Abstract
In the last four years, the evolution and adoption of blockchain and, more generally, distributed ledger systems have shown the affirmation of many concepts and models with significant differences in system governance and suitable applications. This work aims to analyze distributed ledger technology (DLT) critically. Starting from the topical idea of decentralization, we introduce concepts and building blocks currently adopted in the available systems centering on their functional aspects and impact on possible applications. We present some conceptual framing tools helpful in the application context: a DLT reference architecture, off-chain and on-chain governance models, and classification of consensus protocols. Finally, we introduce the concept of process authenticity, reviewing tools and strategies for integrating DLT with the physical world and proposing a constructive scheme for the authentication of a physical resource through alphanumeric data.
Highlights
Bitcoin and related technologies are developing and spreading at unexpected rates and in unforeseen ways, impacting almost every industry
Beyond the names assigned by their respective authors, often derived from the type of fitness resource that the protocol allows to verify publicly or “proof”, it is significant to note that researchers oriented towards designing more efficient and performing permissionless consensus protocols by recurring to approaches and tools borrowed from the membership-based protocols previously introduced
Following the critical approach used in [46] during the booming of distributed ledger technology (DLT), in this work, we presented the most relevant and impacting concepts within the context of technologies sprouted from the affirmation of Bitcoin
Summary
Bitcoin and related technologies are developing and spreading at unexpected rates and in unforeseen ways, impacting almost every industry. Expanding on the idea of a decentralized currency, as implemented in Bitcoin, many of these startups are explicitly building decentralized business models as an alternative to the existing centralized ones. Cryptography 2021, 5, 36 with the goal of decentralized data storage and saving money on transaction fees In this regard, DLT offers new paradigms on how companies and people can interact and negotiate and new ways in which assets and data are represented and monetized. This statistic shows that companies were working on use cases concerning the following four main broad topics: digital currencies/payments, data sharing/reconciliation, identity protection, and asset transfer/traceability, each of which can be in itself declined and adapted to many different application scenarios. Significant uncertainties concerned the actual usefulness and viability of this new technology, the risks associated with its adoption, and the lack of adequate regulations and standards
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