Ethereum Blockchain Research Articles

Cross-Blockchain Communication Using Oracles With an Off-Chain Aggregation Mechanism Based on zk-SNARKs

The closed architecture of prevailing blockchain systems renders the usage of this technology mostly infeasible for a wide range of real-world problems. Most blockchains trap users and applications in their isolated space without the possibility of cooperating or switching to other blockchains. Therefore, blockchains need additional mechanisms for seamless communication and arbitrary data exchange between each other and external systems. Unfortunately, current approaches for cross-blockchain communication are resource-intensive or require additional blockchains or tailored solutions depending on the applied consensus mechanisms of the connected blockchains. Therefore, we propose an oracle with an off-chain aggregation mechanism based on Zero-Knowledge Succinct Non-interactive Arguments of Knowledge (zk-SNARKs) to facilitate cross-blockchain communication. The oracle queries data from another blockchain and applies a rollup-like mechanism to move state and computation off-chain. The zkOracle contract only expects the transferred data, an updated state root, and proof of the correct execution of the aggregation mechanism. The proposed solution only requires constant 378 kgas to submit data on the Ethereum blockchain and is primarily independent of the underlying technology of the queried blockchains.

OTI-IoT: A Blockchain-based Operational Threat Intelligence Framework for Multi-vector DDoS Attacks

The Internet of Things (IoT) refers to a complex network comprising interconnected devices that transmit their data via the Internet. Due to their open environment, limited computation power, and absence of built-in security, IoT environments are susceptible to various cyberattacks. Denial of service (DDoS) attacks are among the most destructive types of threats. The Multi-vector DDoS attack is a contemporary and formidable form of DDoS wherein the attacker employs a collection of compromised IoT devices as zombies to initiate numerous DDoS attacks against a target server. A Blockchain-based Operational Threat Intelligence framework, OTI-IoT, is proposed in this article to counter multi-vector DDoS attacks in IoT networks. A “Prevent-then-Detect” methodology was utilized to deploy the OTI-IoT framework in two distinct stages. During Phase 1, the consortium Blockchain network validators employ the IPS module, composed of a smart contract for attack prevention and access control, and Proof of Voting consensus, to thwart attacks. Validators are outfitted with deep learning-based IDS instances to detect multi-vector DDoS attacks during Phase 2. Alert messages are generated by the IDS module’s alert generation and propagation smart contract in response to identifying malicious IoT sources. The feedback loop from the IDS module to the IPS module prevents incoming traffic from malicious sources. The proposed OTI framework capabilities are realized as an outcome of combining and storing the outcomes of the IDS and IPS modules on the consortium Blockchain. Each validator maintains a shared ledger containing information regarding threat sources to ensure robust security, transparency, and integrity. The operational execution of OTI-IoT occurs on an individual Ethereum Blockchain. The empirical findings indicate that our proposed framework is most suitable for real-time applications due to its ability to lower attack detection time, decreased block validation time, and higher attack prevention rate.

BOMS: blockchain-enabled organ matching system

This work proposes a Blockchain-enabled Organ Matching System (BOMS) designed to manage the process of matching, storing, and sharing information. Biological factors are incorporated into matching and the cross-matching process is implemented into the smart contracts. Privacy is guaranteed by using patient-associated blockchain addresses, without transmitting or using patient personal records in the matching process. The matching algorithm implemented as a smart contract is verifiable by any party. Clinical records, process updates, and matching results are also stored on the blockchain, providing tamper-resistance of recipient’s records and the recipients’ waiting queue. The system also is capable of handling cases in which there is a donor without an immediate compatible recipient. The system is implemented on the Ethereum blockchain and several scenarios were tested. The performance of the proposed system is compared to other existing organ donation systems, and ours outperformed any existing organ matching system built on blockchain. BOMS is tested to ascertain its compatibility with public, private, and consortium blockchain networks, checks for security vulnerabilities and cross-matching efficiency. The implementation codes are available online.

Decentralization of Identity using Ethereum and IPFS

Introduction: The Identity of a user in digital world is an important factor for an individual. Identity management has been handled by various models which, over the period of time have been prone various security breaches. The foremost integral part of any identity model is the centralized storage, access of data. Considering this, in recent years, there has been evolution from centralization to de-centralization of Identity management. With respect to this new aspect, this paper proposes a solution to the centralized management problems, as a decentralized Identity Management System. The said approach utilizes Ethereum blockchain, IPFS, both supporting distributed data accessibility and data storage respectively. This paper also sheds light on the W3C specification of DID (De-centralized Identifier) which supports the Self-Sovereign Identity principles of Identity Management and are vital for de-centralization of Identity Management

Unpacking the financial attributes of blue-chip non-fungible tokens (NFTs) against traditional and digital assets

PurposeThis study aims to identify the financial attributes of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) as safe havens, hedges or diversifiers against traditional (stock indices, foreign exchange, gold and government bonds) and digital (Bitcoin and Ethereum) assets.Design/methodology/approachThe quantile via moments was utilized, and the data spanned from 20 September 2021 to 31 January 2022. The authors incorporated feasible generalized least squares (FGLS) and difference-generalized method of moments (diff-GMM) as the robustness check.FindingsOverall, NFTs offer strongly safe havens, hedging and diversifier attributes against cryptocurrencies, while weak properties for traditional assets. The specific findings are: (1) Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) serves as a strong hedge for Bitcoin during market rise; (2) Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC) serves as a strong safe haven against Bitcoin during market bull; (3) Crypto punk (CP) provides strong safe havens properties for gold during market turmoil while serving as a strong hedge against gold and Bitcoin on average and (4) the three blue-chip NFTs are powered by Ethereum blockchain, thus serving as a diversifier against Ethereum.Practical implicationsBitcoin investors are suggested to include NFTs in their investment portfolio to mitigate the losses when Bitcoin falls. Meanwhile, the inclusion of crypto punk is advised for risk-averse investors who invest in gold. NFTs are powered by the Ethereum blockchain, indicating co-movement among them and thus, serve as diversifiers. Policymakers and regulators are suggested to watch closely over NFTs' great development and restructure the existing policies and thus, stabilization of asset markets can be achieved.Originality/valueThe originality aspects are: (1) focusing on the three blue-chip NFTs (i.e. BAYC, MAYC and CP) that are categorized as the largest NFTs by floor market capitalization; (2) testing the NFT attributes (safe havens, hedges or diversifiers) against traditional and digital assets, a.k.a., cryptocurrencies and (3) panel setting on 14 countries with the highest NFT users.

Smart contracts auditing and multi-classification using machine learning algorithms: an efficient vulnerability detection in ethereum blockchain

Smart contracts auditing and multi-classification using machine learning algorithms: an efficient vulnerability detection in ethereum blockchain

DPoSEB: Delegated Proof of Stake with Exponential Backoff Consensus Algorithm for Ethereum Blockchain

Blockchain is a technology that is rapidly gaining prominence and finding applications in various sectors such as banking, supply chain, healthcare, and e-governance. The consensus algorithm employed in a blockchain network is crucial as it directly impacts the network's performance and security. Different consensus techniques exist, including Proof of Work (PoW), Proof of Stake (PoS), Robust Proof of Stake (RPoS), and Delegate Proof of Stake (DPoS), each with its own set of advantages and disadvantages. In this work, we propose a new consensus algorithm called Delegated Proof of Stake with Exponential Back-off (DPoSEB). DPoSEB utilizes a stake-based selection of delegates and employs an exponential back-off technique to mitigate collisions among nodes within the network. Each delegate is assigned a random sleep time, and the node with the shortest wake-up time is chosen to mine the block for that particular round. However, collisions among nodes can still occur. To provide a fair chance for each delegate node, collided nodes are assigned an exponential back-off time. We implement our proposed algorithm on an Ethereum-based private blockchain network. To evaluate the effectiveness of our proposed work, we compare it with existing consensus mechanisms such as PoS (version 2) and Delegated RPOS with downgrading (DDRPOS) using different scenarios in terms of transaction latency, waiting time, and fairness as evaluation metrics. The results reveal that DPoSEB performs better than POS and DDRPOS.

Blockchain-Based Car Rental Platform

Abstract: Carpooling has seen a significant upsurge in popularity in recent years since it relieves commuters of the burden of driving a car and later spares them from the mad dash to locate a parking space. The industry now uses centralised database servers, which puts the system at risk of hacking, causes data leaks, and undermines security within the system. Additionally, there is a chance that the owner will misuse the data in a centralised system. Since the newly developed Blockchain technology provides complete anonymity and database transparency, data security and traceability may be guaranteed across the entire server. The goal of the suggested solution is to create and implement a blockchain-based, smart contract-based peer-to-peer vehicle sharing system. The Solidity programming language is utilised to carry out the smart contracts. Ethereum blockchain is used in the ecosystem's construction. Eliminating the middleman would result in a peer-to- peer (P2P) car-sharing programme, which would reflect decreased costs and exposure to data theft.

IoT Forensic Cyber Activities Detection and Prevention with Automated Machine Learning Model

The Internet of Things (IoT) has been deployed in a vast range of applications with exponential increases in data size and complexity. Existing forensic techniques are not effective for the accuracy and detection rate of security issues in IoT forensics. Cyber forensic comprises huge volume constraints that are processing huge volumes of data in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) comprised of IoT devices and platforms. Trust blockchain is effective technology those are utilized to assess the tamper-proof records in all transaction in the IoT environment. With the implementation of trust blockchain the record and transaction are processed with a distributed ledger that is managed by the network nodes. The challenge associated with the trust blockchain in IoT forensics is cost and security. To achieve significant cost-effectiveness organizations, need to evaluate the risks and benefits associated with IoT forensics in the trust blockchain technology. In this paper, developed a Block Chain Enabled Cyber-Physical system with distributed storage. The developed Blockchain model is termed as Integrated Hadoop Blockchain Forensic Machin Learning (IHBF-ML). The IHBF-ML model uses the Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS) with cyberspace to improve security. Within the IHBF-ML model, IoT data communication is established with the smart contract. The smart contract-based blockchain process uses the Machine Learning model integrated with Cat Boost classification model for anomaly detection. Cost in IoT forensic is minimized with the parallel processing of the data through MapReduce Framework for the traffic translation, extraction, and analysis of the dynamic feature traffic from the IoT environment. The experimental analysis stated that constructed IHBF-ML model reduces the cost by ~25% than the other conventional blockchain Ethereum and EOS.

Blockchain-enabled framework for transactive home energy management with cloud energy storage under uncertainties

In modern paradigm of smart grid, prosumers can trade energy peer-to-peer in a transactive energy market to reduce energy costs and improve energy efficiency. In addition, cloud energy storage (CES) is a type of shared energy storage systems with high economic efficiency that can provide energy storage services for prosumers and become an active player in energy trading. However, transactive energy implementation in power systems has several challenges such as data privacy and security. In existing researches, energy trading mechanisms rely on central authorities, where security and privacy cannot be maintained. Therefore, this paper presents a decentralized stochastic optimization model of transactive energy management based on blockchain in the presence of CES. In this framework, the smart contract based on Alternating Direction Method of Multipliers technique is deployed on the Ganache and Ethereum blockchains, and the YALMIP toolbox along with CPLEX solver handle decentralized optimization in the MATLAB software. The numerical results demonstrate that not only the capacity of distributed generations is fully utilized, but also total costs of smart homes are reduced by more than 27%, and the total grid’s delivery power to smart homes is decreased by more than 24% compared to the inflexible scheduling.

MIoT-CDPS: Complete decentralized privacy-preserving scheme for medical internet of things

Medical internet of things (MIoT) environments continue to expand, and numerous MIoT services are available to improve the quality of human life. However, these services, facilitated by a multitude of interconnected IoT devices analyzing the environment, face significant security challenges due to the volume of interconnected devices and the exchange of data through open channels. Moreover, the vulnerability is exacerbated by the centralized infrastructure commonly used by IoT services, where compromising a trusted third party (TTP) or service provider jeopardizes the entire system’s security. Existing privacy-preserving schemes for IoT, while aiming for decentralization, often rely on a TTP to sustain the system. In such environments, users typically either entrust their secret keys and parameters to a TTP or store their data in cloud servers. Consequently, as the TTP assumes control over the actual keys and data, a significant challenge arises regarding the assurance of user and data sovereignty. In this paper, we propose a complete decentralized privacy-preserving scheme for MIoT that ensures data self-sovereignty, transparency, and complete decentralization without TTP intervention. In the proposed scheme, users can directly manage their keys with secret parameters. Then, they can upload encrypted data directly to distributed storage and securely share it with other users based on the security levels they have set themselves. We perform informal and formal (mathematical and simulation) security analysis to prove the security of the proposed scheme and conduct comparative analysis to evaluate the security functionalities, communication costs, and computational costs of our scheme compared with those of previous schemes. Further, we implement our scheme in a practical setting through simulations on Ethereum blockchain networks, validating its complete decentralization, security, efficiency, and suitability for MIoT environments. The specificity of our research lies in addressing the critical security concerns inherent in MIoT through a complete decentralized, TTP-independent framework.

A blockchain-based academic degree attestation system

ABSTRACT We propose a novel blockchain-based academic degree verification system. The system relies on a smart contract deployed on the Ethereum blockchain platform. The system protects the privacy of the students who have been verified without the need of encryption, and hence, avoid the complexity of security key management and the potential disaster if the keys are stolen or revealed. The amount of degree data is also designed to be minimum for proper verification. All operations on the critical path of the system are automated without any human intervention. However, the system does assume that the organization would stand behind the proposed system to ensure the system's integrity. The system is open to anyone who wishes to verify the degree of a student. To prevent spamming and to support the long-term sustainability of the system, a small fee is charged for each verification request. A portion of the fees collected is immediately credited to the participating schools. To facilitate automated school enrollment into the system, any school may request to enroll by placing a significant amount of stake in ETH. The stake can be refunded when the school decides to leave the system. However, if the school is blacklisted due to misbehavior, the stake is confiscated. This design strongly discourages adversaries from abusing the system. The performance of the system is fully characterized with regard to the gas consumption of key operations in various use cases. We demonstrate that the system is conducive for long-term sustainability.

Towards a semantic blockchain: A behaviouristic approach to modelling Ethereum

Decentralised ledgers are gaining momentum following the interest of industries and people in smart contracts. Major attention is paid to blockchain applications intended for trading assets that exploit digital cryptographic certificates called tokens. Particularly relevant tokens are the non-fungible tokens (NFTs), namely, unique and non-replicable tokens used to represent the cryptographic counterpart of assets ranging from pieces of art through to licenses and certifications. A relevant consequence of the hard-coded nature of blockchains is the hardness of probing, in particular when advanced searchers involving the capabilities of the smart contracts or the assets digitised by NFTs are required. For this purpose, a formal representation for the operational semantics of smart contracts and of tokens has become particularly urgent, especially in economy and finance, where blockchains become increasingly relevant. Hence, we feel the need to tailor Semantic Web technologies to achieve that semantic representation at least for NFTS. This article reports on an ontology that leverages the Ontology for Agents, Systems, and Integration of Services (“OASIS”) towards the semantic representation of smart contracts responsible for managing ERC721-compliant NFTs and running on the Ethereum blockchain. Called Ether-OASIS, the proposed ontology adopts OASIS and tailors its behaviouristic approach to the Ethereum blockchain by conceiving smart contracts as agents running on the blockchain and, consequently, smart contract interactions as agent commitments. Smart contracts are represented in terms of their actions, purposes and tokens that they manage, thus realising a blockchain that is more usable both by users and automated applications. The ontology is evaluated using standard ontological metrics and applied on a case study concerning the minting and transferring of NFTs that digitise batches of wheat.

Designing efficient patient‐centric smart contracts for healthcare ecosystems with access control capabilities

AbstractElectronic medical records are a patient's digital asset that enhances the information available to doctors for tracking their patients' health. When this information is stored in a secure environment, health examination reports can serve as a dependable repository for thorough observation of a patient's well‐being. However, it is crucial for the owner to have control over access to these repositories. In this scenario, a blockchain ecosystem with appropriate access control mechanisms can help create a distributed and decentralized storage platform to ensure the safety and security of data. Developing cost‐effective smart contracts and creating clear design diagrams to represent them are essential for establishing such an ecosystem. This paper introduces a smart contract for the Ethereum blockchain that allows an owner to maintain control over their data. The paper presents a diagram for visually representing the modules within our smart contract, providing readers with a clearer understanding of the access control techniques utilized in implementing our strategies. Our smart contract offers clinicians a valuable means of accessing historical data to promptly evaluate a patient's health in emergency situations. We showcase its efficacy by illustrating how it streamlines insurance claims, where it verifies the patient's coverage and automatically authorizes medical expense payments. Lastly, a study is presented to showcase an effective method of storing the ingested data within the Ethereum network. The suggested approach allows restrictions on data visibility based on the viewer's accessibility through identity‐based access control achieved using additional structures in smart contracts. These structures store filtered records accessible to users based on their viewing privileges. The simulated test bed results support the efficiency of using smart contracts with additional structures in terms of gas consumption when compared to those that use a single structure for read and write operations.

Development of cryptogames with Unity on an Ethereum Blockchain Test Network: Case Study and Challenges

Development of cryptogames with Unity on an Ethereum Blockchain Test Network: Case Study and Challenges

Analyzing voting power in decentralized governance: Who controls DAOs?

We empirically study the state of three prominent DAO governance systems on the Ethereum blockchain: Compound, Uniswap and Ethereum name service (ENS). In particular, we examine how the voting power is distributed in these systems. Using a comprehensive dataset of all governance token holders, delegates, proposals, and votes, we analyze who holds the voting power and how this power is being used to influence governance decisions. While we reveal that the majority of voting power is concentrated in the hands of a small number of addresses, we rarely observe these powerful entities overturning a vote by choosing a different outcome than that of the overall community and less influential voters.

Ftdho Zfnet: Block chain based Fractional Tasmanian Devil Harris optimization enabled deep learning using attack detection and mitigation

Block chain technology is regarded for enhancing the characteristics of security because of decentralized design, safe distributed storage, and privacy. However, in recent times the present situation of block chain technology has experienced some crisis that may delay the quick acceptance and utilization in real-time applications. To conquer this subdues, a blockchain based system for attack detection and mitigation with Deep Learning (DL) named Fractional Tasmanian Devil Harris Optimization_Zeiler and Fergus network (FTDHO_ZFNet) is introduced. In this investigation, the entities utilized are owner, block chain, server, trusted authority and user. Here, authentication phase is done by means of Ethereum block chain by Key Exchange module and privacy preserved data sharing and communication is also done. Then, recorded log file creation is executed by the below mentioned stages. At first, a log file is generated with the basis of communication to record the events. After wards, the features are extracted by BoT-IoT database. Then, feature fusion is done by overlap coefficient utilizing Deep Q-Network (DQN). Moreover, data augmentation (DA) is doneusing bootstrapping method. At last, attack detection is observed by ZFNet tuned by FTDHO. Here, FTDHO is unified by Fractional Tasmanian Devil Optimization (FTDO) and Harris Hawks Optimization (HHO). Additionally, FTDO is integrated by Fractional Calculus (FC) concept and Tasmanian devil optimization (TDO). Furthermore, attack mitigation is performed. The performance measures applied for FTDHO_ZFNet are accuracy, and True Negative rate (TNR), observed supreme values with 92.9%, 93.8% and 92.9%.

Blockchain-Based Quality Assurance System for Academic Programs

Nowadays, technology is increasingly being adopted in different kinds of businesses to process, store, and share sensitive information in digital environments that include enormous numbers of users. However, this has also increased the likelihood of cyberattacks and misuse of information, potentially causing severe damage. One promising technology, which can provide the required security services with an improved level of efficiency, is blockchain. This research explores the use of Ethereum blockchain and smart contracts to create a secure and efficient quality assurance system (QAS) for academic programs. By utilizing blockchain and smart contracts, the proposed approach improves the integrity and reliability of sensitive information processed by the QAS, promotes transparency and governance, and reduces the time and effort required for quality operations. The current approach uses an additional access control layer to further enhance user privacy. Smart contracts automate various quality transactions and saves time and resources, and hence increases the efficiency of the QAS. The interplanetary file system (IPFS) is used to address the challenge of size limitations in blockchain. Additionally, this research investigates the use of various cryptographic schemes to provide robust security services at the application layer. The experimental results showed that the use of a hybrid cryptosystem relying on an Elliptic curve digital signature and AES encryption (AES_ECCDSA) outperforms other counterparts’ cryptosystems using an RSA digital signature and AES encryption (AES_RSADSA) and Elliptic Curve Integrated Encryption Scheme (ECIES) in terms of speed. The performance results showed that AES_ECCDSA consumes 188 ms to perform the required cryptographic operations for a standard-quality document with a size of 8088 KB, compared to the 231 ms and 739 ms consumed by the AES_RSADSA and ECIES schemes, respectively. This study presents a prototype implementation of the blockchain-based QAS, which outlines the processing model and system requirements for key QAS processes. It has been found that the cost and time required for blockchain operations vary depending on the size of the input data—a larger data size requires more time and costs more to process. The results of the current study showed that the time delay for blockchain transactions ranges from 15 to 120 s, while the cost ranges from USD 50 to USD 400. This research provides evidence that blockchain and smart contract technologies have the potential to create a secure, efficient, and trustworthy QAS environment for academic programs.

Investment Decision Factors of Non-Fungible Tokens in the Czech Republic: Survey

Abstract Non-fungible Tokens (NFTs), represent a revolution in the digital ownership paradigm. NFTs are a kind of digital asset built on blockchain technology, most commonly the Ethereum blockchain, that validate the uniqueness and ownership of a unique digital item in question. Each NFT carries specific information or attributes that make it original and non-fungible. Unlike cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum, which are identical to each other, non-fungible tokens cannot be exchanged on a like-for-like basis making them non-fungible. NFTs are traded for cryptocurrencies via online trading platforms. Investment in NFTs can present a risky situation due to the large volatility of the assets in a quite short time. This article focuses on identification of key aspects that influence decision making process of potential investors who are considering buying non-fungible tokens as an investment tool in the Czech Republic. From the point of view of investment decision-making, the primary factors appear to be the expected income from the investment, its payback period, and the risk that the investor undertakes. It has been proven that there is a degree of dependence between gender and the mentioned decision-making factors. The research showed that men are more inclined to make decisions based on expected returns, while women are more likely to make decisions based on perceived risk.

Decentralized Chatting Application Using Blockchain Technology

Abstract: The emergence of blockchain technology has spurred innovation in various domains, including decentralized communication systems. In this context, a decentralized chat application leveraging blockchain, Remix Ethereum IDE, Ganache blockchain, and MetaMask offers a novel approach to secure and privacy-centric messaging. The application harnesses blockchain's immutable ledger to store chat messages, ensuring data integrity and censorship resistance. Remix Ethereum IDE provides developers with a robust environment for crafting smart contracts, the backbone of the chat application's functionality. Developers can design and deploy smart contracts defining chatroom logic, message encryption, and user authentication. Ganache blockchain serves as a local testing environment, enabling developers to validate smart contracts and simulate blockchain interactions in a controlled setting. This facilitates rapid iteration and debugging during the development phase. MetaMask acts as the gateway for users to access the decentralized chat application. Through MetaMask, users authenticate securely using their Ethereum wallets, ensuring pseudonymous identity verification and enabling seamless interaction with the Ethereum blockchain. Together, these technologies form the foundation of a decentralized chat application that prioritizes privacy, security, and user control. By leveraging blockchain and associated tools, the application offers a compelling alternative to centralized messaging platforms, empowering users with sovereignty over their data and communication.