A survey of breakthrough in blockchain technology: Adoptions, applications, challenges and future research

Abstract Blockchain technology gets more attention and adoptions in various countries and companies all over the world. Blockchain is currently bringing a revolution in many enterprises like finance, healthcare, supply chain, insurance, registry, and the internet of things. Many enterprises integrate blockchain with their systems for the benefits of the blockchain. Despite its strength, blockchain has some challenges in security, privacy, scalability, and other few. This paper surveys the breakthrough in blockchain technology, its applications, and challenges. As many blockchain papers focus on cryptocurrencies, IoT, and security, this paper focuses on the overall state of the art of blockchain technology, its recent developments, and adoptions, especially in areas besides cryptocurrencies. We give a comprehensive review of the cryptography behind the blockchain for a better understanding of the technology. We also review quantitative surveys and analysis on both the public and the enterprise blockchains. Finally, we review the future research opportunities and directions on the blockchain technology.