Blockchain Technology Research and Application: A Literature Review and Future Trends

Abstract

Blockchain, as the basis for cryptocurrencies, has recently garnered significant attention. It is a type of immutable distributed ledger technology with key features including decentralization, anti-tampering, transparency, anonymity, and contract-autonomy. These attributes enable transactions to be conducted credibly within a decentralized environment. Such features are instrumental in enhancing services and driving the advancement of blockchain-based applications. The proliferation of blockchain-based applications across various sectors such as financial services, reputation systems, Internet of Things (IoT), among others is evident. However, there remain numerous challenges associated with blockchain technology such as scalability and security that require resolution. This article presents a comprehensive overview of blockchain technology and its applications. It begins by outlining the evolution of blockchain before providing an architectural overview and systematically reviewing the research and application of blockchain technology in diverse fields (including federated learning, reinforcement learning, cloud edge computing, intelligent transportation, power systems, and IoT) from both academic research and industry perspectives. Additionally highlighted are technical challenges alongside recent developments. Finally concluded are some challenges and future directions pertaining to the application of blockchain technology as well as broader perspectives for further study.

Received: 24 July 2023 | Revised: 15 September 2023 | Accepted: 10 October 2023

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest to this work.

Data Availability Statement

Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no new data were created or analyzed in this study.

Author Contribution Statement

Min An: Conceptualization, Methodology, Software, Formal analysis, Writing - original fraft, Writing - review & editing, Visualization, Supervision, Project administration, Funding acquisition. Qiyuan Fan: Methodology, Resources, Supervision. Hao Yu: Methodology. Bo An: Conceptualization, Software, Data curation. Nannan Wu: Conceptualization, Data curation, Visualization, Project administration. Haiyang Zhao: Methodology, Validation, Resources. Xinhao Wan: Validation, Investigation. Jiaxuan Li: Validation, Investigation. Rui Wang: Validation, Investigation. Jingyu Zhen: Software, Formal analysis. Qinyan Zou: Software, Formal analysis. Bin Zhao: Software, Formal analysis.