1. “Zapper: Smart Contracts with Data and Identity Privacy” by Samuel Steffen, Benjamin Bichsel, and Martin Vechev

TLDR:

• Privacy is at the forefront of industry discussions given the recent arrest of the developer of Tornado Cash.

• It can be argued that achieving privacy in the context of blockchains is the only way that many critical use cases for this technology, especially those that require personal data, can be accomplished.

• This paper presents a fascinating schema called Zapper, which is a proof-of-concept of a private smart contract system that hides the identity of its users, as well as the applications they interact with.

2. “Measuring Node Decentralisation in Blockchain Peer-to-Peer Networks” by Andrew Howell, Takfarinas Saber, and Malika Bendechache

TLDR:

• One of the biggest determinants of a network’s decentralization is the number of independent nodes, or participants, it retains over time.

• The very same principle is true for cryptoasset networks, which often comprise thousands of nodes hosted across many services and geographies.

• This paper evaluates how cryptoasset nodes can be monitored and sheds light on the IP distribution and hosting providers of different cryptoassets.

3. “Authentication, Authorization, and Selective Disclosure for IoT data sharing using Verifiable Credentials and Zero-Knowledge Proofs” by Nikos Fotiou, Iakovos Pittaras, Spiros Chadoulos, Vasilios A. Siris, George C. Polyzos, Nikolaos Ipiotis, and Stratos Keranidis

TLDR:

• The intersection of blockchains and IoT continues to garnish substantial interest by academia and industry participants.

• Given the highly sensitive nature of IoT data, many critics have shown concern for this trend due to the low privacy guarantees that blockchains currently offer.

• This paper explores the use of Zero Knowledge Proofs (ZKPs) to obfuscate aggregated IoT data and limit the potential for privacy attacks.

• While it does not apply this schema to blockchains, the paper does shed light on the primitives that would be required in order for IoT applications to operate on blockchains in a private setting.

4. “A Comparison of the Limit Order Book and Automated Market Maker” by Caren de Vries

TLDR:

• The trading of assets is one of the key use-cases in DeFi, with platforms like Uniswap frequently settling billions of dollars worth of trades.

• DeFi exchanges are often implemented using the Automated Market Maker (AMM) model which is substantially different than traditional orderbook exchanges.

• This paper provides a comprehensive comparison of these two market types and covers all of their mathematical underpinnings.

5. “WTEYE: On-Chain Wash Trade Detection and Quantification for ERC20 Cryptocurrencies” by Wei Cui and Cunnian Gao

TLDR:

• Also on the topic of trading, one of the biggest concerns with permission-less AMMs is the susceptibility to nefarious market attacks, such as wash trading.

• For context, wash trading is a form of market manipulation where an entity can affect the price of an asset by simultaneously buying and selling it.

• In traditional markets, exchange operators monitor the identity of buyers and sellers to prevent that from happening. However, that is not possible (or perhaps wanted) in the context of AMMs.

• This paper does a great job proposing a detection model for wash trading in AMMs and quantifies how much it has taken place.

• Astonishingly, their experiment finds that, for most ERC20s, the rate of wash trade is at least 15% of the token’s volume.

6. “ReSuMo: Regression Mutation Testing for Solidity Smart Contracts” by Morena Barboni, Francesco Casoni, Andrea Morichetta, and Andrea Polini

TLDR:

• Mutation testing is a relatively new field in computer science and is used to evaluate the quality of a software testing suite or to develop new ways to test software.

• The basic idea of mutation testing is the introduction of small changes, or mutations, to a software program with the ultimate goal of identifying unwanted or unexpected behavior.

• This paper introduces a tool called ReSuMo, which applies regression mutation testing to Solidity Smart Contracts.

About SCRF The Smart Contract Research Forum’s (SCRF) bold mission is to advance web3 through actionable research and knowledge-sharing. To this end, SCRF connects researchers and builders, sponsors projects, and constructs collaborative forums. SCRF’s community is an active, international network of academics, industry architects, and blockchain advocates.

1. “Zapper: Smart Contracts with Data and Identity Privacy” by Samuel Steffen, Benjamin Bichsel, and Martin Vechev

TLDR:

• Privacy is at the forefront of industry discussions given the recent arrest of the developer of Tornado Cash.

• It can be argued that achieving privacy in the context of blockchains is the only way that many critical use cases for this technology, especially those that require personal data, can be accomplished.

• This paper presents a fascinating schema called Zapper, which is a proof-of-concept of a private smart contract system that hides the identity of its users, as well as the applications they interact with.

2. “Measuring Node Decentralisation in Blockchain Peer-to-Peer Networks” by Andrew Howell, Takfarinas Saber, and Malika Bendechache

TLDR:

• One of the biggest determinants of a network’s decentralization is the number of independent nodes, or participants, it retains over time.

• The very same principle is true for cryptoasset networks, which often comprise thousands of nodes hosted across many services and geographies.

• This paper evaluates how cryptoasset nodes can be monitored and sheds light on the IP distribution and hosting providers of different cryptoassets.

3. “Authentication, Authorization, and Selective Disclosure for IoT data sharing using Verifiable Credentials and Zero-Knowledge Proofs” by Nikos Fotiou, Iakovos Pittaras, Spiros Chadoulos, Vasilios A. Siris, George C. Polyzos, Nikolaos Ipiotis, and Stratos Keranidis

TLDR:

• The intersection of blockchains and IoT continues to garnish substantial interest by academia and industry participants.

• Given the highly sensitive nature of IoT data, many critics have shown concern for this trend due to the low privacy guarantees that blockchains currently offer.

• This paper explores the use of Zero Knowledge Proofs (ZKPs) to obfuscate aggregated IoT data and limit the potential for privacy attacks.

• While it does not apply this schema to blockchains, the paper does shed light on the primitives that would be required in order for IoT applications to operate on blockchains in a private setting.

4. “A Comparison of the Limit Order Book and Automated Market Maker” by Caren de Vries

TLDR:

• The trading of assets is one of the key use-cases in DeFi, with platforms like Uniswap frequently settling billions of dollars worth of trades.

• DeFi exchanges are often implemented using the Automated Market Maker (AMM) model which is substantially different than traditional orderbook exchanges.

• This paper provides a comprehensive comparison of these two market types and covers all of their mathematical underpinnings.

5. “WTEYE: On-Chain Wash Trade Detection and Quantification for ERC20 Cryptocurrencies” by Wei Cui and Cunnian Gao

TLDR:

• Also on the topic of trading, one of the biggest concerns with permission-less AMMs is the susceptibility to nefarious market attacks, such as wash trading.

• For context, wash trading is a form of market manipulation where an entity can affect the price of an asset by simultaneously buying and selling it.

• In traditional markets, exchange operators monitor the identity of buyers and sellers to prevent that from happening. However, that is not possible (or perhaps wanted) in the context of AMMs.

• This paper does a great job proposing a detection model for wash trading in AMMs and quantifies how much it has taken place.

• Astonishingly, their experiment finds that, for most ERC20s, the rate of wash trade is at least 15% of the token’s volume.

6. “ReSuMo: Regression Mutation Testing for Solidity Smart Contracts” by Morena Barboni, Francesco Casoni, Andrea Morichetta, and Andrea Polini

TLDR:

• Mutation testing is a relatively new field in computer science and is used to evaluate the quality of a software testing suite or to develop new ways to test software.

• The basic idea of mutation testing is the introduction of small changes, or mutations, to a software program with the ultimate goal of identifying unwanted or unexpected behavior.

• This paper introduces a tool called ReSuMo, which applies regression mutation testing to Solidity Smart Contracts.

About SCRF The Smart Contract Research Forum’s (SCRF) bold mission is to advance web3 through actionable research and knowledge-sharing. To this end, SCRF connects researchers and builders, sponsors projects, and constructs collaborative forums. SCRF’s community is an active, international network of academics, industry architects, and blockchain advocates.