Review on Blockchain Technology

Blockchain is a technology that has the potential to cause big changes in our corporate environment and will have a significant influence over the next few decades. It has the potential to alter our perception of business operations and revolutionise our economy. Blockchain is a decentralised and distributed ledger system that, since it cannot be tampered with or faked, attempts to assure transparency, data security, and integrity. Only a few studies have looked at the usage of Blockchain Technology in other contexts or sectors, with the majority of current Blockchain Technology research focusing on its use for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. Blockchain technology is more than simply bitcoin; it may be used in government, finance and banking, accounting, and business process managementAs a result, the goal of this study is to examine and investigate the advantages and drawbacks of Blockchain Technology for current and future applications. As a consequence, a large number of published studies were thoroughly assessed and analysed based on their contributions to the Blockchain body of knowledge. Keywords: Blockchain Technology, Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency, Digital currency

Stablecoins and Central Bank Digital Currencies: Policy and Regulatory Challenges

Stablecoins and central bank digital currencies are on the horizon in Asia, and in some cases have already arrived. This paper provides new analysis and a critique of the use case for both forms of digital currency. It provides time-varying estimates of devaluation risk for the leading stablecoin, Tether, using data from the futures market. It describes the formidable obstacles to widespread use of central bank digital currencies in cross-border transactions, the context in which their utility is arguably greatest. The bottom line is that significant uncertainties continue to dog the region's digital currency initiatives.

Central bank digital currency research around the world: a review of literature

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to gain some insight into central bank digital currency research by reviewing the recent advances in central bank digital currency (CBDC) research in a way that would help researchers, policy makers and practitioners to take a closer look at CBDC. Design/methodology/approach The paper uses a systematic literature review methodology. Findings The review shows a general consensus that a CBDC is a liability of the central bank and it has cash-like attributes. The review also presents the motivation and benefits of issuing a CBDC such as the need to increase financial inclusion, the need to improve the conduct of monetary policy and to foster efficient digital payments. The review also shows that many central banks are researching the potential to issue CBDCs due to its many benefits. However, a number of studies have called for caution against over-optimism about the potential benefits of CBDC due to the limiting nature of CBDC design and its inability to meet multiple competing goals. Suggested areas for future research are identified such as the need to find the optimal CBDC design that meets all competing objectives, the need for empirical evidence on the effect of CBDC on the cost of credit and financial stability, and the need to find a balance between limiting the CBDC holdings of users and allowing users to hold as much CBDC as they want, and there is a need to undertake country-specific and regional case studies of CBDC design. Originality/value This review paper offers new areas for further research in central bank digital currencies.

Impediments to Blockchain Adoption

Satoshi Nakamoto (2008) published a seminal paper on a promising digital currency application and proposed a distributed ledger technology (DLT) to support it. Shortly thereafter, in 2009, bitcoin and the customized DLT that supports it were established. Although the DLT described by Nakamoto (2008), which packages data into blocks that are then cryptographically chained together (i.e., "block chain", or "blockchain"), possesses features that are desirable for some business applications and/or their auditors, over a dozen years later there is not yet a widescale adoption of blockchain for business operations. This paper explores functionality, data and process integrity, and regulatory concerns as potential explanations for the lag in mainstream business and accounting adoption. We also contextualize some of the concerns that are likely to have delayed blockchain implementation by providing a framework of questions directed at both researchers and practitioners.

New Australian consumer payments regulation likely

Significance Market sectors under scrutiny include buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) platforms, cryptocurrency exchanges and digital wallets. All have seen a recent leap in popularity, driven in part by COVID-related concerns but mostly by the mainstream interest in alternative payment methods, leaving regulators concerned. Impacts The Treasurer is likely to gain extended powers to plug gaps in regulatory policy and address convergence issues. Liquidity concerns over cryptocurrency trading could be overcome through a central bank digital currency. Concerns over lost tax revenue and consumer protection, as well as the need to contain market risk, are driving reform efforts.

A Multipath Payment Scheme Supporting Proof of Payment

Blockchain technology has always been plagued by performance problems. Given this problem, many scaling schemes have been put forward. A layer 2 network is a technology that solves the performance problem of blockchain. Connected parties in this network can set up channels to send digital currency to each other. Since the interaction with the blockchain is only required when the channel is established and closed, a large number of transactions do not need to be recorded on the blockchain, thus reducing the blockchain capacity. Due to the special structure of the payment channel, the distribution of funds in the channel is often unbalanced, which limits the route payment to a certain extent. This paper improves the original payment method in the second layer network by introducing new scripts. The new payment scheme supports proof of payment which is integral to the nature of the lightning network and divides the payment into several subpayments, so the large payment can be divided into relatively small payments. Due to the capacity limitation of the payment channel, theoretically, the success rate of the micropayment route is higher. This paper tests the new payment scheme on the simulated network and validates the nature of this solution to have a high routing success rate while supporting proof of payment.

Applications of Blockchain Technology in the Finance and Banking Industry Beyond Digital Currencies

Blockchain and cryptocurrency have almost become synonymous. Cryptocurrency is arguably one of the most sensational financial innovations of the 21st century. The current study claims that blockchain technology is not limited to the application of digital currencies in finance and banking; there are wide applications of blockchain technology in the given field. Blockchain uses the unique properties enabling decentralized, secured, transparent, and temper-proof financial transactions that have the potential to revolutionize the financial services industry. Given such a stance, the chapter outlines the application of blockchain technology in the finance arena beyond the digital currency. In this chapter, the authors provide the 10 applications of blockchain technology in the financial services industry implementing the blockchain technology and revolutionizing the finance and banking industry. The chapter also highlights the hurdles to application of blockchain technology in the finance and banking industry.

Use of Smart Contracts and Distributed Ledger for Automation

Blockchain as a service has evolved significantly from where it started as an underlying technology for Bitcoin cryptocurrency when introduced in 2008. Realization of the immense opportunities this technology possesses encouraged the development of several other Blockchain solutions such as Ethereum, which focused more on the unique competencies much beyond just the digital currency. In this chapter, the authors provided insights into the unmatchable capabilities of Blockchain to evade cyber-attacks that can facilitate a much-needed push for the scalable operation of autonomous vehicles by providing a safer and trustable ecosystem through smart contracts. The chapter also discusses the integration of Ethereum Blockchain with Confidential Consortium Framework (CFF) to overcome the shortcomings of Blockchain in terms of speed and volume. Towards the end, they talked about some of the modern technologies such as IoT and AI that can be benefitted by Blockchain.