrastructure assets to securityvulnerabilities. In fact, the findings corroborate the body ofresearch, whereby the predominant application proposals for

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FIGURE 8. Number of publications of blockchain applications from thetop 4 publishers by field. The top 5 fields represent 78 of the 151blockchain application literature.

blockchain technology are security and privacy followed bytrust [1].

At this point, we needed to select the highest qualityarticles for the final synthesis. Therefore, We chose toinclude only peer-reviewed journal-based Blockchain appli-cation. In our selection process, we chose to include arti-cles from IEEE based magazines with the other journals.Table 2 presents the final set of articles pertaining toBlockchain applications ready for final analysis and synthe-sis. The Table includes the authors, title, DOI, Journal, fieldof application and year.

IV. LITERATURE REVIEWWe began with a total of 1512 publications containingthe word blockchain(s) in the title. The top 4 publish-ers were identified with a combined article count of 320.

An elimination via the selection criteria resulted in 309 arti-cles. Removing articles with an NA publication natureyielded 301. An additional article was removed due to havingan out of scope application parameter bringing the total to300 articles. Of those articles, 151 were blockchain applica-tions, 65 were improvements to the blockchain and 84 werereports regarding blockchain technology. Table 3 identifiesthe 53 journal articles published in peer-refereed journalsfrom the 4 top publishers and groups them by the appropriatefield of study.

A discussion of the most studied Blockchain applications,including those in Table 3 is elaborated in this section. Afterreading all those articles, we analyzed the top 5 clusters(see Fig. 8) which we consider as the primary areas/fields ofBlockchain-related studies and extracted the areas of researchin each, as presented in Table 3.

We notice that the distribution of articles published inpeer-reviewed journals from the top 4 publishers followsthe overall distribution of the 151 studies pertaining toblockchain applications and domains. Furthermore, the top 5categories also constitute over 50% of the relevant body ofresearch. However, we do note a key difference with regardsto the fifth category; specifically, we find that research per-taining to the government domain of blockchain applicationsis absent with only one study pertaining to the topic itself.This implies a lag between government related blockchainapplication and those pertaining to the rest of the majordomains of study and can, therefore, signal an upcomingarea of interest and increase in relation to peer-reviewedpublications.

Furthermore, it is important to note the lack of clusteringamong the authors of the publications included, this indicatesthat most studies pertaining to the blockchain domain areauthored by researchers within the domain to which it isbeing applied. In turn, this signals a need for more centralizedresearch around blockchain domains and its applications aswell as the overall evolution of blockchain research thus far.

By far, it seems that most researchers today associateBlockchain application to the IoT. This is maybe due tothe fact the IoT paradigm is integrative in nature and notonly encompasses all advantages of the highly networkeddigital world, but also its bias and challenges. In this case,It seems that Blockchain holds great promise and researchersare exploring how and to what extent Blockchain can addressand solve these challenges.

Although still few, research efforts of Blockchain appli-cation in Energy, Finance, Healthcare, and Government hasbeen relatively equal. As shown in Table 2, there are otherdispersed Blockchain application research work (an articlehere or there) and include fields/areas in education, insurance,supply chain, rights management, transportation, businessprocess management, fraud detection, exchange and resourcemanagement.

Overall, it seems that Blockchain applications research isstill very young by any standard despite the recent spikein 2017.

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TABLE 3. Journal articles published in peer-refereed journals from the 4 top publishers by field.

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TABLE 3. (Continued.) Journal articles published in peer-refereed journals from the 4 top publishers by field.

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TABLE 3. (Continued.) Journal articles published in peer-refereed journals from the 4 top publishers by field.

A. INTERNET OF THINGSThe internet of things was by far the most popular ‘‘appli-cation’’ field. Twenty percent (29) of the 151 articles were

related to Blockchain applications. All these articles weremaking the case for Blockchain’s ability to improve andenhance the internet of things paradigm. In reviewing those

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IoT articles we were able to identify several dominant top-ics within the area: (1) enhanced security of interconnecteddevices; (2) maintaining anonymity; (3) smart contract pro-visions; (4) device management mechanisms and protocols;and (5) network security [7].

1) ENHANCED SECURITY OF INTERCONNECTED DEVICESA major problem with the interconnectivity of the millionsof devices needed to propagate an IoT phenomenon is theexponential increase in security concerns presented by thevarious interfaces through which network devices communi-cate. This includes the various security problems pertainingto the IoT including but not limited to low-level concernssuch as interlocking adversaries and insecure physical inter-faces, intermediate-level security concerns such as insecureneighbor discovery, authentication, and communication tohigh-level security problems that include insecure interfaces,software/firmware and middleware security [38].

Various Blockchain related solutions pertaining to theproblems described in relation to IoT security were tack-led. Specifically, Blockchain can leverage its address space(160bit) which allows for a drastic reduction in address col-lision probability as well as eliminating the need for central-ized authorities to manage internet assigned numbers whileproviding a more scalable solution with the option of havingmore addresses than with IPv6.

Furthermore, using blockchain’s identity management andgovernance mechanisms, devices related to the IoT can beeasily registered and identified in a unified ledger with theability to tag them to a specific user and the option to quicklyand securely transfer rights and ownership of devices amongthe various parties in the system.

The integrity of the data is confirmed through the naturaldesign of Blockchain technology and the immutability of itsledger, enabling all data transmitted across the network to becryptographically proofed which will enable the secure track-ing and integrity of the data. Meanwhile, the private/publickey mechanism established through Blockchain would allowfor drastic simplifications of the security protocols needed toenable security on the traditional communication protocols.

However, the research fails to address the issues pertainingto the adoption of blockchain among devices, specificallyregarding the computing power needed to implement theproof of workmechanisms of verification with small and low-cost devices.

2) MAINTAINING ANONYMITYFrom the user perspective, there is an inherent lack of trust inhaving devices that communicate constantly with the com-panies that spawned them and send private consumer datain a targetable way to profit-seeking entities. Such problemsare assumed to be behind the delayed adoption of somehome speaker and smart assistant devices for fear that com-panies would be spying on their customers. Blockchain helpsaddress this problem by allowing ‘‘security through trans-parency’’ where a secure transfer of data among users would

occur while maintaining the anonymity of their specificidentity [7].

Blockchain addresses the security dilemma currently facedby constrained devices in an IoT framework where organiza-tions cannot implement current access control standards butat the same time do not want to include powerful centralizedmechanisms (due to privacy and data sensitivity concerns).To that end, Blockchain enables the introduction of a decen-tralized authorization management framework that leveragesthe consistency of the Blockchain technology in addressingprivacy and data sensitivity concerns [60], [61].

However, the studies do not cover the dangers of identityexposure and loss of anonymity using additional informationin order to identify the individual associated with the publickey indirectly.

3) SMART CONTRACT PROVISIONSSmart contracts leverage blockchain technology in orderto build contracts and agreements between various parties.These agreements are essentially computer programs withspecific instructions allowing them to be executed within thecontext and applicability of precise parameters. Existing onthe blockchain, these contracts are part of a decentralizedenvironment and allow for the automation and execution ofmulti-step procedures thereby facilitating information andcurrency exchange on the blockchain.

An example of a smart contract can be found on theEthereum platform, whereby issuers of new cryptocurrenciesset certain exchange rates between a new cryptocurrency andthat of Ethereum. These parameters depend on the issuerof the contract itself and can range from the volume of thetransaction to the overall volume of currency distributed up tothat point in time. Through the smart contract, the issuer canautomate the process of users sending their Ethereum tokensand receiving the appropriate and equivalent amounts of thecryptocurrency in question.

Smart contracts can also be leveraged for other usessuch as content distribution, supply chain management, andthe IOT. Through smart contracts, content distribution can bemanaged by identifying specific metrics pertaining to mediaand content consumption and implementing the equivalentremuneration for that use, this allows for a disintermediatedapproach to remuneration for artists and content creators.Similarly, the supply chain can leverage smart contracts toautomate the steps needed to be taken when an item ships,arrives or is in transition; this can be augmented by theinternet of things using sensors and RFID chips enabling ahuman-less exchange of information and up to date trackingof items and food sources [1].

While smart contracts do offer several advantages thatserve to increase blockchain’s attractiveness relative to othersystems, issues such as diverse standards and limited func-tionality continue to be an issue. Specifically, as smart con-tracts are programs they can be written in several ways andwith varying parameters and standards which makes it diffi-cult for non-technical users to understand and apply or agree

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to the use of smart contracts in a transaction for fear offraud. This issue is currently being resolved using platformimplemented standards such as the EC20 token standard usedin Ethereum which specifies the required components andstructure needed for a smart contract.

The second issue revolves around the limited use of smartcontracts specifically across cryptocurrencies. In the case ofEthereum, the contracts can automate the exchange betweena given cryptocurrency and the Ethereum token but cannotcreate exchanges and transfers from any cryptocurrency toanother, which is otherwise known as a side chain. Thisissue is currently being resolved in the case of Ethereum byallowing such parameters to exist within smart contracts andenabling the blockchain to incorporate these transactions.

We can therefore conclude that smart contracts can offerthe IOT several advantages especially in the way of devicecommunication automation; however, there are several stepsneeded to attain a level of maturity needed for this potentialto materialize.

4) DEVICE MANAGEMENTWith the use of Blockchain technology, the full automationof device interactions through the network is expected. Formultiple interacting devices. Blockchain can allow user-lessexchanges of information between the different inputs suchas the transmitter from one component and the receiver fromanother. For example, when a container gets on board a ship,a truck for delivery or to a home address, the interaction isautomatically recorded in the Blockchain and removes thehuman error component and added labor of tracking items.

Research proposes the use of Blockchain as a mechanismto build and manage an IoT network as well as its devicesin relation to their synchronization and communications sys-tems. The Blockchain would allow the management of deviceconfigurations and associated keys [61]–[65].

However, there is a lack of practical application or businessmodel development regarding the use of device manage-ment and its implications, namely the cost and maintenancerequirements of incorporating such advanced communicationequipment into various devices.

5) SECURE UPDATESA shift towards a decentralized architecture would lead to amore sustainable ecosystem, the current centralized modelrequires too much maintenance costs, especially for some-thing as simple as distributing a software update to millionsof devices not just once, but on a continuous basis even afterthey are no longer manufactured.

The literature introduces the concept of an update frame-work in which the Blockchain based system allows for per-missionless and distributed checks on the validity of thecurrent firmware maintained on various IoT devices whilechecking the integrity of the software version and allowingthe update procedure through automated processes leveragingthe nodes on the network itself [36], [66], [67].

An example can be used to demonstrate the applicationof anonymity using blockchain’s private/public feature foundin its hashing algorithm, by considering vehicle intelligenceand communication. Specifically, blockchain would leverageasymmetric encryption in order to generate a public and pri-vate keywhich are then assigned to vehicles, thereby enablingthem to transact among one another through the public keywhile retaining anonymity through the securing of the privatekey. Consequently, cars will be able to exchange data directlywith each other using the blockchain peer network infrastruc-ture (such as the one used today for car cryptocurrencies) inorder to exchange traffic information and other sensitive datawhile maintaining the anonymity of the vehicle itself and byextension its driver.

B. ENERGYThe energy field ranked second in our list of Blockchainapplications with 17 (roughly 11%) of 151 application arti-cles. We have identified several categories within the areaof Energy and energy management Blockchain based appli-cations including (1) electricity market control betweenmachines, (2) Facilitating energy trade, (3) increasing thesecurity of the energy grid, and (4) assisting in the prolifera-tion of green energy.

1) CONTROLLING THE ELECTRICITY MARKET BETWEENMACHINESThe traditional method of electricity consumption may notbenefit significantly from Blockchain implementation as itrelies on the framework of one supplier, all customers. How-ever, recent advances in energy production and consumptionhave begun shifting habits and market interactions away fromthe traditional model. Specifically, the ability for householdlevel electricity generation using renewable energy such assolar energy paves the way for a distributed energy marketwith customers becoming suppliers depending on the timeand conditions. As such, a platform is needed allowing forthe secure transaction of energy generation and consump-tion information across the different parties while optimizinghuman involvement and maintaining privacy.

Blockchain may be a solution as it offers the potentialfor a framework that operationalizes machine-to-machineinteraction and establishes an electricity marketplace where aconsumer can choose from various suppliers and select theappropriate offer autonomously [14]. Another problem per-taining to energy transactions among machines is the seem-ingly continuous payment requirements among the nodeswith regards to the electricity provided or withdrawn. Micro-payments are transactions with minimal nominal amounts ofcurrency and are used to pay on a continuous basis for varioussmall items. The introduction of micropayments allows directinteraction between machines as the authentication of thevarious parties is automated and decentralized [68].

However, we need to consider the complexity of the param-eters involved in trading energy such as distance from thesource as well as the overall need for fast and efficient

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switching between energy sources in order to prevent poweroutages which may be difficult under certain blockchainclearing algorithms such as proof of work.

2) FACILITATING ENERGY TRADEThe shift in the energy market discussed earlier opens thedoor to various exchanges between the different stakeholdersin an energy community. Blockchain has to potential to estab-lish a space for the creation of local electricity markets lever-aging user’s various energy generation mechanisms towardsthe democratizing of the energy market. However, there areseveral barriers standing in the way of energy trade.

Energy consumption privacy concerns and sharing infor-mation in the market is another problem in decentralizingthe energy grid as the energy generation and consumptioninformation of various individuals would be publicly avail-able. A Blockchain solution can solve this by creating anexchange of information where the identity of the individualinvolved is not exposed. Furthermore, the solution wouldallow for the creation of automated auction mechanisms asmentioned earlier which would streamline energy exchange,regulate energy levels while improving security [15]. Mean-while, the introduction of payment processing mechanismswithin the Blockchain would facilitate transactions acrossmicrogrids [68], [69].

Implementations of these models should consider the rela-tive impact such markets may have on a government’s abilityto predict and control energy demand and markets therebyallowing mechanisms for government intervention andmoderation.

3) INCREASING ENERGY GRID SECURITYRegardless of the model used to deliver and leverage elec-tricity production, energy markets face a constant threat ofsecurity which poses a modern digital dilemma. An increasein digitization can leave energy manufacturers/facilities vul-nerable to attack while a lack thereof would reduce efficiencyand service quality.

Blockchain is a potential solution to the energydigitization dilemma – namely the introduction of aBlockchain-based approach that leverages smart contracts forthe management of energy exchanges between the variouspower consumer/providers would allow a sustainable andincreasingly secure mechanism for energy exchange whileleading to a more decentralized and resilient power grid [70].Meanwhile, a framework for transaction anonymity withinthe Blockchain would allow for an increase in the security andprivacy of the transacting parties in the microgrid [71] whilealso having the ability to protect the energy network from acyber attack by laying out a protection framework based onthe distributed ledger [13].

However, research should include the cost of increasedsecurity in the form of lack of recourse and alterationsin the case of an error or fraud, whereby the anonymityand immutability of the ledger would increase the difficultyof pursuing the issue by authorities. Therefore, research

on blockchain implementations should also incorporate anaspect of know your customer for government and officialpurposes.

4) GREEN ENERGY ASSISTANCEAs energy systems continue to evolve and renewable energysources become more accessible to the individual consumer,the market is likely to transform into a decentralized modelcomprising various energy production and storage mecha-nisms. This poses the opportunity to reduce the environmentalimpact of energy production and consumption by increasingthe overall efficiency and reducing waste.

Blockchain technology can be useful in an energy man-agement framework. The introduction of green certificatesvia the Blockchain allowing for the authentication of thesource of energy production (i.e. produced from renewableenergy, simply stored traditionally generated energy in abattery or other storage mechanisms) would allow greatergovernment incentives and programs by enabling author-ities to establish adequate mechanisms for rewards andbenefits [72].

Current research should also consider the required com-plexity needed to establish exchanges across markets forvarious energy sources.

We can consider the example of a household generatingsolar power and engaging in an active exchange in the energymarket in order to supply excess power generated during peaktimes and offset shortages caused due to the unpredictablenature of renewable energy sources. However, there are sev-eral issues that stand in the way of such an ecosystem includ-ing the household’s concerns regarding the maintenance andengagement required in order to participate as both supplierand consumer within the same market, specifically in refer-ence to finding appropriate bids and offering ones in returnat various points of time every day. Blockchain technologyoffers to solve the problem by decentralizing the exchange ofinformation between households, assigning a public/privatekey to each household as well as leveraging smart contractsto set specific energy consumption and supply parameters.Using the smart contracts, households can set preferencesregarding energy supply and demand prices and automate theexchange, which will be protected by the decentralized andimmutable nature of the blockchain and household identitywill remain private due to the use of asymmetric encryption.

C. FINANCEFinance was another major category aggregated from theliterature review, with 11 (around 7%) out of 151 articlesstudied the interaction between finance and blockchain appli-cations: (1) Better transaction processing, (2) sustainablebanking and finance, (3) enhance financial security and(4) privacy as well as automated financial contracts.

1) BETTER TRANSACTION PROCESSINGWhile banking institutions have helped the world move for-ward in commerce and trade, the rapid expansion in overall

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trade coupled with the digitization of financial currenciescontinue to apply pressures from limitations on the currentsystem, where centralized databases hold highly sensitiveinformation and require several days of processing for evensimple payment transactions to clear banking institutions.This slows down the pace of trade and exchange and keepsit from fully replacing the traditional fiat currencies withregards to transactions.

There are many benefits posed by the Blockchain frame-work in relation to the banking industry with regards toimproved transaction processing and performance. Specif-ically, the Blockchain framework can assist governmentsin setting up single account structure which would auto-mate the processing and balancing of fund accounts therebyreducing idle cash balances, unnecessary borrowing costs aswell as reducing costs on central banks through improvedliquidity [73].

Blockchain-based systems can be established notmerely ascomponents within banking institutions but also as competi-tors to them, with increased integration and decentralizationas the main drivers for improved operations and faster trans-action processing [74].

However, studies should consider the disadvantage facedby blockchain and other novel systems with regards toproliferation and acceptance when compared to traditionalmethods. Furthermore, the increased transaction speed andcapability to engage in instant transactions have increaseddramatically in countries where technologies such as paypass, apple pay, google pay as well as others have beenimplemented. This implies that absent the added anonymityand security, the main advantage of blockchain directly toconsumers will be its implications to international transfersand trade.

2) SUSTAINABLE BANKING AND FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONSDespite the 2008 crash and the subsequent rebound of thefinancial market, traditional banking systems still suffer froma sustainability problem. A bankruptcy by a bank leads tosevere financial implications to its customers as well as chaineffects for the rest of the industry. This situation made pos-sible the global implications that arose during the financialcrisis and the subsequent terming of too big to fail for mostfinancial institutions.

The overall role of Blockchain in the future of bankingand financial transactions can be seen from the perspective ofachieving a sustainable financial system in the global econ-omy. Decentralizing the storage of wealth to the individualsholding it and decoupling the value of wealth from the econ-omy (or financial condition of a specific country or region)will allow for a globally decentralized ledger, leading totheoretically more stable financial wealth values as well asa more robust economic system [75].

However, research covering this potential applicationmust consider the business model implications to exist-ing financial intermediaries and its impact on the lendingmarket.

3) ENHANCED FINANCIAL SECURITY AND DATA PRIVACYAn inherent flaw in the existing data structure of the bankingsystem is that of centralized datasets and information. Banksare vulnerable to hacking and security breaches.Whereas thiscan be problematic in the cases where the data are social andgeneral demographic, the problem is much more severe whenit touches on financial assets and financial identity. Anotherconcern posed using third-party financial institutions is thelack of anonymity, with stringent ID requirements and a lackof freedom in financial transactions.

There are several advantages to the implementation ofblockchain technology from the perspective of cybersecuritygiven the unique characteristics and potential that it offers.Specifically, the decentralization of the ledger informationwould render the information more secure and impervious tohacking attempts, and the increased privacy and anonymityresulting from leveraging the blockchain private/public keyallows greater freedom and protection in financial transac-tions such as identity theft [76].

However, research should also focus on the costs associ-ated with such anonymity and privacy whereby the identi-fication of a user’s private key would enable the attacker tocommit fraud and steal information without recourse.

4) AUTOMATING FINANCIAL CONTRACTSBlockchain enables the automation of financial contractsthereby leveraging the protocol for faster and more economi-cal financial operations; with the potential for annual savingsof roughly 11 to 12 billion dollars. This is due to blockchain’sability to implement level 3 contracts which not only executea specific action but also automate its execution [21].

Consider an examplewhere an individual is seeking to sendmoney abroad to a country in the developing world. There areseveral issues that stand to complicate the transaction, first ofwhich is the length of time (normally in days) required forthe transfer to go through. This is exacerbated by the risksof instability for financial service providers and financialinstitutions in the developing world. Blockchain would alloweach of the sender and receiver to have a public and privatekey while decentralizing and encrypting the exchange ofinformation. As such, the individual would be able to send therequired payment directly and have the transaction processedin a matter of minutes rather than days while maintaining thesafety of the asset in a decentralized platform away from thefinancial institutions.

D. HEALTHCAREHealthcare is the 4th category in blockchain applicationswith 11 (approximately 7%) out of 151 articles. A review ofhealthcare applied articles resulted in the identification of thefollowing advantages: (1) Easier access to medical data, and(2) facilitated sharing of medical records, and (3) unificationand standardization of medical records.

1) EASIER ACCESS TO MEDICAL DATAOverall, medical records continue to suffer a lack of inno-vation. This may be due to the sensitivity of healthcare

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information, the costly overhaul of information technologysystems, and the overall regulatory environment and privacyconcerns.

Blockchain may offer a solution by helping patients geteasy access to their data. Instead of having to navigatethrough multiple laws and processes of medical serviceproviders in order to retrieve the information, this can beaccomplished with the help of the distributed ledger and theability to maintain privacy through the public and privatekey. Moreover, easy identification of the user and grantingaccess to the appropriate medical records while keeping theoverall data anonymous is made possible in the Blockchain.The decentralized aspect also removes the need to store theinformation with one provider, as the information is sharedand will be accessible across all medical stakeholders uponrequest [77], [78].

However, research promoting these uses needs to accountfor the difficulty of accessing patient medical records in casesof accidents, incapacitation, as well as other issues of consentand authorized sharing.

2) MEDICAL DATA SHARINGAside from the initial problem of patients being able to easilyand efficiently access their data, another problem in relationto healthcare and medical information stems from the privacyand anonymity concerns pertaining to medical information inpatient files. The dilemma faced by the medical professionis that medical data are extremely valuable for research pur-poses and the improvement of overall medical conditions andoperations, but at the same time this information is highlysensitive and faces massive legal hurdles with regards tosharing and aggregating the information from the varioussources.

Blockchain solves this by allowing the anonymization ofthe patient’s medical data while keeping intact all perti-nent medical information and rendering it serviceable in theaggregate. Using the Blockchain, the patient would remainanonymous by keeping his/her private key secure and onlysharing their information via their public key; meanwhile, theinformation remains publicly available for research purposeswithout the risk of revealing the identity of the patient [79].

However, researchers experimenting with such systemsshould evaluate the impact of governing bodies and regula-tory agencies with respect to authorizing and acknowledgingthe use of data collected through blockchain systems. Further-more, business models such as remuneration for participantsand health care professionals need to be considered.

3) UNIFYING MEDICAL RECORDSThe decentralization of medical records through a commonBlockchain ledger would also allow for the unification andstandardization of medical record information. This willallow easy transferability and follow-up across the spectrumof health service providers which would lead to the improve-ment of overall health and patient services.

However, researchers exploring this implementationshould consider the issue of havingmultiple blockchain basedhealthcare systems which would lead to a divergence in theformat of information and therefore cause an issue withregards to record unification.

We take the example of a patient wishing to transfer tothe services of another doctor or hospital in order to demon-strate the application of decentralizing medical informationon the blockchain. Currently, a transfer requires the releaseof information directly from the previous party which cantake several days and complicates proceedings. Furthermore,the records themselves may be in a different format andmay contain sensitive information that the patient does notwish to share with their physician. In the case of blockchain,the medical information would be decentralized thereby ren-dering it available directly to the patient, who can leveragethe asymmetric encryption of the blockchain in order to sharetheir medical data with their physician while maintainingpersonal identity anonymity. Furthermore, the blockchainsystemwould allow for a standardized data format that wouldmake it easier to share and communicate with different physi-cians. Finally, users can choose to participate anonymously inmedical research by offering their data to studies without therisk of personal identification.

E. GOVERNMENTWith 10 (about 6.5%) out of 151 Blockchain business appli-cations literature, government is the fifth highest category ofstudy interest. Upon review of articles pertaining to govern-ment and blockchain; we were able to identify the follow-ing advantages: (1) eGovernment, (2) Creating a true digitalidentity, (3) eVoting, (4) Improving measuring instrumentsregulation.

1) eGOVERNMENTeGovernment refers to the leveraging of digital tools andtechnologies by government officials in order to improve theoverall services and benefits while enhancing its interactionwith its citizens.

The integration of Blockchain into government offers sev-eral advantages. First, the scalable nature of Blockchaintechnology coupled with the decentralized nature of theledger requires minimal effort to maintain and adminis-ter [80], [81]. Furthermore, the introduction of smart con-tracts would allow the completion and execution of complexgovernment bureaucratic operations in a streamlined method.These advantages would allow governments to simultane-ously increase the number of services offered while improv-ing the overall quality and processing times of existingservices.

Second, the decentralization of the Blockchain databaseallows for a greater amount of transparency and accessibilitybetween the government and its citizens, by anonymizingthe data, overall government transactions can be audited andmonitored for anomalies without identifying the direct party,

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thereby also improving overall justice services by assisting inthe removal of bias [82].

Third, leveraging a private/public key combination wouldallow the government to open the information sharing ser-vices across the different organizations as well as to thepublic and the decentralized nature of the ledger means theinformation will be more standardized and accessible in moreareas and parts than before.

Finally, the immutable nature of the ledger and its integra-tion of financial transactions allow users to build andmaintaina reliable and shareable financial history which can improvethe overall quality and reliability of the credit system [83].

However, research should consider the relative significanceof the large transactions and the potential risk involved in thetheft of an individual’s private key in order to proceed with atransaction.

2) CREATING A TRUE DIGITAL IDENTITYCurrent government systems rely heavily on paper-basedand traditional forms of document authenticity and identityrequirements. In most countries in the world, it is not possibleto use a digital ID to receive sensitive or critical governmentservices. This is due to the lack of adoption of digital identityframeworks and standards that can both ensure privacy andsecurity while allowing unique identification of individualswithin a society.

Blockchain is aptly able to solve this problem by allowingthe creation of a public and private ID whereby the individualwould be able to authenticate themselves at any point whileallowing the sharing of public information to be anonymous.Furthermore, the immutability and decentralization aspects ofits management ensure that the information shared with theappropriate authorities is accurate and authentic [28].

However, research in this area should consider the signifi-cant dangers and implications of identity theft in the case ofloss or collection of an individual’s private key thereby allow-ing illicit behavior such as identity theft without recourse.

3) EVOTINGAs government attempt to transition from the traditionalvoting systems that leverage paper ballots and signaturesto a more modern and digital solution, a common problempersists: the centralized nature of the system means that thereis a unique supplier that possesses the ability to control andmanipulate the data as needed and therefore can pose a riskto the fundamentals of a country’s democracy [84].

Blockchain can provide the solution with its open sourcenature and the decentralization of its ledger allowing gov-ernments to mitigate risks of data manipulation and fendoff security attacks from foreign governments. Concurrently,the ability of Blockchain to allow for proper authentica-tion while maintaining complete anonymity in the aggregatelends itself very well to the purposes and uses of votingmechanisms.

However, research should consider the computationaldemands of such a system especially given the nature of the

election cycle under the proof of work protocol. Anotherconsideration is the potential for identity theft through theexposure of user’s private keys

4) IMPROVING MEASURING INSTRUMENTS REGULATIONImproving measuring instruments regulation: As science hasprogressed, so have the measuring instruments required toidentify and quantify the different variables needed for sci-entific research; and with the increased adoption of stan-dardized measuring instruments across different countriesin general and the developing world in particular, certainchallenges begin to develop with the added complexity ofnew instruments. The challenges pertain specifically to theamount of data being measured as well as the security risksof manipulating and modifying the data.

With the increase in the amount of information capturedand needed to quantify and compute measurements, requiredresources have proven to be prohibitive for certain govern-ments and developing countries. Blockchain can overcomethis problem using distributed computations and measure-ments. By allowing the decentralization of measurementcomputations and dispersing it across the world while main-taining the security and integrity of the data, Blockchain canhelp governments overcome the limitations and obstacles ofincreased resource requirements. Furthermore, the decentral-ization of the data will make data and security breaches muchmore difficult, whereas the immutability of the ledger willensure that the consistency, accuracy, and integrity of the dataare maintained [85], [86].

Research should also consider issues regarding differencesin international measurements of values and their implica-tion on the sustainability and widespread adoption of suchsystems.

We can use an example to demonstrate the application ofa true digital identity using blockchain. A patron ordering analcoholic beverage at a bar is currently required to provide aform of personal ID upon request in order to satisfy the appro-priate legal requirements. However, along with providing theneeded information such as age, the patron is also providing avast amount of personal information such as the exact date ofbirth, address, and various other personal information. Usingthe blockchain’s asymmetric encryption and decentralization,users would always be given a private/ public key capable ofbeing used and validated due to the decentralized nature ofthe data. In the case of the patron, the digital identity wouldallow the individual to disclose only the pertinent informationsuch as age while maintaining the identity of the individual.

V. DISCUSSIONA. WHAT BUSINESS FIELDS HAVE BEEN ADDRESSED INCURRENT RESEARCH ON BLOCKCHAIN APPLICATIONSAND HOW HAS IT EVOLVED SINCE 2015?Our research revealed several insights into the Blockchainresearch landscape, particularly to Blockchain applicationsand improvements.

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Blockchain research has increased substantially over thelast 2 years and by around 32% as compared to 2015 andbefore. Furthermore, the outlets in blockchain publicationshave been through major publication sources primarily Else-vier and IEEE Xplore, which emerged as top publishers. Thedistribution of the articles has also shifted. Although the rateof publishing in conferences has remained the same, ourstudy shows an important increase in journal publications.This we consider a sign of increase curiosity and demandfor answers about the applicability of Blockchain. Relativeto other domains of research, the Blockchain body of knowl-edge is still weak as it is at its infancy. The increase inresearch in the last two years is not impressive and it needsto be many folds more in order to reach an initial stageof maturity with possible theoretical proposals, models anddesigns. Expansion of the blockchain research landscape is ofutmost importance, and the publication of Blockchain studiesin high-quality journals and outlets is necessary if we are tomake sense out of its future.

Another significant shift is the increase in application typepublications. In 2015, Blockchain based applications repre-sented 8 of 41 publications [1]. However, 7 of those publi-cations were introduced in 2015 thereby signaling a potentialshift in the publication landscape towards blockchain applica-tions. Our study corroborates the existence of this trend withthe identification of 151 blockchain application articles.

Research findings from the studies presented in Table 2reveal six Blockchain applications sectors (Finance, Insur-ance, Education, Supply Chain, Healthcare and Energy), oneparadigm (IoT and Smart Cities) and six business fields(Transportation, Business ProcessManagement, Fraud detec-tion, Exchange, Resource Management and Rights Man-agement). IoT seems to be treated as an all-encompassingparadigm. Many areas of business have not been addressedin Blockchain. This includes a long and not comprehen-sive list of manufacturing, production, operations, purchas-ing, marketing, sales, customer relationships, informationtechnology, adoption, anxiety, outsourcing, logistics, busi-ness development, human resources management, and riskmanagement. Moreover, there are many other sectors (otherthan energy and healthcare) and bodies that need to considerBlockchain and which includes but is not limited to: aviationand aerospace, pharmaceuticals, not for profit organizations,the United Nations, hospitality and tourism, real estate, retail,politics, economic development, environment and sports.

We believe that Blockchain technology holds great promiseas it puts forth a very courageous and ambitious proposalon the table of human evolution. It has the potential tochange the human course. Relatively speaking, and con-sidering the outcomes of this study, researchers have justbegun to probe with their minds the form and function ofthe Blockchain technology. At the same time, it seems thatbusinesses are very cautious andmaybe scared (or lacking theunderstanding) to experiment with it. Are businesses waitingfor researchers or the other way around?What is holding themback?

TABLE 4. Major subjects of study within the top 5 fields of blockchainapplication solution research.

B. WHAT SOLUTIONS HAVE BEEN PROPOSED WITH THEMAJOR FIELDS OF BLOCKCHAIN APPLICATIONS?Of the 151 blockchain related applications classified in ourstudy, publications related to the Internet of Things, Energy,Finance, Healthcare, and government were the most promi-nent, constituting over 53% of the total Blockchain appli-cation literature; similar to previous studies [1]. Further-more, they elaborated in their research gap discussion sectionthe ability for blockchain to benefit fields outside of thecryptocurrency and the bitcoin space, including the use ofblockchain application for improvements in the operation andgovernance of other related fields, among others. Table 4summarizes the solutions that Blockchain technology has thepromise to solve in the various businesses and sectors.

IoT was initially discussed, with blockchain’s ability toleverage its user privacy protection through public keyanonymization which was identified as a valuable resourcefor maintaining privacy in a future with millions of intercon-nected devices sharing data and engaging in constant com-munication. Furthermore, the decentralized and immutablenature of the blockchain ledger allows IoT based devicesquick, easy and distributed access to the information whilepermitting constant contributions and additions to the dataset from various parties due to the integral security ofthe information. Finally, smart contracts were found very

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valuable in allowing IoT devices to interact directly with oneanother, helping further push the boundaries of automationand remove steps of human intervention from the process ofcommunications and processing.

Blockchain research on energy predominately focused onthe usefulness of blockchain’s decentralized nature in democ-ratizing the energy supply and demand industry while accom-modating a more scalable and flexible solution for the worldwith consumers alternating as providers on the energy grid.The blockchain’s privacy and anonymity features allow forthe induction of multiple consumers and providers in themarket and the creation of microgrids within the energysector while preserving the data consumption and pricingpreferences of the individuals engaging in the transactions.Finally, smart contracts allow the energy sector to automateand self-execute transactions between the various partici-pants, enabling machine to machine interactions and allow-ing government authorities to reliable identify green energysources and provide the appropriate motivation incentives totheir producers.

In Finance, blockchain’s decentralized ledger allows foreasy and convenient access to user’s financial informationfrom multiple locations while limiting the impact and loss ofwealth and information due to the shutdown or bankruptcy ofa central authority. The decentralization also allows globalcurrencies tied to international market values rather thannational banks and currency systems. Furthermore, the abilityto anonymize transactions and maintain privacy allows forgreater interaction between the various parties within thefinancial system and facilitates the exchange of good andservices directly between individuals rather than throughbusinesses as the private identity is kept confidential whileallowing a secure exchange. Smart contracts allow the cre-ation of level 3 ledgers capable of not only executing certainfinancial contracts and commitments but also automatingthe execution process and criteria given preset conditionsand values, thereby allowing a more sustainable and flexiblefinancial system.

Blockchain is also suggested as a method to spur andgrow innovation in the healthcare sector, with the decentral-ization of patient data allowing users immediate and quickaccess to their important medical information from anywherein the world rather than having to go through the serviceprovider, furthermore, the immutability of the ledger wouldallow patients and their health service providers to freelyupdate the ledger without concerns over data integrity andany party modifying the information for nefarious purposes.This will also increase accountability in the medical field,as mistakes would not be hidden; in addition, the enhancedprivacy and anonymity of interaction within the blockchainwill strengthen doctor-patient confidentiality while alsoallowing medical professionals open access to massiveamounts of medical data previously walled off for privacyconcerns.

Whether through aspects of eGovernment, digital identity,voting or measuring instruments; governments stand to gain

significantly from the potential of blockchain applications.Through the decentralization of the dataset, governments canexpand and enhance the quality of their services by removingthe need for database administration and maintenance. It willalso allow for proper digital voting as it solved the importantproblem of entrusting the voting data in the hands of a sin-gle company or database with the motivation to manipulatethe information. Decentralization will also help better runmeasuring instruments and the data they capture and runby removing the obstacle of costly computing and storageequipment and securing the information from manipulationthrough the blockchain, the immutability will also allow forthe creation of a proper digital identity capable of removingthe obligation of physical proof documents as the ledgerwill be trustable enough to confirm the information. Theenhance privacy through public/private keys will allow thegovernment to more freely grant access to its data to othergovernment agencies and research groups allowing for abetter understanding of current problems and proposals ofsolutions as needed. The added privacy will also improve thevoting process by providing regulators and the governmentaccess to all voting information but maintaining the privateidentity of the voters themselves. Smart contracts will helpalleviate the bureaucratic process of government systems bysimplifying multi-step basic procedures thereby improvingthe overall efficiency and quality of services provided.

C. WHAT ARE CURRENT RESEARCH GAPS INBLOCKCHAIN APPLICATIONS RESEARCH?We were able to identify several gaps in the existingblockchain research landscape. First of which is the factthat the top 5 fields of blockchain research accounted forover 53% of the articles identified in the study. Whileblockchain does pose a significant advantage to these partic-ular sectors, there are various other areas where these sameadvantages can prove to be useful such as the research sector,be it academic or industrial which can stand to benefit inmuch the same way as the healthcare industry by openingup data sources and eliminating the need for universitiesto maintain and administer databases while increasing thereliability of scientific findings and the integrity of the dataused in the research itself. Other areas such as education,environment, insurance and supply chain are important areasthat have collectively entailed only 13 articles.

The second was the broad discussion on the technicalapplication of blockchain into the specific sectors and howthe advantages of the technology can help assist these fieldsin improving the overall quality and scope of services offered.However, blockchain does not merely represent a new tech-nology platform for the storage and communication of data;it also presents a new business model landscape wherebythe supplier and the seller are often interchangeable. Thisnew structure requires massive changes in the current way ofdoing business and research on different business models andprocesses to build a blockchain have been limited. Existingresearch on the energy market has begun to touch on this

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TABLE 5. Blockchain solutions and resulting spinoff innovations

with references to energy market creation and price matchingthrough the blockchain.

Third, whereas the literature has expanded to discuss theuses and advantages of blockchain within the various indus-tries, there has been few or little discussion concerning thechallenges of blockchain implementation and thematerializa-tion of those benefits within specific industries. Some litera-ture does discuss the challenges and limitations of blockchaintechnology, but it is mostly from an overall perspective thatconsiders the limitations rather than their application to thatparticular field.

Fourth, the literature discusses the applications ofBlockchain in relation to specific industries and circum-stances. While useful, they do not touch on the overarchinguse of the underlying innovations used to render the solutionitself feasible. Table 5 highlights some of the general solu-tions proposed across the various industries as well as someof the spinoff innovations that can be applied to across theboard. Smart contracts have the capacity to radically alter andaccelerate the adoption timeline for Blockchain technology,whereas machine to machine interaction will have dramaticapplications in relation to big data, machine learning andartificial intelligence. More research is needed to classify andcategorize the various spinoff innovations and map their useand applicability across the industry sectors.

Finally, the blockchain applications surveyed tended to bedescriptive in nature, proposing the implementation of tech-nology to a sector with little guidelines on actual implemen-tation or development of the application or concept needed tomake the system work. Thus far such research has been lim-ited to industry and the introduction of whitepapers aroundthe various businesses and concepts involved in blockchaintechnology. However, more work is needed to push for higherquality studies and bring these efforts into the academicsector.

D. WHAT ARE THE FUTURE DIRECTIONS FORBLOCKCHAIN APPLICATIONS?Despite the seemingly rapid acceleration and continuousincrease of interest in Blockchain technology, we feel that themomentum for exponential growth is not enough yet. This is

evident from the body of literature as the breadth and depth ofBlockchain-related studies are still lacking quality, substance,cohesion, and direction. The literature does not provide anyhints of direction.

Our preliminary exploration of the literature includingthe term cryptocurrency has shown that research outputin cryptocurrency surpassed that of blockchain in 2018.After increasing dramatically over the past 2 years, seecryptocurrencies-Blockchain research to continue to increaseas part of the evolution of blockchain research. However,cryptocurrency and bitcoin are not part of the scope ofresearch and therefore we shall not analyze this area, how-ever, we do question the impact of cryptocurrency research onBlockchain research. Is cryptocurrency research preventingBlockchain application research or Blockchain applicationresearch is waiting for cryptocurrency research to maturefirst? It seems to us that cryptocurrency is a new paradigmfor the financial sector pushing the envelope for new financialmodels. But Blockchain itself, viewed beyond the cryptocur-rency space, involves organizations at a level beyond thetechnical domain with significant impact on their strategies,processes and competitive advantage. It follows that when itcomes to Blockchain research, a strong partnership betweenindustry and researchers must be forged for it to grow signif-icantly, otherwise it will remain sluggish.

During our study, we observed some research on usertechnology acceptance. As most research today introducedblockchain into various fields and in general terms, littlehas been done on the usability and perceptions of userswith regards to the implementation of blockchain technology.Furthermore, we find that digital rights management anddigital content distribution stands to gain disproportionatelyfrom blockchain implementation and that high-quality aca-demic research is needed since neither of them has improvedsince 2015 [1].

Finally, we expect an increase on the environmental impactof blockchain and the inclusion of environmental factorswithin the business model solutions of blockchain researchdue to the high amount of energy required to deploy andmaintain the network system.While decentralized and shiftedaway from the enterprising, Blockchain poses concerns toregulatory bodies and society with regards to the sustainabil-ity of blockchain, and which constitutes an important area offuture research.

VI. LIMITATIONSBeing a systematic literature review, the paper suffers fromthe conventional limitations of such studies. Publicationbias is a concurrent concern as there is a higher likelihoodof publications with positive results to appear than nega-tive results due to citation and publication time establishedin [3], [87]. This was addressed in our study by mininga collective research engine (google scholar) and drawingthe largest possible number of articles available in the bodyof knowledge, then identifying the top sources of publica-tion and incorporating them in our analysis. This focus on

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increasing the range of article searches is expected to increasethe likelihood of yielding papers with negative results.Another potential solution to the problem is to expand thesearch even further to include SSRN sources drafts and indus-trial whitepapers. However, this poses problems of its own,primarily in the way of publication quality and the difficultyof obtaining an accurate and solid version of the publicationsin question.

Selection bias can stem from the criteria used to identifyand collect the relevant publications in our survey whichin turn can lead to statistical biases. Specifically, our corecriteria of having blockchain or its equivalent in the articletitle might exclude other papers dealing with the generaltopic without the keyword. We attempted to solve for this bymining cryptocurrency and bitcoin-related keywords, how-ever this posed its own set of problems, namely the increaseof articles to over 3000 potential publications, the dupli-cation of many articles with multiple keywords in the titleand the divergence in the research topic is publications withcryptocurrency and bitcoin keywords have had other focusesand applications. Regardless, our objective was to buildon the existing literature while investigating the growth ofblockchain application literature within the various industryfields, of which we were able to identify 151 articles relatingto the topics covered.

Data extraction bias was addressed using well establishedand regarded search engine allowing for the collection of pub-lications and articles across different publishers, and whilethere remains the chance of missed articles from the search,we are confident that the method used provides increasedreliability relative to other article data extraction methods.

VII. CONCLUSIONBlockchain technology possesses certain characteristics thatrender it a valuable tool for industrial applications anda potential source of disruption for established industries.These include the immutability of the ledger, the decentral-ization of the data, the preservation of privacy, the allowanceof trustless transactions, the efficiency and sustainability ofprocesses as well as the ability to automate multi-step pro-cesses using smart contracts.

We use a systematic mapping process to understand thecurrent state of blockchain research as well as contrast it topast literature reviews and discuss its future implications foracademic and industry stakeholders. The study approachedthe review from the standpoint of blockchain applicationsand publications dealing with the integration of blockchaininto specific sectors and industries. Our final output resultedin 151 blockchain application publications extracted from apool of over 1500 academic works and sifted by includingonly the top publishers.

Blockchain applications have focused heavily on sectorsof the industry, namely IoT, Energy, Finance, Healthcare, andGovernment; this focused interest is likely due to the propen-sity for such industries to benefit by the unique combinationof advantages that blockchain offers into the market.

Our study indicates that blockchain research is expand-ing rapidly with a distinct evolution pattern among the dif-ferent layers and concepts of blockchain implementation,with initial research focusing on blockchain’s first applica-tion Bitcoin, then progressing to study the underlying tech-nology itself in the past 3 years while gradually shiftingfrom blockchain improvement related works into applicationpapers.

Furthermore, we identify the next wave of research to cen-ter around cryptocurrencies and related user-centered accep-tance and adoption research in order to create interfaces andbusiness models capable of streamlining blockchain integra-tion into the various specialties.

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JOE ABOU JAOUDE received the M.B.A. degree.He is currently pursuing the Ph.D. degree inbusiness administration (SCBTM) with Concor-dia University. He currently holds the FrederickLowy Scholars Fellowship. He is also an Assistantto the Van Berkom Investment Management Pro-gram. He is also involved in consulting for inter-national organizations, such as the InternationalCivil Aviation Organization. His research interestsinclude collaborative learning, hybrid education,

blockchain, cryptocurrencies, online learning, technology acceptance, initialcoin offering, and education.

RAAFAT GEORGE SAADE received the Ph.D.degree from Concordia University, in 1995.He received the Canadian National ResearchCouncil Post-Doctoral Fellowship from McGillUniversity, Montreal. He is a Professor andChair of the Department of Supply Chainand Business Technology Management. Hehas been teaching at the faculty, since 1998.He has published in journals, such as Infor-mation & Management, Decision Sciences,

Computers & Education, Computers in Human Behavior, Decision SupportSystems, and Expert Systems With Applications. His research interestsinclude the development and assessment of information systems, the supplychain of digital information products, The United Nations, IT-driven changeand change management, and eLearning.

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blockchain applications – usage in different domains · 2019-12-08 · a quick evaluation of the...

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