Blockchain is a peer-reviewed open access journal focused on publishing original works, communications, reviews, perspectives, reports and commentaries in all areas of blockchain in both basic research and application.

Topics of interest include but are not limited to the following:

    Blockchain theories and technologies
    Blockchain economics and finance
    Blockchain security
    Cryptocurrency
    Distributed ledger technologies and smart contracts
    FinTech
    Non-Fungible products and digital currencies
    Permissioned and permission-less ledgers
    Web-3 applications in economics, finance, manufacturing, metaverse, social science, etc

Special Issue on Blockchain User Privacy and Anonymity: From Vulnerabilities to Protections
Submission Date: 2026-04-30

As blockchain technology continues to evolve and find applications in finance, supply chains, healthcare, IoT, and beyond, the inherent transparency of public ledgers presents critical challenges to user anonymity and privacy protection. While blockchain ensures integrity and accountability, the exposure of transaction data and address reuse often enables adversaries to conduct profiling, deanonymization, and surveillance. These issues undermine user trust and limit blockchain’s deployment in privacy-sensitive domains.

This Special Issue seeks high-quality contributions that address theoretical foundations, novel protocols, practical implementations, and empirical studies aimed at improving blockchain user anonymity and privacy. We especially welcome interdisciplinary work that bridges cryptography, distributed systems, data privacy, and real-world blockchain applications. Topics of Interest include but are not limited to:

    Attacks on blockchain anonymity and privacy (e.g., deanonymization, linkage, profiling)
    Cryptographic techniques for enhancing anonymity (e.g., ring signatures, stealth addresses, zero-knowledge proofs)
    Lightweight privacy-preserving mechanisms for blockchain and cryptocurrency users
    Formal models and security proofs for anonymity and privacy guarantees
    Privacy-aware consensus and transaction validation mechanisms
    Privacy protection in cross-chain and layer-2 solutions
    Anonymity in smart contracts, decentralized applications (DApps), and DeFi
    Blockchain privacy in IoT, healthcare, and supply chain applications
    Practical evaluations, measurements, and real-world deployments
    Case studies of industry adoption, vulnerabilities, and defenses