Smart contracts continue to present many obstacles despite recent progress; not only are they exposed, but there may be privacy, performance, or legal considerations involved as well. With the rapid rise in cryptocurrency and blockchain technologies has come an explosion in crypto-economies, which are rapidly shaping our financial sector. Smart contracts are computer protocols designed to facilitate and verify agreements among multiple parties without needing third-party mediation or verification services.
What are Smart Contracts ?
Smart contracts represent an attractive technology; however, their full realization remains constrained by various concerns related to security risks, legal questions, and vulnerabilities. This paper offers a survey that covers both technical aspects and user-friendly applications of smart contracts enabled by Blockchain, including smart contract development services both technical and user-friendly applications. To do this, we construct a taxonomy of existing intelligent contract solutions supported by Blockchain, categorize all research papers included and review existing brilliant contract studies, identify challenges/issues that need further exploration based on our findings, as well as determine future trends.
For more than ten years, blockchain technology has become an effective means of recording all transactions that occur among a network of peers. Considered a distributed computing model that eliminates trust issues with one central party, intelligent contracts automate contract execution in decentralized environments using this form. To prevent contract modifications, smart contracts should be copied on each node in a blockchain network. Human error can be reduced by using computerized contract execution services provided by blockchain platforms.
At present, there is little understanding of current issues surrounding smart contracts, with our survey designed to grasp better current concerns surrounding them. It aimed to pinpoint and map research areas requiring further exploration, specifically targeting smart contract usage from both technical and usage perspectives, such as codifying issues or performance and security considerations (i.e., innovative contract applications in finance or healthcare, etc). If the first attempt doesn't succeed, then try the next.
Background Of Smart Contract
Blockchain technology is a distributed computing paradigm that has dismantled centralized trust models by working across nodes to maintain and secure transaction records on an independent ledger called Blockchain. Miners, in smart contract code particular, play an active part in keeping this distributed ledger known as its blockchain ledger. Below, we will review how intelligent contracts function and some platforms that facilitate their creation.
Smart Contract Operational Process
Smart contracts are agreements among two or more parties that employ predefined functions that enable them to store information, process inputs, and produce outputs. They typically consist of constructor functions that create new contracts; their creator then triggers this function with payments sent from contract owners; invoking its function through payments facilitates its hosting on Blockchain; self-destruct functions may also be included within contracts which can only be gathered by their creator; this feature has become popular today as it gives one way for contracts to "self destruct." Smart Contracts Operation
Intelligent contracts may contain state variables, functions, and function modifiers, as well as events and structures to implement actions according to contract terms, activate events related to relevant contract clauses, or even call another smart contract. Smart contracts contain states and functions that store variables of those involved as variables within them - these are called states and functions, respectively. There are two categories of states - constant states cannot be altered, while writeable ones store states on Blockchain. Writeable states store state information into code pieces that allow read and modify access; read-only functions do not need to run, while write functions may require gas payment to avoid endless contracts from being formed; currency payments are necessary as a preventative measure against smart contracts becoming infinite contracts.
Different blockchain platforms, such as NXT and Hyperledger Fabric, provide various means for smart contracts to be created and deployed, including NXT and business logic Hyperledger Fabric. Each offers multiple features to facilitate development, such as programming languages for contract codes, execution of contract code execution, and levels of security; some platforms even support high-level programming languages to develop smart contracts.
Bitcoin is an open-source blockchain that enables cryptocurrency transactions for users yet has limited computing power. Bitcoin scripting language relies heavily on bytecode stacks; there are minimal features in that language for creating rich-logic intelligent contracts on Bitcoin's Blockchain; to do this successfully requires real estate changes both within mining functions as well as incentive schemes that make smart contracts on its Blockchain.
NXT is an open-source blockchain platform based on a proof-of-stake consensus protocol. NXT includes smart contracts already deployed; however, since this software isn't Turing complete, only existing templates can be utilized, and no custom intelligent contracts can be created from scratch.
Ethereum was the pioneer platform to enable innovative smart contract development on blockchain networks. Their virtual machine, EVM or Ethereum Virtual Machine, is Turing complete and allows advanced smart contracts, running smoothly across every node on their network with identical instructions being followed on every node's EVM environment.
Hyperledger Fabric differs from public blockchains such as Bitcoin or Ethereum in that only business organizations with membership providers may join it, creating an ecosystem made up of peers owned and contributed to by these organizations. IBM proposed Hyperledger Fabric for open-source distributed ledger platforms capable in the smart contract development process of supporting intelligent contracts aimed at business use cases; Hyperledger Fabric provides this infrastructure.
Hyperledger Fabric and Ethereum's intelligent contracts differ considerably in several respects. Hyperledger fabric supports various languages like Go, Java, and Javascript, while for added security, a container (e.gDocker) hosts chain code. The following section explores how blockchain platforms have been utilized in existing studies.
Reviews of Related Literature
There have been various reviews/surveys published that examine blockchain-enabled intelligent contracts; however, specific challenges remain unresolved. This paper summarizes existing reviews/surveys of such smart contracts based on six criteria - proposing a Taxonomy, considering multiple blockchain platforms, considering domains of application/domains of interest/defined research in digital contracts gaps/scope of review, etc.; however, no Taxonomy was proposed that focused explicitly on innovative contract performance improvements (addressing issues like performance security privacy or usage), or usage improvements/usage improvements/usage improvements (addressing issues such as performance security privacy or usage issues).
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Research Methodologies and Solution
Taxonomies are both invaluable assets when conducting any field investigation or study. Below, we describe our research methodology, such as its search strategy, filtering process, inclusion criteria, and exclusion criteria, taxonomy of solutions used to classify papers included in the final list, and taxonomy used to classify those papers contained therein.
Systematic Literature Review
In the first stage, we conducted an intensive data search across databases in order to select papers relevant to our review. For this step, we formulated inclusion/exclusion criteria; once the results of stage one had come through, we used these to eliminate publications that fell outside its purview and thus form part of stage 2.
Trends in Publication and Categorization
From our review, a taxonomy has been created based on an in-depth examination of each study included in this survey in order to help designers better understand what self executing contract factors they must keep in mind when crafting intelligent contracts. Our survey is ultimately motivated by uncovering trends.
By conducting this study, our aim is twofold. First, to gain an understanding of blockchain-enabled intelligent contracts, and second, to identify new research questions for further exploration in future studies. Brilliant contract research generally falls into two broad categories - improvements and usage research. Improvement research includes efforts aimed at solving issues associated with smart contracts, such as functionality verification, vulnerability assessments, or lack of trustworthiness of data.
Model-Driven Smart Contract Enhancement
In recent years, smart contracts have been plagued with security flaws, which have resulted in financial and theft losses. Formal verification would have reduced these vulnerabilities; however, due to solidity's inflexible framework, researchers have come up with alternative means for improving intelligent contract functionality.
Programming-centric Solutions
An intelligent contract essentially comprises computer code that can be decentralized exchanges automatically executed on any computer system, making programming smart contracts an area of significant research interest. Many scholars advocate the creation of new contract languages as an efficient method to build such arrangements.
Formal Verification
Software testing ensures software meets its specifications based on all types of input. Intelligent contracts rely heavily on formal testing to confirm they perform as intended; it cannot assist developers in discovering vulnerabilities or bugs within clever agreements themselves.
Optimization-Driven Smart Contract Improvement
Smart contracts offer an attractive new method for developing fully decentralized apps without smart contract development company interference, yet remain constrained by several issues related to performance, privacy, and security in smart contracts platforms concerns, as well as contract execution times, costs, and execution complexity. Unfortunately, intelligent contracts remain only an attractive approach but remain hindered in practice due to several concerns, such as performance problems, privacy, and security risks, as well as contract execution times, costs, and execution complexities that remain.
Optimize Performance-Driven Solutions
Performance measures the ability of intelligent contracts to respond in a timely fashion while remaining responsive as transaction volumes grow.
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Optimization solutions focusing on security
Security in smart contracts refers to their resilience against attacks by malicious users who exploit contract vulnerabilities for profit or untrustworthy data feeds smart contract solutions that allow malicious content into them. Table 6 includes tools and models for detecting vulnerabilities as well as solutions that provide blockchain developers trustworthy data providers into smart contracts.
Vulnerability Identification
Recognizing potential weak areas during contract execution is paramount to increasing the security and credibility of contract agreements, thus strengthening security measures and credibility. Numerous studies have systematically smart contract audits documented contract vulnerabilities while analyzing security risks. To address vulnerabilities associated with smart contracts, several solutions for vulnerability detection have been suggested. At the same time, studies often provide solutions for common vulnerabilities.
Transparency in transactions
Privacy can be an enormously daunting challenge to smart contracts. They must keep certain functions confidential, use cryptography for transactions without disclosing data to the public, and not divulge personal details of users to third parties. Our compiler has designed an intelligent contract compiler with zero-knowledge cryptographic primitives so contractual parties may interact securely using blockchain platforms using zero-knowledge cryptographic primitives for interactions on contracts with nodes.
Intelligent contracts rely heavily on external data from outside Blockchain about actual states and events in real life, including events triggered by Oracles (who provide input into smart contracts). Harmful or malicious information would cause it to process in precisely the same manner and produce unpredictable and incorrect outcomes. Oracles have a significant influence on how smart contracts are executed based on how Oracles process input from these intelligent contracts based on information supplied by them.
Resource-Driven Smart Contract Application
Smart contracts can be utilized as tools for improving data handling transparency, decentralizing resource-constrained device management, and permitting changes of agreement terms midway through. By running on an uncensored and decentralized network environment, they help increase data transparency while centralizing resource-constrained device management while allowing changes during runtime as they facilitate agreement terms changes mid-stream.
Data Provenance A data provenance record details its source, who accessed it, how it processed it, and why. Assuring data provenance increases transparency while protecting integrity. A blockchain can store records that cannot be altered. At the same time, smart contracts provide another means for verifying where data originated before being stored. Data Access
Data Sharing Data sharing refers to making information available to others by the data owner. Still, programs often face two difficulties in terms of sharing a great deal: either giving away control while attaining higher levels of sharing or having less-than-desirable sharing styles to maintain control.
Solutions focused on device management
One of the most significant technical challenges associated with having billions of devices globally in use is managing and synchronizing them, an ability that server-client models may find hard to do effectively. A number of researchers are studying Blockchain's potential benefits as a solution in device management.
Cloud Computing Solutions
Cloud computing services enable service requesters and providers alike to agree upon an arrangement defining obligations and rights throughout its duration. Smart contracts powered by blockchains have recently become popular means of changing terms at runtime based on conditions or actions; witness services must prepay fees directly into intelligent contracts before hiring witnesses through them, while clients determine if SLA agreements are acceptable through acceptance/rejection decisions from these smart contracts.
Smart Contracts as a Cross-Organisational Collaboration Tool
A smart contract is an agreement made between two or more parties without trust that can never be altered once its code has been deployed and cannot be changed later on. Innovative contract development has replaced traditional agreements in many industries, including supply chain management/logistics/shipping & insurance, as well as charity. Track-oriented solutions utilize tracking methods as part of their methodology for service provisioning.
Though business processes may be managed effectively through centralized mechanisms that coordinate internal activities through individual databases for each company involved, maintaining transparency and building trust between all involved is still crucial to ensure smooth operations and reduce unnecessary waiting for confirmations. Real-time tracking offers real advantages over waiting around.
Digital Asset-based Solutions
Smart contracts, due to being resistant to manipulation, can be applied in numerous situations requiring money transfers governed by specific rules, such as those within the financial sector. They're used for managing, collecting, or disbursing finances more efficiently while giving investors greater access and control than with traditional models. Crowdsourcing solutions is another viable approach to finding solutions quickly.
Crowdsourcing is an approach that utilizes distributed problem-solving and production, where individuals or organizations can obtain products or services by connecting to groups online. One popular form of collective funding within crowdsourcing categories is crowdfunding - where small investments or donations made by groups support new projects with small assets being exchanged for products, recognition, or freebies in return.
Solutions explicitly tailored towards non-profits.
Smart contracts and digital wallets allow individuals and organizations to transfer funds securely in real time with an auditable history that protects data. Smart contracts were first implemented for secure donations to individuals, organizations, and projects by Zhao & O'Mahony via their prototype implementation BMCProtector built upon Ethereum Blockchain & Smart Contract technologies for protecting music rights holders and copyright owners by sharing parameters associated with copyright agreements using innovative contract technology.
Smart contracts are an emerging technology with numerous issues and challenges associated with them, including legal concerns and the use of "off-chain resources," immutability/scalability concerns, and consensus mechanisms. There have been considerable developments over recent months relating to this matter, and I want to thank those responsible.
Legal Considerations
Innovative contract challenges often center around legal considerations. The European General Data Protection Regulation stipulates citizens' "right to forget," making smart contracts enabled by Blockchain incompatible. There are other legal considerations as well: (i) it may be hard for every country to abide by all its laws and regulations at once (ii) law clauses cannot always be quantified easily for incorporation into smart contracts (iii) it makes including provisions from laws into intelligent contracts more accessible.
Utilizing Off-Chain Resources
Off-chain resources refer to any resources not directly on the Blockchain that smart contracts require information from for functioning correctly. Oracles may be used to retrieve this off-chain information and push it onto the Blockchain; existing prophets have been thoroughly tested, but using them could create an "event of failure."
Immutability One defining characteristic of smart contracts is their immutability - once implemented, no one can alter their code, and any errors within them can never be rectified by amending any changes later on. Unfortunately, this means any code errors cannot be remedied, thus rendering smart contracts an imperfect form of security for businesses and users alike.
Resolution of issue
A major limitation that prevents smart contracts from fulfilling their promise lies with Blockchain's irreversibility; once in use, smart contracts cannot be altered unless modified from within them; hackers or malicious users could potentially use any node on the chain to record inaccurate or harmful information that would then remain permanently recorded on it.
Scalability Issue
Many blockchain networks face issues related to scaling. Ethereum blockchain, for example, only verifies 14 transactions every second. That compares poorly against Visa, which processes up to 24,000 transactions every minute! Scalability problems lead to higher transaction fees and network congestion, which increases confirmation times further.
Consensus Mechanism
Consensus mechanisms are critical components to maintain security, decentralization, and scalability in blockchain networks. Existing consensus algorithms include Proof-of-Work (PoW), Proof-of-Stake, and others - with PoW being particularly inefficient as it wastes valuable resources.
Future Trends For Smart Contracts Two aspects of future development trends for intelligent contracts - Layer 2 protocols and contract management solutions - will be highlighted here.
Layer two protocols
A solution designed to solve the scaling challenge presented by blockchains, Layer 2 protocols are an efficient means of meeting innovative contract challenges. Layer 1 refers to the primary architecture of a blockchain. At the same time, Layer 2 describes an additional system sitting atop it, and "Layer Two Protocols" describes multiple protocols or solutions built atop existing blockchains.
Lightning Network, developed in part by MIT Media Lab Digital Currency Initiative to scale public blockchains and facilitate cryptocurrency interoperability, seeks to reduce costs and save time through off-chain cryptographically secure transaction processing; only large net transactions will settle directly onto resource-constrained blockchains such as Ethereum Plasma which enables multiple chains within one root blockchain.
Solutions for contract management
Smart contracts go beyond blockchain-based technology; instead, they represent the digital lifecycle of contractual agreements, such as negotiations, controls, and verification processes. Intelligent contracts may even exist independently from Blockchain; contract management software could help solve immutability/irreversibility concerns with Blockchain while freeing it of technical restrictions to ensure timely completion.
Fabasoft Contracts, for example, provides users with a ready-to-use contract management solution in the cloud that facilitates all stages of the contract lifecycle: preparation of cross-company agreements to efficient approval and review processes to revision-secure contract archiving. Revision and secure contract management offer numerous advantages, such as providing traceability when tracking cold chains of food deliveries or verifying the authenticity of automotive spare parts against counterfeit items.
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Conclusion
Decentralization, automatic enforcement, and verifiability are the characteristics that make smart contracts unique. They enable business rules encoded in them to be implemented on a network of peers, each of which is "equal," and no one has special authority without the need for a trusted source or central server. Smart contracts will revolutionize traditional industries such as finance, healthcare, and energy. This paper presents a survey on blockchain-enabled intelligent contracts, both from a technical and utilization point of view so hire smart contract developers. We introduced a taxonomy for existing blockchain-enabled solutions to smart contracts, classified the research papers included, and reviewed the smart contract studies. The survey results identified both challenges with smart contracts and issues that remain unresolved.
