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Framework for Determining the Suitability of Blockchain: Criteria and Issues

to Consider

Article in Transactions on Emerging Telecommunications Technologies · October 2021

DOI: 10.1002/ett.4334

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ARTICLE TYPE

Framework for Determining the Suitability of Blockchain:

Criteria and Issues to Consider

Vikas hassija1 | Sherali Zeadally2 | Ishan Jain1 | Aman Tahiliani1 | Vinay Chamola*3 | Shashank
Gupta4

1 Department of CSE and IT, Jaypee Institute

of Information Technology, UP, India Summary
2 College of Communication and

Information, University of Kentucky,

Various Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLTs), such as Blockchain, have evolved
Lexington, USA significantly in recent years. These technologies provide a robust and effective
3 Department of Electrical and Electronics
solution for providing confidentiality, integrity, non-repudiation, authentication and
Engineering, BITS-Pilani, Pilani Campus,
India transparency. While Blockchain has many advantages, it has various limitations
4 Department of Computer Science and as well, such as complexity, low throughput, privacy, and so on. We discuss the
Information Systems, BITS-Pilani, Pilani
issues that must be considered when deciding whether to use these technologies in a
Campus, India
given case or not. We describe the operation of Blockchain, application areas where
Correspondence
Blockchain is suitable, and those where it is not. We also discuss the applicability of
*Vinay Chamola Email:
[email protected] other emerging DLTs, apart from blockchain technology, such as Hashgraph, Zcash,
Nano coin, and IOTA.

KEYWORDS:
Blockchain, consensus algorithms, distributed ledger technologies, security, permission-less blockchain,
permissioned blockchain, blockchain alternatives

1 INTRODUCTION

As the name suggests, a Blockchain can be considered as a database where digital information (i.e. "Blocks") is stored in a
distributed network as a chain of blocks. Blockchain falls in the class of Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLT) that allow a
database to be used and maintained in a distributed manner. Blockchain provides a shared ledger of transactions 1 that can be
read, verified and stored in the form of blocks, forming a chain-like structure. Depending on the size of the transaction, a block
may store up to a few thousand transactions (e.g., a single block in the Bitcoin Blockchain can store about 1MB of data). The
security and anonymity provided by Blockchain relies on the use of public key based digital signatures, hash functions, and
the distributed nature of the database. Participants in a Blockchain are connected through a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) network and are
independent of each other 2 . This architecture allows the sharing of resources 3 , avoids single point of failure, and reduces the
likelihood of data tampering because the data is not stored or managed by specific nodes 4,5,6 .
However, there are many challenges 7 that need to be resolved in the case of distributed networks. These challenges include
accountability, confidentiality, integrity, non-repudiation and authentication, due to the absence of any central authority. Another
major issue is trust because there is no central authority that can resolve any ambiguities or disagreements that may occur.
Blockchain resolves all these issues. Confidentiality and authentication are ensured using two-way encryption, i.e., by encrypting
the data first by the sender’s private key and then by the receiver’s public key. To decrypt it, first the receiver’s private key is
used and then the sender’s public key. Consequently, data remains confidential, integrity is achieved and because the data can
be obtained using sender’s public key, it acts as a digital signature that authenticates the data and eliminates the possibility of
2

non-repudiation. Trust is obtained by introducing a consensus algorithms that ensures that only valid data or transactions are
recorded in the Blockchain. Blockchain also prevents double spending 8,9 .
As a result of these attractive features in terms of security, scalability 10 , blockchain technology has been used in various fields
such as Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) 11 smart health systems 12,13 , smart voting 14 , cybersecurity industries 15 , financial
services 16 and others 17,18 . However, due to the hype surrounding Blockchain technology, it is often suggested as a solution for
almost any application these days 19 . However, there are many cases where the option of decentralization and the core technology
of Blockchain result in unreasonable operating cost and poor performance 20 .
These factors make it crucial to assess whether Blockchain technology is helpful in an emerging area or not. We propose a set
of guidelines to answer the very fundamental questions such as: is Blockchain suitable for all the emerging areas? How can one
assess if Blockchain is a suitable technology to use or not? What kinds of "tests" can we use to determine if Blockchain will be
good to use for a specific application domain? By using the proposed guidelines, one should be able to determine if Blockchain
is worth considering in the newly emerging area, the type of Blockchain to use, and various alternatives to the Blockchain.

1.1 Research contributions of this work

This paper addresses the problem of objectively assessing the applicability of Blockchain to any specific application. While
existing works have presented various fields and sectors where Blockchain may or may not be suitable, there are no proper
guidelines to evaluate the effectiveness of Blockchain and to determine the most appropriate blockchain technology for a given
application. Due to the lack of work done in this direction, a need to discuss the alternatives to traditional Blockchain arises. To
address these issues, we present:
1. An overview of the fundamentals of Blockchain along with its advantages and disadvantages.

2. A framework to evaluate the applicability of Blockchain for a given application domain.

3. Alternatives to traditional Blockchain and when to use them.

4. Demonstration of our proposed framework using three case studies.

The remainder of this paper is organized as follows. Section II presents an overview of related surveys which also discuss
when and where to use blockchain. Section III provides an overview of blockchain technology. Section IV presents various
application domains where blockchain is being used. Section V presents our proposed framework to determine if blockchain is
a suitable technology to use or not for a particular application. Section VI presents the alternatives to blockchain technology.
Section VII presents some use-case applications that demonstrates the use of our proposed framework. Section VIII presents
challenges and research directions. Finally, section IX presents our concluding remarks.

2 LITERATURE SURVEY

Applications of blockchain have been widely explored in literature. E-commerce, logistic network 21,22,23 , private data handling
24,25,26
, smart communities 27,28,29,30,31,32 , edge computing 33,34,35,36 , machine learning 37,38,39 and deep learning 40,41,42,43,44
are some of the application domains and the related works in these areas. While cryptocurrencies are the most common and
popular application of blockchain, they have also been explored for use in various industrial sectors. The increased visibility
of blockchain technology has led to its uses in almost every application domain. However, the suitability of blockchain for an
application depends on its specific requirements. There must be some framework to help decide on the suitability of blockchain
for its deployment in a specific application domain.
In 45,46 the authors discussed a scenario where a blockchain can be used to assist a business. The authors of 47 did a brief
comparison between various proposed decision models for evaluating blockchain’s suitability. In 48,49,50 , the authors gave some
criteria to decide whether blockchain is a good option or not. The article 48 focused mainly on the use cases related to the insurance
sector. The advantages and disadvantages of using blockchain in different insurance related use cases are discussed. However,
the use of blockchain alternatives in some other use cases where decentralization is required, but other features of blockchain are
not needed, is not discussed. The authors of 51 present some problems that can be solved with similar efficiency as blockchain
at a low cost. The authors focused on helping architects, developers, investors, and project leaders evaluate the suitability of
blockchain for a particular application. The solutions or the alternatives for the issues raised are not discussed in detail. Similarly,
 3

the authors of 52 presented a detailed review of blockchain technology and they also discussed some of the criteria one could
use to choose the type of blockchain for a particular application. However, they did not discuss the applications that need a DLT
but cannot use a blockchain. For example, there is no facility in blockchain to maintain timestamp ordering. Thus, applications
that can benefit significantly from distributed ledgers cannot use blockchain if they need to maintain the timestamp ordering of
the transactions. But there are few other non-blockchain DLTs such as Hashgraph that can be used in such cases. In this paper,
we discussed in detail, the blockchain alternatives that can help in addressing the disadvantages of blockchain while using its
inherent features.
This paper addresses the limitations of existing literature by proposing a framework with a comprehensive set of guidelines
to not only decide if blockchain is a suitable solution for an application area but also to determine the most appropriate type of
blockchain and suggest alternatives of blockchain that may provide better results, according to the application’s requirements.

3 BLOCKCHAIN FUNDAMENTALS

Application layer IoT Smart grids Machine learning Supply chain

......
BCI Smart city Agriculture Finance

Contract layer
Script code Algorithm Smart contract

Incentive layer
Blockchain layers

Issunace mechanism Allocation mechanism

Consensus layer PoW PoS PBFT DPoS

Ripple Tendermint PoET ....

Network layer Communication Verification

P2P network
mechanism mechanism

Data layer Data block Chain structure Time stamp

Hash function Merkle tree Asymmetric encyrtion

FIGURE 1 Blockchain as a multi layer framework

Figure 1 (adapted from the one proposed in 53 ) shows the operation of a blockchain network can be visualized as a multi-layer
framework. We discuss this multi-layered architecture below.

1. Data layer: The lowest layer in a blockchain architecture is the data layer. This layer contains blocks to store data. Each
block consists of a body and a header. The header of the current block stores the hash of the previous block and forms
a chain-like structure. The genesis block (the first block) does not contain the header as it is the first in the chain. Each
block has a timestamp that is the time of its creation, a nonce which is a random number calculated by the miners to meet
4

A er verifica on the message The new block is added to

The mining process begins U2 receives the message
is added to a block the blockchain from U1

U1 wants to send
message to U2 Block
Time stamp
Index
Previous Hash
U1 Hash Each node updates its local U2
Data copy of blockchain

The block contains the message,

hash, previous hash, index and its
Acronyms
me of crea on
Broadcast the message to the network. The miners start to solve mathema cal
Other nodes can verify that the message problem to find the random value such U1 - User 1
is authorised or not that hash of the new block U2 - User 2
has certain predefined complexity

FIGURE 2 Propagation of a transaction using blockchain

the difficulty level and to get the block-hash and Merkle root which is the root of the Merkle tree (a binary tree of hashes
which stores transactions).

2. Network layer: The main purpose of the network layer is to distribute and authenticate transactions, and facilitate inter-
node communication. It is also known as propagation layer. Using a peer-to-peer (P2P) network, this layer ensures that
nodes can discover and communicate with each other. Section 3.1 discusses the the flow and the life cycle of a transaction
in terms of initiation, validation, and so on.

3. Consensus layer: This layer is central to the existence of blockchain platforms and is the most important layer for a
blockchain. In a P2P network without any central authority, it is a challenging task to create consensus between every
node in the network, and this is achieved in this layer. Section 3.3 discusses various types of consensus algorithms.

4. Incentive layer: This layer acts as a driving force in maintaining a public blockchain. It addresses the economic factor
and creates economically beneficial schemes for the miners. In return for the computational power spent in the mining
process, miners are rewarded with the incentives (e.g., some amount of digital currency) 54 .

5. Contract layer: The contract layer includes different scripts, smart contracts, and algorithms to execute complex trans-
actions securely. Smart contracts are self-executable codes with a predefined set of rules, which when met, trigger the
transaction between the parties involved in the contract. These self-running codes ensure that each transaction fulfils the
predefined requirements of the model. Smart contracts are fully automated, thus reducing the possibility of any fraud or
theft. These contracts ensure secure transfer of digital assets involved in the transaction 55 .

6. Application layer: This layer comprises all the applications that are used by end users. The application layer enables users
to interact with the blockchain network. It includes APIs, scripts and User Interfaces (UIs). This layer provides data to the
contract layer to connect users with the back-end system.

Various blockchain applications, such as cryptocurrency wallets, are found at the application level. At the contract layer or
execution layer, we have the smart contracts environment that determines the nature of the transactions. The security of the
network depends on the participation of nodes. The incentive layer provides incentives to motivate nodes to participate in the
verification process of the blockchain. Usually, blockchain offers some amount of virtual currency as a reward to the participants.
For example, bitcoin provides a few bitcoins as a reward. At the consensus layer, we have a consensus mechanism which ensures
agreement among the participating nodes in a network. The network layer strategies for secure propagation of transactions. The
data layer, provides a data structure to store data and perform various operations on data storage.
 5

3.1 Life cycle of a transaction

Transactions in blockchain are not restricted to just finance and include several other types of information, and the process
of recording a transaction involves many steps 56,57 . These include instructions such as querying, sharing and storing. Once a
transaction has been validated, its respective block is mined and linked to the previous block. Systems and users present in the
network update their existing copy of the blockchain.
A transaction is created every time a user tries to interact with another user in the network. Depending on the blockchain
system, steps in this process of a transaction may differ. Generally, it starts with the creation of the transaction and ends when
it gets recorded in the blockchain (as shown in Fig 2 ). Hence a transaction passes through three phases:

1. Start: Every blockchain has its predefined data structure. Each transaction is defined, according to the data model of that
blockchain, the sender, and the receiver of the digital asset. The transaction must fulfil the conditions of the smart contract
or simple scripts (depending on the model).

2. Validation: In this step, transactions are verified by validating peers. These transactions are then inserted into a block,
which is ready to be mined.

3. Mining: In this step, miners solve a mathematical problem, using their computational power, to find a random value such
that the hash of the new block has certain predefined complexity 58,59 . This block is now added to the main blockchain.

4. Termination: The updated blockchain then propagates in the network to inform each node to update its own copy. Once
the block is added to the blockchain, its assets are transferred accordingly.

TABLE 1 Comparison between different types of blockchain

Type of Some Domains

Advantages Disadvantages Applications
blockchain Using This Type
Bitcoin
Open to everyone Low transaction speed
Public Ethereum Transparency in Fundraising
High transparency Low scalability
blockchain Litecoin Voting
High trust among users High computational power
NEO
Private Low transaction time Centralized Multichain Internal voting
blockchain Scalable Low trust Hyperledger fabric Supply chain
High control over resources Marco Polo Food tracking
Consortium Less transparent
High scalability Energy Web Foundation Banking and
blockchain Less anonymity
Secure IBM Food Trust payments
Closed ecosystem Dragonchain Real estate
Hybrid Less transparent
Immune to 51% attacks XinFin’s Hybrid financial
blockchain Complex structure
good scalability Blockchain markets

3.2 Types of Blockchain

1. Public: In this type of blockchain (also known as permission-less blockchain) anyone can join and perform transactions,
i.e., anyone with an Internet connection can access a permission-less blockchain. For example, Bitcoin is one of the first
public blockchains 60 .
Verification of transactions and creation of blocks are both done by the participating nodes. This implies that public
blockchain becomes non-functional if it does not have the required nodes to participate in the validation process.

2. Private: Private blockchain (also known as permissioned blockchain) works in a restricted environment (closed network).
This type of blockchain is effective for an organization that wants it for internal use-cases. In a private blockchain, only
6

selected participants who have permission can access the blockchain 61 . Moreover, the network is maintained by a central
authority, and hence, it not decentralized in nature.

3. Consortium: Consortium blockchain or federated blockchain is an effective solution to provide an environment with
both public and private blockchain features, i.e., in this type of blockchain, some attributes of the organization are made
public and remaining are made private 62 . Although consortium blockchain is not open publicly, it stills manages to be
decentralized in nature because it is managed by more than one organization. A validator node can initiate or receive
transactions and can also perform validation of the transactions. On the other hand, member nodes can only receive or
initiate transactions 63 .

4. Hybrid: A hybrid blockchain is a combination of private and public blockchain. It combines the advantages of both private
and public blockchains while limiting their disadvantages. In a hybrid blockchain, a ledger can be made accessible to
everyone (publicly) by employing a public blockchain with a private blockchain that can control access to the modifications
in the ledger. Ripple network is an example of a hybrid blockchain.

Each blockchain type has its advantages and disadvantages. It is vital to understand the needs of an organization or application
and then choose the type of blockchain accordingly. Table 1 presents a comparison between the types of blockchain.

3.3 Trusting the untrusted

A secure transaction can be achieved with the help of smart contracts. However, the decentralized system architectures(as in
blockchain) hamper the building of trust and tend to raise questions about the probability of date modification. To maintain the
integrity of the data, it has to be immutable. To achieve this goal, blockchain uses consensus algorithms that allow a block to be
added to the blockchain only when it is agreed by all the nodes present in the network. These algorithms ensure that the data in
the database (i.e. in the blockchain) cannot be altered or modified after it is stored in the blockchain 64,65 .

3.3.1 Consensus Algorithms

Initially algorithms such as: 2 phase commit (2PC) 66 , atomic broadcast, State Machine Replication (SMR) 67 , Byzantine Fault
Tolerant (BFT) 68 were proposed to achieve a consensus in distributed databases. These algorithms have low failure-resilience.
For example, in the case of 2PC, the consensus procedure gets compromised with the failure of any node. These algorithms were
the precursors of consensus solutions for distributed ledger technologies. Blockchains such as Bitcoin and Ethereum achieve
consensus and maintain a coherent view among participants. Such networks are failure-resilient as long as malicious nodes
remain a minority. To achieve this by charging nodes who differ from the default behavior, computational cost is introduced as a
proof of Work (PoW) that is needed to add a block in the blockchain. Bitcoin uses PoW to prevent it from a Sybil attack 69 . PoW
has low scalability and high latency and requires a significant amount of computational power. There are several alternatives for
POW to avoid complexity and wastage of computational power. We discuss some of these alternatives below.

i) Proof of work: In this consensus mechanism every blockchain node willing to mine or validate a block solves a complex
mathematical problem that requires significant computational power 70 . To solve the problem the participants have to find
a hash value of the block such that it meets a certain predefined difficulty level. The node which finds the solution first is
the winner and it can create a block of transactions.

ii) Proof-of-stake: The PoS works are similar to PoW but the leader is chosen based on the stakes owned by the users of that
network. The assumption here is, that the user with more stakes (commitment) has less probability of being a malicious node
and would not attack the blockchain. This mechanism has a high chance of becoming centralized as rich committees have
more voting power and may win every election. To overcome this problem and the nothing at stake attack variations of PoS
have been proposed 71 . To work more efficiently, the algorithm can have restricted elections, i.e., delegated proof-of-stake
(DPoS). Proof of Elapsed Time (PoET) 72 and Proof-of-Importance (PoI) are some alternatives that prevent centralization
of voting 73 .

iii) BFT: The Byzantine Fault Tolerant (BFT) algorithm guarantees consensus in a network the if at least 2/3 of the participating
nodes are not malicious 74 . This algorithm is not a good option for a public blockchain because BFT can only work with
 7

TABLE 2 A comparison between various consensus mechanisms

Reference Consensus algorithm Type of DLT used Advantages Open issues

75 52
Proof of Work Permissionless High node scalability High computational power
52
Proof of Stake Both types High tolerance power Low throughput
76 Prevents centralization
Leased Proof-of-Stake Both types Low throughput
like in Proof-of-Stake
77
Delegated-Proof-of-Stake Both types High throughput High Message overhead
52 77
Proof of Elapsed Time Both types Partial energy saving Medium throughput
75
Byzantine Fault Tolerant Permissioned High energy saving Low node scalability
76
Proof-of-Activity Both types Immune to 51% attack High computational power
78
Proof-of-Capacity Permissionless Cheap and efficient Less Decentralization
79
Proof-of-Burn Permissionless Greater price stability High waste of currency
80 81
Tangle Both types High scalability Conflicts in sparse network
82
Hashgraph (virtual voting) Both types Byzantine Fault Tolerant Large size of signatures

a limited number of participants. The objective of this mechanism is to protect the network from system failures through
collective decision making.

iv) Proof of Elapsed Time: This algorithm randomly chooses the next block using fair means. Every node willing to validate
blocks gets a chance to create their block by waiting for a random amount of time. Each validator adds its waiting time in
its block as a proof of their waiting, and broadcasts its block in the network. The validator with the least waiting time is the
winner and its block gets added in the blockchain.

3.3.2 Comparison Between Consensus Algorithms

The previous section has discussed various consensus algorithms and problems in achieving consensus in DLTs. Compara-
tive studies on different consensus algorithms have been presented in 83 , 75 , 77 in terms of energy-saving, scalability, latency,
throughput, and so on. Table 2 presents a summary that compares these studies.

4 BLOCKCHAIN APPLICATION DOMAINS

With the increasing demand for distributed architectures 84 , blockchain provides a possible solution for applications in various
domains. In 85 the authors have discussed numerous domains (such as healthcare, smart grids and IoT.) in which blockchain has
been used or has a great potential to be used 86 . Some of these domains are discussed below. For each domain, we describe the
potential for using blockchain and issues that need to be overcome.

4.1 Blockchain and Internet of Things (BIOT)

With the advancements in technologies, users are shifting toward smart devices and Internet of Things (IoT). More than 20
billion smart devices and IoT devices are currently in use 87 . The biggest strength of IoT that makes it a potentially viable option
in many sector is its ability to share data between various devices and provide easy access 88,89 .
The ability to share data 90 also comes with various challenges such as security, privacy, and building trust 91,92 . This becomes
even more critical in domains such as healthcare, finance, defense where often there is sensitive information that needs to
be protected. Blockchain provides a robust solution to address these problems as it provides a platform to safely exchange
information among untrusted users 93,94,95,96 . Furthermore, the distributed nature of blockchain eliminates the risk of a single
point of failure in the IoT system. We discuss some specific applications of blockchain below.

1. IoT in Industries
8

IoT has proven to be a promising technology in various industrial sectors by providing real-time remote monitoring, low-
latency, smart asset tracking, and so on 34 . However, there is a high risk of attacks related to security and privacy on IoT
devices. Blockchain can help mitigate these issues and provide data immutability. Many researchers have worked in this
domain and have explored the challenges posed by blockchain in industrial IoT along with their possible solutions 97,98,99 .

2. IoT for Smart Grids

Blockchain can reduce costs and remove intermediaries in the energy sector 100,54 . This distributed platform allows trading
of energy with various distributed sources 101 without the need for a centralized authority. Issues such as security and
privacy are critical when it comes to a smart grid system integrated with IoT. A secure, cost-effective and reliable solution
to build an infrastructure for a smart grid using blockchain has been proposed by the authors in 102 .

4.2 Blockchain and Healthcare

Major stakeholders for information exchange in the healthcare sector include patients, doctors, pathology, health-insurance
company and regulation committees. Healthcare systems require an efficient solution to share information such as patient’s
updated profiles between all the stakeholders. Blockchain provides this solution along with ensuring patient’s privacy, data
immutability and restricted access to the data (for security purposes) 103 . Blockchain can be used for a variety of applications in
the healthcare sector which include 104 :

1. Secure interoperability of health records: Health-related data is very critical and personal. Hence there should be a robust
platform to exchange healthcare data between various stakeholders. The authors in 105 proposed a blockchain based scheme
for secure and integrated inter-operability of health related data among stakeholders. They developed a design to validate
the information in a transaction and also discussed the structure of a smart contract that ensures the fulfilment of the
required conditions.

2. Healthcare supply chains: In the case of pharmaceutical drugs supply, many factors such as time duration, surrounding
conditions (such as temperature, humidity, etc.) play a crucial role in ensuring a safe delivery. In 106 , the authors have
proposed a framework to use blockchain to provide a record of factors such as temperature during the transportation of
pharmaceutical drugs to various stakeholders. This empowers the company to perform quality control of its products 107 .

4.3 Blockchain in business

Blockchain provides a robust platform to build a tamper-proof and secure distributed digital ledger which is supported by a
consensus mechanism 85,108 . The append-only, immutable and secure nature of blockchain makes it a prominent option for a
variety of businesses. Blockchain along with a smart contact, fulfils the basic requirement of any business-related use case 109 .
This technology can be used for a variety of business-related use cases such as:

1. Outsourcing in cloud-based business: Cloud computing has become a widely accepted paradigm for outsourcing services.
Cloud computing enables an organization to economically and scalable access advanced services by outsourcing them 110 .
Some of the major issues in outsourcing services are data security and digital payment 111,112 . One option is to only involve
a trusted third-party for outsourcing, but this becomes inefficient in the growing competition, as there can be a some
untrusted third-party offering better services. The authors of 113 have proposed a blockchain-based solution to outsource
any third-party, even if it is not trusted.

2. Real estate The real estate ecosystem deals with sales and purchase of digital or physical assets such as land, building or
company shares. Various parties (e.g. owner, purchaser, tenant, broker) are involved in this process, thereby increasing the
risk of record tampering or modification. Another major issue is dealing with untrusted parties because entities might not
have any previous business relationships. Smart contracts can solve these issues 114 and can further eliminate the need for
trusted intermediaries such as brokers and notaries 115 . In 116,117 the authors have discussed the potential use of blockchain
in secure banking.

Some other domains where blockchain can be used include: agriculture 118,119 , communication 120 , automobile industry 121,122 ,
and so on.
 9

Start

Do you need
Are there multiple
Need shared Does the data needs to restrict who
YES writers to the NO
Database? to be kept private? can control the
database?
blockchain?

YES NO
NO YES YES

Some untrusted
stakeholders NO
involved?
Does the ledger
needs to be maintained by
a group of selected
YES YES
organisations?
NO

NO Is the data prone to

YES
Is there any attacks? Can it be
trusted third party NO secured by storing
YES
for ledger multiple copies?
maintenance? NO

Traditional Database

(No need to use

blockchain technology)

Private blockchain Public blockchain Consortium blockchain

(Medium transaction speed) (Low transaction speed) (Medium transaction speed)

FIGURE 3 Framework for evaluating the application of blockchain technology. Black arrows represent the answer for the
respective question.

Sections III and IV presented a brief overview on the fundamentals of blockchain, their application domains and consensus
mechanisms. In the next section, we present a framework to evaluate the suitability of blockchain to any given application and
discuss the criteria used by the proposed framework.

5 FRAMEWORK FOR EVALUATING THE USE OF BLOCKCHAIN

The performance characteristic of blockchain under different metrics and operating conditions form the basis of the pro-
posed framework for evaluating blockchain’s applicability and suitability. We first present an overview of the advantages and
disadvantages of blockchain, and then use them to develop the proposed framework.

5.1 Advantages and disadvantages of Traditional blockchain

The main advantages and disadvantages of traditional blockchain technology include:

5.1.1 Advantages
i) Distributed: The systems and the data of a blockchain are highly resilient to malicious attacks and technical failure because
the data is stored in a large number of nodes present in a distributed network. Each node has its own copy of the database
10

and this eliminates the risk of a single point of failure. Also, even if a node goes offline, it does not affect the security and
availability of the network.

ii) Stability: Once a block is confirmed, it is very difficult to change or modify the data stored in it. This immutability of the
data makes blockchain an attractive option to store data that is sensitive to any alterations and needs to be protected against
modification.

iii) Trustless environment: Involvement of a trusted intermediary party is often required in the traditional payment systems,
such as banks and payment providers. Blockchain eliminates this need for intermediaries because the transactions, in the
distributed network of nodes, are verified through a mining process. Hence, there is no need to trust a single organization
which also reduces the costs of intermediaries.

5.1.2 Disadvantages
i) Low transaction speed: As each transaction has to be stored on the blockchain, it takes time to gather all the transactions
and accumulate them in a block. Although there may be a large number of transactions packed into a single block, and
the average block processing time is about 10 minutes, the transaction speed is theoretically 100 transactions per minute.
However, in practice, all those transactions get confirmed only after the block is mined and that takes around 10 minutes
(on average). Hence, the transaction time on blockchain is fairly high 123 .

ii) High data requirement: Blockchain stores a copy of every transaction that has occurred till date on that network, simul-
taneously, on all the computers/nodes connected to the network. This is a highly data-consuming process and the current
bitcoin blockchain is about 1 TB in size and is growing daily.

iii) High energy-consumption: The consensus algorithm used in traditional blockchain is proof of work. The POW technique
of computing hashes consumes a lot of energy because a large number of computers connected on the blockchain network
simultaneously compete against each other to find an appropriate hash. It is estimated that the total energy consumed by the
miners on the Bitcoin Blockchain network is equivalent to the energy requirement of a decently sized European country.

iv) Pseudo anonymity: Due to the decentralized nature of blockchain, transaction information are made public in the cryp-
tocurrency. Hence, user privacy may be compromised. In 124 , the authors have proposed a Quasi-Homomorphic Symmetric
Encryption (QHSE) scheme to hide the transaction amounts in a blockchain based cryptocurrency. In 125 , the authors com-
bined ring signature technology with the existing blockchain system to ensure user privacy in the transparent environment
of blockchain.

5.2 Steps to assess "when" to use blockchain

In the previous section we presented an overview of blockchain, its advantages and disadvantages, and various domains where it
can be used. This section addresses the main question "when to use blockchain technology?" The proposed framework to answer
this question is based on assessing use-case oriented simple questions as Fig. 3 shows. The questions in this framework not
only help to assess the suitability of blockchain for an application but they it also help to determine the most suitable blockchain
technology

i) Do you need a shared database?: We assume that there is a need of a ledger database, i.e., some data related to transactions
needs to be stored. Data represents the present state of the ledger, which gets updated and must be shared. However, if data
does not need to be shared, a complex blockchain-based architecture is not needed. Therefore, blockchain is not required if
the answer is "no" and traditional databases are preferred.

ii) Are there multiple writers to the database?: Opting for blockchain only makes sense when multiple copies of the data has
to be stored (by multiple users) and shared among them 52 . In a blockchain, multiple users have permission to maintain the
ledger and establish consensus among the users. In contrast to traditional server-client architectures with restricted writing
rights, blockchain provides an alternate option of a decentralized peer to peer network where multiple users can write to
the distributed ledger.
 11

iii) Are there untrusted stakeholders involved?: Blockchain provides a robust solution to conduct transactions even if the parties
or stakeholders involved are not trusted. If only trusted parties are involved and data is not very sensitive (not prone to attacks
or modification) then using a traditional database is preferable. However, in scenarios where the possibility of choosing a
third party to establish consensus in an untrusted environment is available, using a centralized architecture is preferred.
iv) Does the data need to be kept private?: If no external entity is involved to provide trust management services or if the data
is sensitive (even if all stakeholders are trusted) then opting for blockchain technology is effective and should be considered.
If data has to be kept private, maintaining a private blockchain is a good option.
v) Do we need any restriction on who can control the blockchain?: If the answer to the previous question on the need for data
to be kept private is a "no", and if there is no restriction to control the blockchain (i.e., the system is maintained by a public
community and all the transactions are transparent and visible to everyone) then having a public blockchain is preferable.
vi) Does the ledger need to be maintained by a group of selected organizations?: If maintenance of the ledger cannot be done
publicly, and a group of some selected organizations needs to be chosen to entrust system maintenance, the use of a con-
sortium blockchain is preferable. Consortium blockchain has the advantages of a public blockchain (transparent, available
for all) as well as those of a private blockchain (controlled by more than one organization, which makes it decentralized).
A private blockchain is preferred if there must be only one organization that can control and maintain the ledger 126 .

6 ALTERNATIVES TO TRADITIONAL BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY

The previous section, described the drawbacks of using blockchain technology. Apart from blockchain technology, there are
numerous other options that one may consider (if blockchain is not a suitable solution after assessing the above criteria). The
following section presents similar technologies and alternatives (figure 4 presents an overview).

6.1 Hashgraph
Hashgraph is a distributed ledger technology that uses an algorithm for duplication of state machines in order to ensure Byzantine
Fault Tolerant (BFT) 127 . This is sometimes also referred to as an atomic broadcast. The main protocol that runs this DLT is
a gossip protocol. In this protocol, every node needs to share all its information and transactions with any other randomly
selected node. The gossip protocol supports nesting which refers to the fact a gossip can also have another gossip built in it. All
participants (nodes) in the network receive an identical chronologically arranged list of transactions referred to as “total order”.
The implementation and feasibility part of Hashgraph is still questionable as this is not an open-source protocol.
1. Data structure: The data structure used in Hashgraph is a Directed Acyclic Graph with each transaction itself acting as
a block in-itself. It has information such as signature, timestamp, transaction hash and hash of the parent transaction.
2. Consensus algorithm: Hashgraph uses an innovative virtual voting 128 consensus method which sends out transactions to
the network as an Atomic Blast Broadcast.
3. Advantages over Traditional Blockchain:
i) Hashgraph is a proprietary DLT and hence tampering with it is difficult. This is a significant benefit in terms of human
exposed vulnerability.
ii) Due to its gossip protocol, the net transactional data that nodes have to store is significantly lower.
iii) As this DLT does not involve block formation and waiting for each block to get transactions confirmed, the speed
of transactions is fairly high. Theoretically, it is possible to even reach the speed of 1,000,000 TPS (transactions per
second) on the Hashgraph protocol
As a result of these advantages, Hashgraph offers a variety of applications in today’s technology-driven world. Having a
fast consensus algorithm enables the Hashgraph cryptocurrency to have low network fees, making small microtransactions
economical, particularly in IoT applications. Hashgraph enables users to store decentralized data or pointers to files on
the network in a secure and transparent manner. It also enables users to deploy smart contracts. Solidity language was
developed for executing smart contracts on the Ethereum network although various libraries of Solidity code have been
developed after, and can be run on the Hashgraph platform 129 .
12

Need a blockchain-based
Need to have each platform for IOT to help
account maintaining machines communicate and
its own account chain? settle transaction without fees?

Nano Block Lattice IOTA

Need to record Need high user

transaction timestamp privacy using zero
ordering? knowledge proof?

Hashgraph DLT Zcash

Alternatives

FIGURE 4 Blockchain alternatives and when to select them.

6.2 IOTA
IOTA uses a distributed ledger technology called the Tangle. Tangle is similar to the traditional blockchain in the sense that it
stores the history of transactions in an immutable data structure. Unlike the Bitcoin blockchain, the Tangle protocol involves
attaching each transaction to two previous transactions through their hashes. This drastically reduces the amount of data required
for storing transactions.

1. Data structure: The data structure of IOTA is a Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG). In this data structure, each transaction
can be referred either directly or indirectly. Trunk transaction field of any transaction stores transaction hash of either
an existing transaction in the Tangle or of the transaction with the next index in the bundle. The direct references of a
transaction are called its Parents, and indirect ones as grandparents, similar to a family tree. Every new transaction on this
network starts as a tip transaction of the DAG. These are then chosen by nodes after validating them.

2. Consensus algorithm: The latest consensus algorithm for IOTA is fast probabilistic consensus with weighted votes which
is an upgrade from the earlier Tangle protocol. This is a Byzantine-tolerant consensus algorithm where the voting power
of a node is proportional to its reputation. The reputation of the node is modelled using the Zipf law which shows that
 13

the performance of the algorithm increases with the Zipf exponent. Zipf law is used because it best describes Mana
distribution.

3. Advantages over traditional Blockchain:

i) Due to its highly scalable infrastructure, the IOTA DLT can be used for IoT device’s transactional data.
ii) IOTA, similar to Hashgraph, has a Directed Acyclic Graph data structure that enables it to achieve fast transaction
times. Hence, it is nearly 100 times faster than traditional blockchain.
iii) As this DLT does not involve block formation and waiting for each block to get transactions confirmed, the speed of
transactions is fairly high. Theoretically, it is possible to even reach the speed of 1,000,000 Transactions Per Second
(TPS) on the Hashgraph protocol.

Having advantages such as high transaction rate along with a resilient architecture 130 , IOTA provides a large applica-
tion base. For example, the authors 131 used the IOTA cryptocurrency to propose a privacy-preserving tolling architecture
that supports decentralized feeless transfers for providing communication with roadside infrastructures. The proposed
approach incorporates several technologies that work together to provide convenience and value to drivers and road
operators.

6.3 Nano Coin

Nano coin (also known as RaiBlocks) is one of the first coins to use no-fee transfers. Instead of using the traditional blockchain
structure, Nano coin use the Block Lattice structure. This enables it to achieve high transaction speed at very low to no fees. The
consensus method used by Nano coin involves Proof of Stake (PoS) where any offender in the network is punished by foreclosing
his/her stake that was put into the network while joining. There are nodes in the network whose function is to solve disputes
when a collision transaction arises. These nodes lose their stake of coins if found guilty of approving a false transaction.

1. Data structure: The data structure of Nano coin is not like that of a traditional blockchain. Nano coin uses the Block
Lattice structure wherein each address on the network has its own blockchain (address chain).

2. Consensus algorithm: Nano coin uses a combination of both Proof of Stake and Proof of Work as its consensus
mechanism. This hybrid mechanism is also called Delegated Proof of Stake.

3. Advantages over traditional Blockchain: Nano coin has one of the highest transaction per second speed and hence it is
one of the best choices for micropayment platforms. Nano coin was one of the first to adopt directed cyclic graphs and
paved the way for subsequent technologies such as Hashgraph IOTA to come up with a more robust and fast DLT.

6.4 Zcash
Zcash is a privacy-centric digital currency that uses a zero-knowledge proof based technique for encryption. Zcash uses two types
of addresses that are either private or transparent. The transactions among the Z addresses, i.e., private or shielded addresses,
need not be disclosed publicly. On the other hand, the T addresses, i.e., the transparent addresses, work in a similar manner to a
bitcoin address where the transactions are visible to the entire world 132 . Some of the salient features of Zcash are:

i) Minimum transaction fees: The transaction fee on the Zcash network is one of the lowest among all cryptocurrencies (0.0001
ZEC).

ii) Privacy: The core principle of Zcash is to ensure consumer privacy. This is achieved by using two types of addresses
(shielded and transparent). Shielded addresses are not visible publicly. Addresses and transaction details (e.g. transaction
amount) are not revealed in a transaction between shielded addresses. On the other hand, transactions between transparent
addresses are publicly viewable on the network.

iii) Time-based and multiple signature-based transactions: At times when a transaction is not mined for a long time, Zcash
provides the facility to refund the transaction. Zcash also has the feature of multiple signatures which enables the production
of large funds through the approval of multiple parties.
14

Multiple address types (private and transparent) enable different types of transactions in the network:

i) Shielding: Transaction from transparent address to a private address

ii) Public: Transaction from transparent adding to a transparent address.

iii) De-shielding: Transaction from private adding to a transparent address.

iv) Private: Transaction from private adding to a private address.

1. Data structure: The data structure of Zcash is the same as that of a traditional blockchain.

2. Consensus algorithm: Zcash uses Proof of Work as its consensus mechanism.

3. Advantages over traditional Blockchain: As we mentioned earlier, a special feature of Zcash is its privacy protection
for users. With the help of zero-knowledge proof encryption, the privacy of the users is kept intact without making any
compromises on the network security.

TABLE 3 A comparison between alternative technologies to blockchain

Hashgraph IOTA Nano Coin Zcash

Consensus Atomic blast FPC with Delegated proof
Proof of Work
mechanism Broadcast weighted votes of stake
Directed Cyclic Directed Cyclic Block lattice Traditional
Data Structure
Graph Graph structure blockchain
Moderately
Scalability Highly scalable Highly scalable Least scalable
scalable
Pseudo Pseudo Pseudo
Privacy Protects privacy
anonymous anonymous Anonymous
Transaction
10 Transactions/sec 11 Transactions/Sec 105 Transactions/Sec 3 Transactions/Sec
Rate
Token needed Yes Yes Yes Yes

The four alternative technologies described above have unique advantages and disadvantages. It is vital to understand the
application’s or scenario’s need and choose the technology accordingly. Table 3 presents a brief comparison of these technolo-
gies. For example, Hashgraph and IOTA are highly scalable. On the other hand, Zcash is not so scalable but it provides better
privacy options. These technologies may fulfill specific needs of a user (as shown in Figure 4 ) which a simple blockchain
is unable to do so. i) Nano block lattice gives the ability to an account to maintain its own account chain; ii) IOTA enables a
blockchain-based IoT platform to help machines communicate and perform transactions without any fee; iii) Zcash provides
high user privacy and uses zero knowledge proof mechanism; iv) Hashgraph enables to store transaction timestamp ordering in
a distributed ledger, which is vital for a network where the order of requests has a high priority 133 .

7 USE-CASE APPLICATION

Section V presented the proposed framework for evaluating the applicability of blockchain. In this section, we demonstrate
the application of the framework to three test cases namely supply chain, multi-drone network and financial services. Table 4
presents a summary of the results.
 15

TABLE 4 Analysis of use cases based on the proposed criteria. "NA" means the particular question does not need to be
answered.

Supply chain Multi drone network Financial services

Do we need a shared database? Yes Yes Yes
Are there multiple writers
Yes Yes Yes
to the database?
Untrusted stakeholders
Yes Yes Yes
involved?
Is there any trusted third
No No Yes
party for ledger maintenance?
Does the data need to be
No No NA
kept private?
Is the data prone to attacks?
Can it be secured by storing NA NA NA
multiple copies?
Do we need to restrict who
Yes No NA
can control the blockchain?
Does the ledger needs to be
maintained by a group of No NA NA
selected organizations?
Do we need to have each node
maintaining its own account No No No
chain?
Do we need a blockchain-based
platform for IoT to help
machines communicate No No No
and settle transaction
without fees?
Do we need to record transaction
No Yes No
timestamp ordering?
Do we need high user privacy
No No No
using zero knowledge proof?

7.1 Supply chain

Supply chain management is the management of the transitions of goods and services and includes all processes involved in
the transformation of raw materials into final products. It defines the life cycle of a product, from the manufacturer to the end-
consumer. Generally, stakeholders at different levels do not have access to the products’ information as a whole. This results in
inefficiency during the processing and transfer of products between the different stakeholders in a supply-chain 134 . Blockchain
can significantly improve the transparency in a supply chain 135 by providing the products’ information to all the actors in the
process in its entirety 136 137 . Moreover, it enables end-consumers to monitor and trace the products’ transition with the help of
IoT devices. The food system, for example, is very complex, and includes producers, processors, distributors and consumers.
The sharing of information in this complex network is challenging. However, blockchain with the help of IoT devices, can give
the consumers the ability to not only track where the product came from but how was it produced (e.g., if it was produced safely,
if it grows sustainably, and so on). Since 2016, AgriDigital has pioneered, the use of blockchain across agricultural supply
chains.AgriDigital and CBH Group, conducted a pilot to test the application of blockchain in the Australian grain industry at
CBH’s wholly owned subsidiary, Blue Lake Milling, an oats processor in Bordertown, South Australia. To formally evaluate
the applicability of blockchain in such environments using the proposed framework, we can consider the use case of AgriDigital
and CBH Group 138 .
16

• Do we need a shared database?: Yes, the information needs to be registered into a ledger and communicated to all the
stakeholders involved in the product’s life-cycle.

• Are there multiple writers to the database?: Yes, supply chain management is characterized by many stakeholders such
as producers, processors, distributors, retailers and consumers. All these actors interact with the blockchain.

• Are there untrusted stakeholders involved?: Yes, actors at different stages can be unknown and untrusted for others in the
supply chain.

• Is there any trusted third party for ledger maintenance?: No, there is no specific third party such as a bank or notary for
ledger maintenance.

• Does the data needs to be kept private?: No, the main objective of AgriDigital is to provide data to everyone concerned
and to improve transparency in the supply chain.

• Do we need to restrict who can control the blockchain?: Yes, the supply chain has some restrictions on who can access
the blockchain. The stakeholders involved are given permission to interact with the blockchain.

• Does the ledger needs to be maintained by a group of selected organizations?: No, there is no need for a specific
organization to maintain the ledger.

Hence, after assessing the when and which part of our framework, we get private blockchain as a solution. It is worth noting that
AgriDigital and the CBH Group operate on a private Quorum network. The Quorum network use the Raft consensus mechanism,
which allows the AgriDigital network to have four transactions per second 138 .

7.2 Multi drone network

Recent technological advances in drone technology or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in various fields such as network-
ing,defense, manufacturing, have increased their usage in private and commercial sectors 139 . With UAV technology becoming
omnipresent 140 , various issues in using UAVs need to be addressed such as inter UAV communication, data storage, manage-
ment in multi drone networks 141 , constrained flight time, and so on. This section discusses the solution to resolve some of the
issues stated above by considering a use case and applying our framework to decide if blockchain can be used for this application
domain.
Multi-drone networks have a wide range of applications such as delivering goods and medical supplies, and surveillance 142 .
However,one of the main constraints that hampers the applications of UAVs is their limited energy supplies (batteries are kept
small to reduce the overall weight of a drone). Frequent recharging or battery replacement is required because of constrained
flight time. A distributed P2P network of drones and charging stations can solve this issue and can significantly increase drones’
flight time, thereby enabling the use of drones for multiple applications 133 . We now apply the proposed framework to evaluate
the applicability of blockchain in multi-drone applications 143 .

• Do we need a shared database?: Yes, communication between UAVs and charging stations is needed and information
related to transactions needs to be shared and registered into a ledger and communicated to all other nodes (UAVs and
charging stations) present in the network.

• Are there multiple writers to the database?: Yes, various drones and can enter into the network and can request charging
stations to provide charging services. Each UAV should be able to interact with the ledger.

• Are untrusted stakeholders involved?: Yes, due to no restrictions for drones to enter into the network, unknown/untrusted
UAVs may enter as well.

• Is there any trusted third party for ledger maintenance?: No, there is no need for any specific third party such as banks
or notaries to maintain the ledger.

• Does the data needs to be kept private?: No, a charging station can have requests from many (if not all) drones in the
network and similarly a drone needs information regarding every station present in the network.
 17

• Do we need to restrict who can control the blockchain?: No, the system is free and without any restrictions. Any node
present in the network can interact with the ledger.

After applying the above criteria, a public blockchain could be the appropriate technology. However, in this multi-drone system,
drones should be able to enter and leave the network at a high frequency. Hence, an accurate time-stamp ordering is required
to avoid any conflicts. From figure 4 , we note that the Hashgraph DLT is a promising solution to meet the requirement of this
system. Also, Hashgraph has higher transaction throughput as compared to hashgraph 144 . In 133 the authors have proposed a
similar Hashgraph based DLT for the specified multi-drone network.

7.3 Financial services

Blockchain is emerging as a powerful and secure option for recording data and transactions in the financial sector. Many cryp-
tocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ether and Ripple. use blockchain technology and support millions of users. For example, Bitcoin
had between 2.9 to 5.8 million unique users (as per 145 ) in 2017. However, it still lacks scalability because it can process only
a few transactions per second (Bitcoin can process 3-4 transactions per second). In contrast, other payment gateways such as
the Visa Network can process over 17,000 transactions per second 146 .We now apply the proposed to framework on the Visa
payment processing, application.

• Do we need a shared database?: Yes, users need to access the database to view their transaction histories.

• Are there multiple writers to the database?: Yes, thousands of users make transaction every second and each transaction
has to be stored in the database.

• Are untrusted stakeholders involved?: Yes, the company has users from all over the world, and this increases the risk of
having untrusted users.

• Is there any trusted third party for ledger maintenance?: Yes, Visa Inc. verifies each transaction and maintains the ledger.

Hence, after assessing the above criteria, it can be concluded that having a centralized architecture is beneficial. Visa Inc. also
uses a centralized architecture 147 that provides customized processing across the world.

8 CHALLENGES AND FUTURE RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES

Numerous blockchain-based decentralized applications are being developed due to the availability of a wide range of differ-
ent blockchain technology options and their advantages available. In particular, many startups have been founded based on
blockchain-related technologies since Bitcoin came into existence. However, there are still many challenges that still need to be
addressed for this technology:

1. Quantum attacks: Quantum computing presents a major threat 148 to blockchain due to their capability in solving cer-
tain complex problems. Quantum computers can easily break existing encryption techniques 149 and may provide enough
resources to perform 51% attacks in the future (Fig 5 shows various types of attacks possible of blockchain) . Various
studies such as 150,151,152,153,154 have discussed such security issues.

2. Scalability: Many efficient consensus mechanisms are being developed to reduce the energy consumption and the
time taken to process a transaction. However, blockchain still faces scalability issues when it comes to the number of
transactions it can process per unit time 155 .

3. Protecting blockchain from intelligent attacks: With the increasing possibility of more advanced types of attacks such
as Machine Learning and game-theory based attacks on blockchain networks 156,157 , it has become a necessity to secure
blockchain against such attacks.

4. Reducing computational power usage: Blockchain, in general, requires high computational power which is a drain on
resources. This hinders the development of the technology for many applications such as drone / UAV networks 133 where
computational power is scarce.
18

Dictionary
Phishing
attack

Denial of
Sybil attack Vulnerable Flawed key
Service (DoS)
signatures Generation

Routing attack Eclipse attack Attacks on cold Attacks on hot

Wallets Wallets

Blockchain network
User wallet attacks
attacks

BLOCKCHAIN
ATTACKS
Vulnerabilities in Vulnerabilities in
contract source Routing attack contract source Routing attack
code code

Mining pool attacks Smart Contracts attacks

Double-
Finney attack
spending

Alternative
Race attack
history attack

51% or majority
attack

Transaction verification
mechanism attacks

FIGURE 5 Different types of attacks on blockchain

9 CONCLUSION

To reap the full potential of any new technology, it has to be analyzed from various perspectives. Blockchain technology has a
great potential to transform industries by providing security, transparency, anonymity and immutability. Despite being a rela-
tively new technology, blockchain has been adopted in various fields. In this paper, we have not only provided the background
behind blockchain technology, but also a framework to evaluate the applicability of blockchain technology and determined pos-
sible alternatives, if needed. With the rapid advances in technologies, the drawbacks of blockchain have been addressed to some
extent. However, there is still scope for future developments and this work has identified some of the areas such as improving
security against quantum attacks, reducing computational power usage and more, where research opportunities exist.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

We thank the anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments which helped us improve presentation and content of this paper.
 19

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