Agricultural insurance is one of the formal and reliable risk management instruments to cope with agrarian risks. Presently, agricultural insurance products rely heavily on centralized systems that lack transparency and traceability, leading to suboptimal risk assessment and delays in payouts. To address these concerns the fintech industry has started to embrace a popular decentralized technology called blockchain. However, blockchain operates as a deterministic and synchronized state system, which means it cannot directly access real-world data for decentralized applications. A mechanism called oracle is required for the trusted access of agricultural risk factor data to smart contracts from external sources such as Internet of Things (IoT) devices, web services and databases. Hence, the present study proposes a blockchain-based AgriInsureDON framework with a privacy-preserving decentralized oracle for risk factor data access from trusted IoT devices for agricultural insurance. Initially, a method for computing the direct reputation score of IoT devices based on behavioral and data reputation is illustrated. Next, a privacy preserved decentralized oracle mechanism is designed and implemented using a masked secret sharing and secure aggregation scheme. Later, we demonstrate the working of weather-indexed insurance contracts based on decentralized oracle. Finally, a performance analysis of smart contract transactions w.r.t average latency, throughput, average CPU utilization and total memory usage is conducted on Ganache and Sepolia test networks. The evaluation results of privacy-protected decentralized oracle and an indexed insurance contract within AgriInsureDON framework confirms that transactions are efficient and scalable to meet the requirements of expedited claim settlement.

IntroductionThis paper presents the design and development of a digital music copyright management system, built on the VNT Chain blockchain platform. The system aims to enhance copyright proof and evidence storage, verify the originality of music copyrights, and facilitate secure copyright transactions.MethodsThe system leverages blockchain technology for data integrity and immutability, utilizes the Shazam algorithm to verify music originality, and employs smart contracts to secure transactions. It is composed of six functional modules: user management, copyright registration, copyright trading, infringement monitoring, evidence storage, and music ecology. The system uses blockchain, the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS), and MySQL to manage various business data requirements.ResultsExperimental results show that the registration time for each music piece increased by approximately 1.9 s. Additionally, the average feature fingerprint data for each music piece stored on IPFS consumed about 8 MB, which aligns with the expected system performance criteria.DiscussionThe system meets performance expectations, offering secure and efficient copyright registration and evidence storage. The use of blockchain and IPFS provides a scalable, reliable solution for managing digital music copyrights.

To solve some of the challenges of traditional science, such as restricted access to funding, centralized governance, and siloed knowledge dissemination, decentralized science (DeSci) has emerged as a transformative approach facilitated by blockchain technology, Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs), and Web3. However, the emerging field of DeSci, faces several challenges, such as the absence of an organizational framework to describe its inherent complexities. This study introduces the Decentralized Science Pyramid Framework (DSPF), an innovative adaptation of Mintzberg’s organizational structure, adapted to the unique demands and properties of DeSci. The DSPF delineates a structured model for DeSci projects that integrates technology, governance, community engagement, and application within a decentralized context. Through the introduction of the DSPF, this research highlights the operational dynamics of DeSci, focusing on the practical application of Mintzberg’s theories to address real-world scientific challenges. The case study of VitaDAO, a decentralized autonomous organization exemplifying the core principles of DeSci, demonstrates the practical applicability of the DSPF. This study not only advances the academic discourse on DeSci but also offers practical insights for practitioners, innovators, and policymakers, marking a substantial step toward realizing the full potential of decentralized science.

Upgradeable smart contracts allow decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) to address bugs, enhance security, and expand functionality post-deployment. The proxy pattern enables smart contract upgradeability but introduces admin-centric governance, where power is concentrated in a single or small number of addresses. This paper explores the potential of decentralized smart contract governance to overcome admin centric governance while achieving flexibility in governing smart contracts. We investigate the Diamond Pattern as a flexible upgradeable contract framework that allows for modular smart contracts. Using the SecureSECO DAO as a case study, we examine how the diamond pattern can be configured for decentralized governance. The used architecture allows DAOs to upgrade smart contracts collectively through community consensus, and the implementation provides proposals, votes, and execution without requiring technical knowledge. The study highlights the benefits of this approach, namely, flexibility in smart contract governance, enhanced modularity, and a single point of interaction for governance. We also discuss limitations and challenges for upgradeable smart contracts such as the decision-making delays and potential vulnerabilities. To encourage adoption of consensus governance, we call for the creation of user-friendly tooling and smart contract facets.

IntroductionPhishing attacks pose a significant threat to online security by deceiving users into divulging sensitive information through fraudulent websites. Traditional anti-phishing approaches are centralized and reactive, exhibiting critical limitations such as delayed detection, poor adaptability to evolving threats, susceptibility to data tampering, and lack of transparency.MethodsThis paper presents MLPhishChain, a decentralized application (DApp) that integrates blockchain technology with machine learning (ML) to provide a proactive and transparent solution for URL verification. Users can submit URLs for automated phishing analysis via an ML model, with each URL’s status securely recorded on an immutable blockchain ledger. To address the dynamic nature of phishing threats, MLPhishChain features a re-evaluation mechanism, enabling users to request updated assessments as URLs and website content evolve. Additionally, the system incorporates data from external security services (e.g., VirusTotal) to offer a multi-source validation of phishing risk, enhancing user confidence and decision-making.ResultsThe system was built using Ganache and Truffle, and performance metrics were computed to evaluate its efficacy in terms of latency, scalability, and resource consumption. Results indicate that the proposed system achieves rapid URL verification with low latency, scales effectively to handle increasing user submissions, and optimizes resource usage.DiscussionBy leveraging the strengths of decentralized blockchain technology and intelligent ML algorithms, MLPhishChain addresses the shortcomings of traditional anti-phishing methods. It delivers a reliable and adaptable solution capable of addressing the evolving nature of phishing threats. This approach establishes a new standard in phishing detection, characterized by enhanced transparency, resilience, and adaptability.

One of the most interesting applications of blockchain is given by the automated market makers (AMMs). In the paper, we discuss how arbitrage activity between the AMMs and the other exchange nodes can affect the volumes of assets in liquidity pools of constant function AMMs. In particular, we argue that arbitrage superimposes to the constant function in determining the liquidity volumes within the same AMM and across different AMMs. Yet, despite representing an additional condition in the model, equilibrium arbitrage is typically not unique because it may depend on several elements, such as the amount of liquidity in the system and the number of exchange nodes. Hence, the paper discusses how the constant function and arbitrage jointly determine the relationship across the assets’ liquidity volume in the pool but not a unique value for such volumes unless further constraints are introduced. Therefore, a platform interested in predicting the pool’s liquidity volumes may face indeterminacy as to which equilibrium would prevail. Though arbitrage has been discussed in related literature, equilibrium indeterminacy does not seem to have been pointed out.

Liquidity is critical for a healthy and thriving blockchain ecosystem, enabling value exchange between participants. However, achieving unified liquidity across heterogeneous blockchain platforms remains challenging due to disparities in architecture, virtual machines, and asset management logic. These disparities force assets to be wrapped into other formats to ensure compatibility with underlying systems, thus fragmenting liquidity into multiple pools. This paper proposes LiquiSpell, a novel protocol that aims to unify liquidity across multiple parachains within the Polkadot ecosystem. By leveraging the cross-chain message passing (XCMP), LiquiSpell introduces the concept of a universal transaction that can be constructed to be compatible with any parachain, regardless of its underlying architecture or asset management pallet. This approach overcomes the obstacles posed by the diverse nature of parachains, enabling seamless asset sharing and enhancing cross-chain interoperability. The proposed solution mitigates liquidity fragmentation within the Polkadot ecosystem. It presents a framework that can be extended to other multichain environments outside Polkadot. Ultimately, LiquiSpell aims to foster a thriving ecosystem by facilitating the introduction of new assets and increasing overall liquidity, thereby driving innovation and adoption within the decentralized finance (DeFi) landscape.

This study aims to investigate the interoperability of the Bitcoin blockchain by comparing the US dollar prices of five cryptocurrencies derived from the Bitcoin price with their corresponding market prices. The deviation rate between the derived price and the market price, referred to as the arbitrage return rate, is examined with respect to its adherence to the efficient market hypothesis and martingale theory principles, specifically regarding mean-reversion and serial independence. Hurst exponents are estimated using R/S and DFA methods, and their dynamics are analyzed using a sliding window technique. Our findings demonstrate that the Bitcoin blockchain effectively facilitates transactions among the five cryptocurrencies, though evidence suggests a potential structural change in Bitcoin blockchain interoperability following April 2023.

Self-sovereign identity (SSI) embodies the fundamental human right to own and control a digital identity that grants access to public, social, and financial services. The absence of a dedicated digital identity layer in the development of the Internet has rendered SSI a significant challenge in contemporary society. Blockchain technology emerges as a promising solution by enabling the creation of decentralized and automatically verifiable identities. This study contextualizes SSI and analyzes how blockchain technology facilitates the autonomous management of digital identities. It explores nine prominent frameworks in this field—Sovrin, uPort, Jolocom, ShoCard, Litentry, Civic, KILT, Idena, and ION—highlighting their features, functionalities, and compliance with digital identity principles. The research concludes by identifying the challenges and opportunities in implementing these systems for digital identity management, thus contributing to the advancement of this emerging field.