Toward Blockchain for Edge-of-Things: A New Paradigm, Opportunities, and Future Directions

TL;DR

This paper explores the integration of blockchain with Edge-of-Things (EoT), proposing a new architecture to enhance security and support low-latency applications across various IoT domains.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of blockchain-enabled EoT (BEoT), outlining a novel architecture and discussing its potential for security and industrial applications.

Findings

BEoT supports secure access authentication and data privacy.

BEoT enables attack detection and trust management.

The paper identifies key research challenges and future directions.

Abstract

Blockchain is gaining momentum as a promising technology for many application domains, one of them being the Edge-of- Things (EoT) that is enabled by the integration of edge computing and the Internet-of-Things (IoT). Particularly, the amalgamation of blockchain and EoT leads to a new paradigm, called blockchain enabled EoT (BEoT) that is crucial for enabling future low-latency and high-security services and applications. This article envisions a novel BEoT architecture for supporting industrial applications under the management of blockchain at the network edge in a wide range of IoT use cases such as smart home, smart healthcare, smart grid, and smart transportation. The potentials of BEoT in providing security services are also explored, including access authentication, data privacy preservation, attack detection, and trust management. Finally, we point out some key research challenges and future directions in this emerging area.