Insured? Good! Designing a Blockchain-based Credit Default Insurance System for DeFi Lending Protocols

The rising popularity of blockchain has cleared the path for developing numerous decentralized finance (DeFi) applications. However, insurance solutions for DeFi applications are still missing. Therefore, this article presents a smart contract-based P2P credit default insurance solution using the Design Science Research Method. The design presents an approach to decentralize insurance systems by reducing the number of intermediaries. The evaluation of the artifact shows that blockchain and smart contracts can provide financial inclusion, reduce costs and automate processes in insurance processes

The De-Central Bank in Decentralized Finance: A Case Study of MakerDAO

Countless decentralized finance (DeFi) applications of the past years have suffered from the high volatility and speculative behavior surrounding their underlying crypto assets. While the academic debate has been flourishing in these areas, Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) have not received as much attention. This is the case even though they could offer an opportunity to solve some of the underlying problems of existing cryptocurrencies and ecosystems, for example, by providing lower volatility and, thus, exchange rate stability. This paper presents an economic analysis of the MakerDAO, a DAO in DeFi. In doing so, we use a single case study methodology based on existing resources and expert interviews. It also uses monetary theory instruments to provide researchers and developers with insights into how DAOs are governed. Further, it serves to illustrate how IS research may support the development of future IT artifacts aimed at offering the infrastructure for DeFi applications

An In-Depth Investigation of Performance Characteristics of Hyperledger Fabric

Private permissioned blockchains, such as Hyperledger Fabric, are widely deployed across the industry to facilitate cross-organizational processes and promise improved performance compared to their public counterparts. However, the lack of empirical and theoretical results prevent precise prediction of the real-world performance. We address this gap by conducting an in-depth performance analysis of Hyperledger Fabric. The paper presents a detailed compilation of various performance characteristics using an enhanced version of the Distributed Ledger Performance Scan. Researchers and practitioners alike can use the results as guidelines to better configure and implement their blockchains and utilize the DLPS framework to conduct their measurements

The Human Factor in Blockchain Ecosystems: A Sociotechnical Framework

As blockchain development continues at an ever-increasing pace, an increasing number of individual actors and organizations throughout entire economies get into contact with the technology. Furthermore, the growing collaboration of companies, customers, suppliers, and other actors is evolving into a multilateral network between the parties engaged with the technology. Therefore, to understand blockchain-based business models and innovations, it is necessary to understand human interactions within blockchain ecosystems. Consequently, this paper offers new insights concerning the role of human actors within blockchain ecosystems. For this purpose, the structure within and around the Ethereum-blockchain is analyzed using existing literature on the Ethereum ecosystem and Sociotechnical systems. The analysis results are then placed in their context and summarized in a framework for comparable ecosystems

Shedding Light on the Blockchain Disintermediation Mystery: A Review and Future Research Agenda

Blockchain technology has been in the interest of IS researchers and practitioners for several years. One key reason for this curiosity is the possibility to carry out peer-to-peer transactions without a trusted intermediary. Building upon this capability, many researchers posited that blockchain technology would remove traditional intermediaries from their market position. This process has been described in electronic markets literature as Disintermediation. However, other researchers proposed a more distinct perspective by proposing that blockchain technology will not facilitate Disintermediation in all settings. Thus, no unified view on this topic exists yet. Our literature review identifies three dominating concepts in blockchain literature: Extensive Disintermediation, Limited Disintermediation, and Re-Intermediation. We further highlight in our findings that most of the identified literature does not consider all market functions as described in the electronic markets literature. Hence, we provide a structured overview of the field and possibilities for future research

Accept Me as I Am or See Me Go: A Qualitative Analysis of User Acceptance of Self-Sovereign Identity Applications

Self-sovereign identity represents a novel phenomenon aiming to innovate how entities interact with, manage, and prove identity-related information. As with any emerging phenomenon, user acceptance represents a major challenge for the adoption of Self-sovereign identity. Since previous initiatives for digital identity management solutions have not been successfully adopted while at the same time their benefits are largely driven by network effects, user acceptance research is of particular importance for Self-sovereign identity. Therefore, we investigate the user acceptance of Self-sovereign identity by conducting a qualitative interview study. We contribute novel variables to existing theory and offer guidelines for building Self-sovereign identity systems

Towards Solving the Blockchain Trilemma: An Exploration of Zero-Knowledge Proofs

Research on blockchain has found that the technology is no silver bullet compared to traditional data structures due to limitations regarding decentralization, security, and scalability. These limitations are summarized in the blockchain trilemma, which today represents the greatest barrier to blockchain adoption and applicability. To address these limitations, recent advancements by blockchain businesses have focused on a new cryptographic technique called Zero-knowledge proofs . While these primitives have been around for some time and despite their potential significance on blockchains, not much is known in information systems research about them and their potential effects. Therefore, we employ a multivocal literature review to explore this new tool and find that although it has the potential to resolve the trilemma, it currently only solves it in certain dimensions, which necessitates further attention and research

Overcoming the Data Transparency Trade-Off: Designing a Blockchain-Based Delivery Invoice System for the Construction Industry

Blockchain’s inherent characteristics render it a promising solution in collaborative supply chain networks. However, the technology still faces chal- lenges in coopetition, as sharing business data on blockchains requires balancing the benefits of data transparency for process automation with concerns about exposing business information to competitors. This paper draws on design science research to iteratively design and develop a decentralized infrastructure that can address the coopetition aspects of digital delivery invoices in construction supply chains. As a result, design objectives and design principles are derived while experts thoroughly evaluate the prototype. Practical guidance for implementing digital delivery invoices is provided to enable coopetitive while secure data ex- change. Our findings suggest that if construction companies want to prioritize network effects despite the growing complexity, they should establish channels and private data collections along with additional privacy-enhancing technologies to ensure secure data exchange across the entire supply chain