Blockchain-Based Architecture: Performance and Applications

Dear Colleagues,

Blockchain technologies have evolved from purely transactional systems into complex, distributed infrastructures supporting data sharing, automation, and trust across heterogeneous environments. However, as blockchain adoption expands beyond cryptocurrencies into domains such as Internet of Things (IoT), smart grids, digital twins, supply chains, healthcare, and decentralized AI, architectural design and performance considerations become critical challenges. This Special Issue aims to gather high-quality research addressing blockchain-based architectures with a particular emphasis on performance, scalability, interoperability, and real-world applicability. Contributions may focus on architectural designs integrating blockchain with cloud–edge–fog computing, IoT platforms, artificial intelligence and cyber–physical systems (CPS), as well as on-layer optimizations such as consensus mechanisms, off-chain computation, data storage strategies, and cross-chain communication. In addition to theoretical and experimental performance evaluations—which cover aspects such as latency, throughput, energy efficiency and security trade-offs—this Special Issue encourages application-driven studies demonstrating validated deployments, prototypes and benchmarks in industrial, urban, environmental and energy-related contexts. Survey and review articles synthesizing architectural trends, performance metrics, and open challenges are also welcome. Overall, this Special Issue aims to advance blockchain from conceptual frameworks to robust, scalable, and efficient systems suitable for real-world engineering solutions.

Dr. Jesús Rodríguez-Molina
Dr. Bimal Ghimire
Guest Editors

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