Case Study: Convergence of Blockchain and Public-Key Cryptography

Table of Links

Abstract and 1. Introduction

2 Related Work and 2.1 Technology Convergence Approaches

2.2 Technology Convergence Measurements

2.3 Technology Convergence Models

3 Data

4 Method and 4.1 Proximity Indices

4.2 Interpolation and Fitting Data

4.3 Clustering

4.4 Forecasting

5 Results and Discussion and 5.1 Overall Results

5.2 Case Study

5.3 Limitations and Future Works

6 Conclusion and References

Appendix

5.2 Case Study

To illustrate the practical implications of our findings, we examine the evolution of proximity indices between ”Public-key cryptography” and ”Blockchain,” as depicted in Figure 4.

A notable interpolation rate of 46% is evident. This can be attributed to the sparse interactions between both technologies from 2002 to 2012, reflecting the early stages of blockchain development in the cybersecurity domain. Consequently, during this phase, indices remained relatively stagnant. It’s important to note that this interpolation rate, though steep, doesn’t significantly bias our indices between ”Public-key cryptography” and ”Blockchain”; instead, it accurately reflects the non-interactive phase between these technologies.

A significant surge in the proximity indices is evident from 2017 onwards, with the indices for common keywords and collaboration based on incremental h-indices being particularly prominent. This suggests a robust correlation between the variables ”common keywords” and ”collaboration,” indicating a notable number of authors simultaneously exploring both public-key cryptography and blockchain technologies. Additionally, there is a marginal increase in mutual citations between the two technologies. While citation-based indices exhibit modest growth, it could be attributed to their inherent construction

rather than a lack of interaction between the two technologies. Based on this evidence, we hypothesize that a tangible technological convergence occurred between blockchain and public-key cryptography from 2017 to 2021.

This convergence is highlighted by the increasing adoption of public-key cryptography in blockchain platforms during this period. Techniques like digital signatures, based on public-key cryptography, became integral to verifying blockchain transactions. Furthermore, the integration of zero-knowledge proofs, also based on public-key cryptography, gained traction in blockchain frameworks to validate assertions without revealing the underlying data. In conclusion, our findings highlight a pivotal phase of technological convergence between blockchain and public-key cryptography spanning 2017 to 2021.