Integration of Blockchain and Cloud of Things: Architecture, Applications and Challenges
Open accessAbstract
The blockchain technology is taking the world by storm. Blockchain with its decentralized, transparent and secure nature has emerged as a disruptive technology for the next generation of numerous industrial applications. One of them is Cloud of Things enabled by the combination of cloud computing and Internet of Things. In this context, blockchain provides innovative solutions to address challenges in Cloud of Things in terms of decentralization, data privacy and network security, while Cloud of Things offer elasticity and scalability functionalities to improve the efficiency of blockchain operations. Therefore, a novel paradigm of blockchain and Cloud of Things integration, called BCoT, has been widely regarded as a promising enabler for a wide range of application scenarios. In this article, we present a state-of-the-art review on the BCoT integration to provide general readers with an overview of the BCoT in various aspects, including background knowledge, motivation, and integrated architecture. Particularly, we also provide an in-depth survey of BCoT applications in different use-case domains such as smart healthcare, smart city, smart transportation and smart industry. Then, we review the recent BCoT developments with the emerging blockchain and cloud platforms, services, and research projects. Finally, some important research challenges and future directions are highlighted to spur further research in this promising area.
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Recent research reports have revealed inherent security weaknesses in blockchain related to medical and healthcare systems.
“However, recent research reports have revealed inherent security weaknesses in blockchain which are related to medical and healthcare systems [44].”
From Blockchain and AI-Based Solutions to Combat Coronavirus (COVID-19)-Like Epidemics: A Survey (2021) · cites this paper as [44]
Bitcoin can process a maximum of four transactions/second, Ethereum about 20 transactions/second, and Visa up to 1667 transactions/second.
“For example, Bitcoin can only process a maximum of four transactions/second, and the throughput of Ethereum achieved is about 20 transactions/second, while Visa can process up to 1667 transactions/second [44].”
From Blockchain and AI-Based Solutions to Combat Coronavirus (COVID-19)-Like Epidemics: A Survey (2021) · cites this paper as [44]
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- Authors
- Nguyen, D. C., Pathirana, P. N., Ding, M., & Seneviratne, A.
- Affiliations
- Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (AU)
- Deakin University (AU)
- UNSW Sydney (AU)
- Venue
- IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials
- Published
- 2020
- Volume
- 22
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 2521-2549
- ISSN
- 1553-877X (ISSN-L)
- 2373-745X
- OpenAlex
- W2969602038
- Cited by
- 261
- References
- 18
- Citations by year
- 2026: 17 · 2025: 34 · 2024: 62 · 2023: 50 · 2022: 55 · 2021: 33 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 1
- FWCI
- 34.57
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- arxiv.org
- Licence
- Locations
- IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials (publishedVersion)
- arXiv (Cornell University) (submittedVersion)
- UNSWorks (University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- arXiv (Cornell University)
- Funders
- CSIRO Data61, Australia
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Information Systems › Blockchain Technology Applications and Security
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Computer Networks and Communications › IoT and Edge/Fog Computing
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Information Systems › Internet of Things and AI
- Keywords
- blockchain, Cloud of Things, Internet of Things, cloud computing, decentralized architecture, data privacy, network security, smart healthcare, smart cities, smart transportation, smart industry, blockchain platforms
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