Cryptocurrency Technology Research Articles

Harnessing Digital Strategies to Combat Cryptocurrency-Enabled Crimes: Addressing Money Laundering, Illicit Trade, and Cyber Threats

Purpose: This research explores how advanced digital strategies can be harnessed to combat cryptocurrency-enabled crimes, focusing on the use of blockchain analysis, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and enhanced regulatory frameworks to detect, trace, and prevent illegal transactions on cryptocurrency platforms. Materials and Method: The study examines the challenges law enforcement and regulatory bodies face due to the pseudonymous nature of cryptocurrencies and their cross-border complexities. It analyses emerging digital tools that facilitate the de-anonymization of transactions and enable real-time monitoring of suspicious activities. Case studies from recent high-profile cryptocurrency crimes, such as the Silk Road shutdown and recent ransomware attacks, are utilized to highlight the effectiveness of these digital strategies. Findings: The findings indicate that a multi-layered approach, which combines technological innovations with global regulatory efforts, is essential for mitigating risks associated with cryptocurrency as a facilitator of cybercrime. Advanced analytics and regulatory techniques are identified as key resources for detecting and preventing illicit activities. Implications to Theory, Practice and Policy: The research demonstrates practical implications for law enforcement agencies in developing strategies that integrate advanced digital tools to improve their capabilities to manage and investigate cryptocurrency-related crimes. From a policy perspective, the study highlights the importance of creating adaptive regulatory frameworks that can evolve alongside cryptocurrency technology to effectively address the unique challenges it presents in combating cybercrime.

Appraising the application of cryptocurrency technologies in the Nigerian built environment: stakeholders’ perspective

PurposeTwenty-first century digitalisation birthed new methods of payment systems like the emergence of cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrency technologies have been identified as drivers for crypto-smart contracts and procurements. Studies regarding the application of cryptocurrency technologies in the Nigerian built environment industry are uncommon. Therefore, this paper aims to explore the relevance of cryptocurrency technologies to the sector, examine the perceived barriers that may hinder cryptocurrency technologies implementation and propose measures to promote the applications.Design/methodology/approachThe research conducted a virtual interview across Abuja and Lagos cities to appraise stakeholders’ perceptions. The interviewees were requested to proffer answers to the research questions. The study conducted 25 semi-structured interviews with knowledgeable stakeholders. The data were analysed, and findings were reported in themes.FindingsEnhanced the era of smart contracts, increased liquidity for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and new openings to raise more funds for capital-intensive construction projects emerged as the advantages where cryptocurrency technologies can benefit the sector if allowed to operate. Cryptocurrency technology applications are not without some anticipated hindrances. Risk of loss of investment/price instability, lack of intrinsic value, money laundering, attracting speculators, criminal activities/security issues, lack of clarity and awareness and lack of skills emerged as the frequently anticipated barriers that may hinder cryptocurrency technologies applications.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is limited to cryptocurrency technology applications in Nigeria’s built environment, and a qualitative method has been adopted.Originality/valueBesides uncovering barriers hindering cryptocurrency technology usage via an unexplored mechanism, the study is one of the few studies to proffer measures to improve cryptocurrency technology usage in the built environment.

Fintech And Financial Inclusion: Case Studies From The United States

Throughout several decades, the top name among companies that have accepted online payment transactions is a multinational financial technology company PayPal, situated in the United States that was founded in 1998. Internet payments gained traction and expanded globally over time. This research examines how financial technology, or FinTech, is changing financial accessibility in the US. It also analyzes how these advancements, together with innovations in blockchain and cryptocurrency technology have changed the way that financial services are accessed through case studies of well-known websites like PayPal, Venmo, and Robinhood. These technological advancements have promoted financial transaction transparency, democratized investing opportunities, and expedited payment systems. Furthermore, the research emphasizes how Splitwise and similar platforms facilitate shared spending management, which in turn encourages economic inclusion and gives people more ability to engage in the financial ecosystem. The paper offers insights into how FinTech is changing the financial services industry, improving accessibility and supporting larger financial inclusion goals in the US by examining some case studies.

CoinFA: an efficient coin mixing scheme with flexible amounts

Abstract Coin mixing is an efficient anonymization technology of cryptocurrency used to eliminate the linkability of transaction parties by hiding their addresses in an anonymous set. However, a common weakness with most existing coin mixing schemes is that the amount of mixed coins must be the same for all requests within a mixing cycle, otherwise it is easy for an attacker to restore the linkability of transaction parties. In this paper, we design a stage-payable puzzle solution mechanism, named CoinFA, which reverses the control of the requesting amounts to the users for flexible mixing amounts. In our design, the payee (with an output address) first requests a puzzle from the mixers and the latter are the only ones who know the solution of the puzzle. If the payee solves the puzzle successfully, he can be rewarded with the corresponding Bitcoins. The payer (allowed to have multiple input addresses) then requests the solution by paying in installments. We achieve better security by weakening the rights of the involved third parties, while the hierarchical structure allows our solution to have better efficiency and robustness. We perform a security analysis on CoinFA based on the standard Rivest-Shamir-Adleman (RSA) assumption and Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm unforgeability. We also analyze the performance of CoinFA by comparing it with two related schemes, and the results show that our CoinFA scheme has a greater advantage when the mixing amount is relatively small.

A Review on Blockchain Technology

Blockchain technology has emerged as a disruptive force with the potential to revolutionize various industries by offering decentralized, secure, and transparent solutions for data management and transactions. Initially conceptualized as the underlying technology for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, blockchain has evolved into a versatile tool applicable across diverse domains such as finance, supply chain management, healthcare, and government services. This paper provides an overview of blockchain technology, its fundamental principles, and key components. It explores the decentralized consensus mechanisms, cryptographic techniques, and data structures that underpin blockchain networks, ensuring immutability, transparency, and integrity of recorded transactions. Furthermore, the paper examines the challenges and opportunities associated with blockchain adoption, including scalability, interoperability, regulatory concerns, and environmental impact. Through a comprehensive review of existing literature and case studies, this research elucidates the potential benefits of blockchain technology, such as increased efficiency, reduced costs, enhanced security, and improved trust among participants. Additionally, it highlights ongoing developments, innovations, and future directions in blockchain research and implementation, emphasizing the need for interdisciplinary collaboration and regulatory frameworks to realize the full potential of this transformative technology. Keywords : IOT, blockchain, cryptocurrency, smart contracts, consensus algorithms, internet of things.

Mining in Russia. Cryptocurrencies as investment

In modern conditions, when parity international financial and monetary relations are turning from traditional instruments of economic interaction into instruments of neocolonial political pressure and blackmail of economically strong countries against weaker ones, the need for a new global financial order and monetary standard, that would be independent of the will of any central bank, but with a value as reliable as that of modern fiat currencies, is increasingly realized. Today, the global economy feels the urgent need for fundamentally new opportunities for market interaction and monetary exchange. Cryptocurrencies have become such tools — electronic decentralized money issued by specific individuals in specialized open computer networks through the transformation of electricity into fixed computer codes. The process of such transformation is called mining, which uses ASIC miners as computer equipment to obtain cryptocurrency. The concept of cryptocurrencies and the specifics of investing in them are considered. The characteristic is presented of the current state and dynamics of the development of the crypto market. The possibilities and methods of forecasting the development of the cryptocurrency market are shown both using classical methods of economic forecasting and a fundamentally new methodology based on the current assessment of the psychological state of participants in the crypto market and their readiness to commit certain economic actions. An assessment is given of the possibilities of investing in mining as a technology for mining cryptocurrencies. Requirements to special mining equipment — ASIC miners — are described. An assessment is given of the prospects for the development of the crypto economy.

Optimizing the Role of BNPT in Preventing Terrorism Financing Using Cryptocurrency in Indonesia

<p><em>The development of cryptocurrency technology is the latest innovation in the financial sector. The purpose of this study is to determine the efforts made by BNPT and to assess the ideal regulations in addressing this issue in the future. Through the use of blockchain technology, users can transact anonymously. This research is considered as a normative juridical research equipped with interviews using a statutory approach. Sources of data obtained from secondary data which includes primary, secondary, and tertiary legal materials. The novelty of the study shows that the BNPT establish the CTF Task Force which aims to combat terrorism financing through cryptocurrency</em><em> </em><em>and based on several previous studies and after looking at the above-mentioned examples of the phenomenon of terrorism financing, it is undeniable that many terrorists are trying to utilise cryptocurrencies to fund criminal acts. This has resulted in the issue of a legal or regulatory vacuum regarding the use of cryptocurrencies, in this case, the Commodity Futures Trading Supervisory Agency Regulation No. 6/2019 on Implementation of Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing Prevention In its future endeavors, there is a need for specific regulations to ensure that the implementation process of the CTF Task Force with other agencies can be carried out more optimally.</em></p>

Формування когнітивної складової професійного мислення студентів в умовах цифрової трансформації вищої освіти

The article considers the ways of forming the cognitive component of students' professional thinking in the context of digital transformation of higher education. European trends that affect the quality of educational services are highlighted; attention is focused on the problems of globalisation, the use of artificial intelligence and robotics, the use of cloud technologies, which together affect the nature of human life and the peculiarities of the development of educational institutions. Among the newest ways to solve these problems, the article highlights the following: creation of a digital educational environment for professional training of specialists competitive in the employment market. It is proved that digital transformation is of great importance in the globalised world, and the modernisation of education is aimed at solving the latest global problems. The article identifies the following modern trends in information development that influence the process of digitalisation of education: development of artificial intelligence, "machine learning", neural networks; further development of mobile-oriented tools; widespread introduction of blockchain and cryptocurrency technologies; the development of cloud computing and virtualisation technologies, cloud computing technologies; the development of augmented reality and virtual reality; widespread introduction of chatbots and virtual assistants, etc. The article considers the trends of digitalisation of the educational environment in higher education institutions in Germany and Austria, including digital ecosystems, which in the form of open learning systems offer the latest design structure for using the possibilities of modern digitalisation in the network economy. It is proved that SMART-education provides new opportunities related to the use of e-learning technologies; ensures mobility and accessibility of educational information; allows the format of autonomy of the teacher and students using mobile devices in the educational process; makes it possible to provide flexible educational services in terms of individual capabilities of the master's student; provides support for individual programmes for the personal development of each student.

Unveiling Blockchain's Power: Revolutionizing Networking with Trust, Security, and Transparent Data Traceability

Blockchain technology has emerged as a groundbreaking innovation with transformative potential across various industries. Initially recognized as the underlying technology for cryptocurrencies, its applications have expanded exponentially, particularly in the realm of networking. This paper explores the profound impact of blockchain on networking, emphasizing its pivotal role in fostering trust, enhancing security, and enabling transparent data traceability. By analyzing the core principles of blockchain and its integration into networking paradigms, this study elucidates how this technology revolutionizes traditional networking models, offering a decentralized, immutable, and efficient framework for data management and communication.

AN INVESTIGATION OF THE KEY DETERMINANTS OF INTENTION TO USE PAYMENT WITH CRYPTOCURRENCY: THE CASE OF RESTAURANT BUSINESSES

With the developments in technology, it has started to be used as an additional payment method in businesses due to the emergence and increasing popularity of cryptocurrencies. This study was aimed to measure the factors that affect the customers' intention to use cryptocurrency technology as a payment method in restaurants, by examining the four dimensions of mindfulness and the positive valences and the negative valences of the valence theory. In this context, an online survey was applied to 405 cryptocurrency users to collect data. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to verify the measurement model, and the structural equation model (SEM) was used to test the model. The findings of the study reveal that the participants think that the convenience of using this method has no effect on the intention to use it, that using this method is beneficial, not risky, and that they will not have any privacy concerns if they use this method. This study offers valuable practical implications for restaurant operators in the context of cryptocurrency payment systems. This study successfully extended valence theory by adding awareness to valence theory.

Cryptocurrencies as the Future of Money: Theoretical Aspects, Blockchain Technology and Origins of Cryptocurrencies

During times of technological development, many aspects of everyday activities have been digitalized while traditional forms of payments have stepped back in the name of more innovative methods such as cryptocurrencies. This article focuses on analysing the emergence, functionality, and future role of cryptocurrencies, particularly Bitcoin. By interpreting the theoretical aspects of money, the emergence of cryptocurrencies, and blockchain technology, the authors tried to determine whether cryptocurrencies have the potential to become the money of the future. In the article, the analysis of cryptocurrencies’ functioning in the modern world focuses on the role of technological development and innovations in their use and popularity. SWOT and speculative analyses of cryptocurrencies, which have been touted as the money of the future, were also carried out. The results obtained from the research show that cryptocurrencies have many advantages over traditional payment methods. Elimination of intermediaries, low transaction costs, safe storage of data, limited increase in monetary supply, globalization, and privacy are stated as the most important of these opportunities. In addition, energy use, inaccessibility without the internet, high volatility, and cyber-attacks were seen as the most important threats and weaknesses. When developments in the world follow, it can be seen that there are many blockchain-based opportunities or threats. Despite this, blockchain technology offers great opportunities. As a result, countries and individuals should turn to this technology now to benefit more in the future. At this point, it is very important for all other educational institutions, especially universities, to implement educational programs that will meet the needs of the age.

How Chinese fintech threatens US Dollar hegemony

This article will argue that the development of Chinese financial technology, or ‘fintech’, over the past decade, is primarily motivated to safeguard Chinese monetary sovereignty, which is threatened by the proliferation of non-state cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, that have exacerbated the problem of capital flight, not only for China, but for other non-Western countries that have lost fortunes to outflows seeking access Western financial assets. This raises the question, how is China responding to the emergence of cryptocurrencies as a development that reinforces US financial hegemony? The answer to be explored by this paper is by embracing elements of cryptocurrency technology in the form of digital payment systems and blockchain technology. These Chinese fintech developments pose a serious unprecedented challenge to the financial hegemony of the US insofar as it compels other countries to copy the Chinese response because they desire the tools to limit illegal outflows of capital that have historically propped up the US Dollar.

The Emergence of Islamic Fintech and Its Applications

Islamic Fintech is a disruptive force in the financial sector, promising increased financial inclusion, economic development, and a plethora of efficient, transparent, Shariah-compliant financial solutions due to its integration of technology with Islam's profound ethical principles. This paper examines "Islamic Fintech," a swiftly expanding component of the global financial ecosystem that combines financial technology with Shariah principles derived from the Holy Qur'an and the Sunnah. This burgeoning industry seeks to align finance with Islamic ethical and moral codes, with an emphasis on the prohibition of usury, speculation, and investments in immoral goods. This paper also examines the origins, applications, and regulatory governance of Islamic Fintech. It highlights the breadth of its innovative applications, such as Shariah-compliant digital banking, crowdfunding, and P2P lending platforms, as well as the incorporation of cutting-edge technology such as AI and machine learning for risk assessment and investment strategies, blockchain technology for Islamic cryptocurrencies, and Insurtech for the streamlined distribution of Islamic insurance products. In addition, the paper elaborates on the necessity of regulatory frameworks and standardisation for the growth and sustainability of Islamic Fintech, highlighting the interoperability challenges.

Comparative Analysis of Energy Consumption of Cryptocurrencies with Experimental Study Approach in the Scope of Green Computing

Many technologies enter our lives with the great advancement in information technology. These technological developments affect and change our life directly. According to affection of our life, cryptocurrency is the most popular technology. This technology, which is a relatively mixture of currency and cryptology, is used all over the world with increasing acceleration. So, cryptocurrency technology is still used to make payments without banks and is considered as virtual currency. Besides of this opportunity, cryptocurrency has few challenges. Most dangerous and critical challenge for environment is energy consumption in mining of cryptocurrency. Blockchain is the technology which is used in mining process and it consumes more and more energy. According to this critical challenge, Ethereum which is one of the popular cryptocurrencies, was used in an experimental study to analyze energy consumption. Experiment examined the data from Mar 30, 2017 to Dec 30, 2019. These data were compared with another popular cryptocurrency which is bitcoin in order to find the better one for environment. In this study, the data from 196 GPUs were examined and electricity consumption and gain were analyzed. Totally, 3 different types of GPU brands were used, and the brand of the units, the power consumed, and the electricity unit price in the country where it was tested were analyzed respectively.

Understanding the Risks and Individual Difference Factors Associated with Engagement in Monetised (Play-to-Earn) Gaming

AbstractPlay-to-earn (P2E) is a new form of monetised gaming based on blockchain and crypto-currency technology. Such games offer opportunities to combine gaming with speculative investment through the purchase of tradable in-game currencies and assets (non-fungible tokens). In this paper, we investigate the profile of people most likely to be attracted to this emerging form of gaming. A sample of 560 participants aged between 18-65 (M = 28.3, SD = 8.3) were recruited via Prolific to complete an online survey that included measures of gaming (Petry’s Internet Gaming Disorder Scale) and gaming risk (Problem Gambling Severity Index), measures of gaming motivation and impulsivity. Other existing engagement in gaming monetization as well as digital asset ownership was also assessed. P2E interest was associated with higher gambling risk scores, but not with internet gaming disorder. P2E gamers also scored higher on extrinsic motivation and monetised gaming was generally associated with higher impulsivity. The results suggest that P2E may be attractive to those with a pre-existing interest in financially risky activities. Policy implications include the increasing need to monitor the growth of digital asset technology and the increasing convergence of gambling, financial speculation and gaming and the potential for increasing financial harm in gaming populations.

USAGE OF BLOCKCHAIN IN INDIAN LAND REGISTRATION AND LAND RECORDING SYSTEM - A REVOLUTIONARY STEP

In present-day land recording and land registration systems of India can be professed as mistrustful, inefficient and outdated despite that India has completed 94.53% digitization of its land records. Due to loose coupling among different land related government departments and centralized data storage system, various types of forgery and lots of legal disputes are still there in the present system. For this reason real landowners are still suffering from numerous land related litigations and which creates confusion about the existing system's reliability and effectiveness. This causes judicial huge waste of time. The government needs to protect dwellers rights of records rendering a smart transparent web-application enabled e-Governance, supported by a competent substratum technology. Adoption of the Blockchain, the underlying technology of cryptocurrency, could be a most exclusive and assured way out to solve these issues related to land recording and land registration systems. Established systems could achieve a peer-to-peer, collaborative, trustworthy, secure, transparent, reliable, scalable and real-time based system. Blockchain technology assures users of inviolability and has no way to anticipate breach of contracts. The objective of the present study is to focus on how significant impacts we can observe through the implementation of a Blockchain based land registration and land recording system.

A Systematic Review of Consensus Mechanisms in Blockchain

Since the birth of Bitcoin, blockchain has shifted from a critical cryptocurrency technology to an enabling technology. Due to its immutability and trustworthiness, blockchain has revolutionized many fields requiring credibility and high-quality data for decision making. Particularly in business intelligence and business process management, users can use blockchain to build their blockchain-enabled collaboration and data-sharing ecosystem with their partners. In this paper, we present the development process of blockchain and consensus mechanisms, where important blockchain consensus mechanisms are introduced. The consensus mechanism is the kernel among various blockchain components to ensure security and performance. Again, we present a comparison of these consensus mechanisms from different perspectives. We take the blockchain-enabling business as an example and analyze the relationship between blockchain and business process characteristics and the ideas and principles for selecting consensus mechanisms. Finally, we describe the differences and connections among many consensus mechanisms while laying a foundation for selecting appropriate consensus mechanisms for different scenarios and fields of application.

Cryptocurrencies investment framework using sentiment analysis of Twitter influencers

<span>In recent years, cryptocurrency technology has become an attractive area for investment due to its transparency, independence, and non-transactional nature. Many analysts and researchers talk daily on social media about the future of various cryptocurrencies. These ideas can significantly impact whether or not people are willing to invest. This paper provides a framework to help traders learn about the opinions of influential people and organizations in the field. Over the course of six months, the sentiment of more than 90 significant Twitter users was extracted for the proposed framework. In this study, we used the Vader open-source tool for sentiment analysis. This paper provides an excellent opportunity for investment through sentiment analysis<em> </em>of lesser-known or emerging cryptocurrencies. Also in this paper, we introduce the user importance factor to calculate the value of each tweet based on the number of retweets and comments. This factor shows the importance of their opinions instead of considering the number of followers of the authors. This factor causes a lower coefficient to be assigned to an author's opinion if it decreases in importance over time. The results show that in the short and long term, users' opinions are very effective in the market for cryptocurrencies and in predicting its price </span> trend.

An Improved NSGA-III Algorithm Based on Deep Q-Networks for Cloud Storage Optimization of Blockchain

As the underlying technology of cryptocurrencies, blockchain has gained a lot of attention in recent years. However, the storage problem needs to be solved with the increasing number of blocks in the blockchain network. Cloud storage optimization is an effective way to solve the storage issue, which selects and stores parts of blocks to the cloud. Precisely, block selection can be described as a multiobjective optimization problem (MOP) and solved by evolutionary algorithms (EAs). To obtain well results of block selection, an improved NSGA-III algorithm based on deep Q-networks (DQN), termed NSGA-DQN, is proposed in this paper, which aims to maintain well convergence and diversity of the population. This way, a set of suitable solutions is obtained to determine the number of blocks stored to the cloud, and the storage problem can be solved effectively. To be specific, DQN creates a decision-making agent to maximize the expected reward by learning a policy that evaluates Q values of each action in each state. In the proposed selection mechanism, the reward values are set according to the convergence and diversity of the population, and the actions correspond to the individuals. This way, our method can determine a set of individuals that maximizes the convergence and diversity of the population. In addition, an adaptive maximum reward enhancement module (AMREM) is developed to further enhance the maximum expected reward by updating the new better reward and modifying the replay memory. We conduct the experimental study on block selection, and the results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm is superior to five state-of-the-art algorithms.

The Application of Blockchain and Cryptocurrency in Meta-universe and NFT

Contemporarily, the metaverse seamlessly merges the physical and digital worlds, enabling avatars to engage in a wide range of activities like trading, social networking, entertainment, and production. The Non-Fungible Token (NFT) market has surged in recent years. Nowadays, NFT's use is restricted to digital fantasy gaming, collectibles, and art, however, because of its unique features, protocols, and platforms, it might be applied to real-world problems. Blockchain and cryptocurrency technology is a core pillar technology for both the metaverse and NFT. Blockchain technology has many real-world applications. For example, ModelChain can apply blockchain technology to machine learning to solve the privacy-preserving healthcare predictive modeling task. In addition, the trading behavior of the trading subject of B2B and B2C electronic trading platform based on blockchain will be completely proven and unrepudiated. This study will give an in-depth look at the application of blockchain and cryptocurrency to the metaverse and NFTS, and highlight some key initiatives to demonstrate the use of blockchain in NFT applications and services. The limits of blockchain and cryptocurrency technologies will also be covered in the article. These results will inspire additional studies on NFT and Metaverse adoption in various contexts as well as shed light on the connection between blockchain, meta-universe and NFT.