Introduction to the Special Issue on Mathematical Research for Blockchain Economy

Abstract

Blockchain Technology has been considered as the most revolutionizing invention since the Internet. Because of its immutable nature and the associated security and privacy benefits, it has widely attracted the attention of banks, governments, techno-corporations and venture investors. Blockchain applications range from finance to healthcare, from education and media to logistics, NFTs and many more. However, the theoretical limitations and technical barriers to the adoption of blockchain such as scalability, latency, privacy and security need to be further studied and addressed in high-quality research. This special issue of the ACM Distributed Ledger Technologies: Research and Practice (ACM DLT) journals contains selected and refereed papers on the topic of Mathematical Research in Blockchain Economies. Preliminary versions of some of the papers appeared in the 2022 edition of the International Conference on Mathematical Research for Blockchain Economy (MARBLE’22), which took place in Vilamoura, Portugal, from July 12 to 24, 2022. Following the paradigm of the conference, the current special issue provides a high-profile, cutting-edge platform for mathematicians, computer scientists and economists, from both industry and practice, to present the latest advances and innovations in key theories of blockchain. Having a broad international appeal, both the MARBLE conference and the current special issue focuses on the mathematics behind blockchain to bridge the gap between theory and practice.