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 and AI for Secure and Trustworthy Cyber-Physical Systems
Submission Date: 2026-03-31

Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) integrate sensing, computation, control, and networking to provide intelligent services in safety-critical domains, including transportation, healthcare, manufacturing, and energy. Continued scaling and interconnection of these systems rapidly increase exposure to cyber-attacks, privacy breaches, and reliability failures. Traditional protection mechanisms, predicated on centralized control and static threat assumptions, are inadequate for the resulting dynamic and heterogeneous operating environments. The convergence of blockchain and Artificial Intelligence (AI) establishes a transformative architecture for next-generation CPS: blockchain guarantees tamper-proof, decentralized data provenance and coordination, whereas AI delivers adaptive learning, predictive analytics, and autonomous defense. Their integration enables CPS to acquire new knowledge, autonomously recover from disruptions, and preserve end-to-end verifiability even when confronted with sophisticated adversaries.

The aim of this Special Issue is to provide scholars and researchers with a comprehensive, peer-reviewed reference on the theory, design, and evaluation of blockchain-AI-enabled CPS. We would like to invite you to contribute original research articles as well as review articles that discuss recent advancements regarding the design, construction, and performance of pavement, including (but not limited to) the following themes:

    Blockchain-based data integrity and traceability for CPS
    Blockchain-enabled federated learning for distributed CPS
    Decentralized identity management and access control for CPS
    Blockchain and AI-based verifiable and trustworthy solutions in CPS
    Distributed consensus and lightweight blockchain protocols for CPS
    Blockchain-based trust management for intelligent CPS
    Application of Blockchain and AI to enhance the reliability of CPS
    Blockchain and AI-aided intrusion detection in CPS
    AI-optimized blockchain networks designed for CPS
    Secure and privacy-preserving collaborative learning in CPS
    AI-enabled cross-chain interoperability for secure and trustworthy CPS
    Redactable blockchain protocols for CPS
    AI-enabled adaptive sharding schemes in CPS
    AI-assisted smart contract security for CPS

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