CfP: Frontiers in Blockchain - Special Issue on "Distributed Ledger Technologies: a Networking Perspective"
https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/22845/distributed-ledger-technologies-a-networking-perspective
Submission Deadline: 30.11.2021

Blockchain is considered as a disruptive technology for many use case areas, not limited to payment purposes. Aside from motivating industry and investors, these new technologies are sparking the interest of researchers due to the wide range of possible optimizations, to their challenging requirements, and to the impact they can have in real-life use cases. Nowadays, research is stepping away from a rigid Bitcoin-like blockchain structure and investigating more flexible classes of distributed ledger technologies (DLTs) which act as enablers for new potential functionalities such as decentralized applications, smart contracts, supply chains, decentralized finance, Internet of Things, and others.

It is well known that DLTs suffer from performance issues, especially in terms of throughput/scalability and transaction confirmation time. In this Research Topic, we will collect novel research that tries to optimize key network metrics, by revisiting concepts traditionally used in traditional IP networks and that are not yet part of the DLT world. To name a few, domains such as Quality of Experience and Quality of Service, networking layer optimization, congestion control, denial-of-service protection, and performance improvements are all examples of areas that are almost unexplored in the current DLT space.

In this context, this Research Topic of Network Challenges in Distributed Ledger Technologies aims at filling this gap in the literature and encourages researchers to submit manuscripts in, but not limited to, the following important and interesting areas:

* Quality of Service and Quality of Experience improvements for DLT networks
* Secure network topologies for DLTs
* Optimization of network load and communication overhead in DLTs
* Network demands of smart contracts and decentralized applications
* Testbeds and simulators for DLT networks
* Communication protocols and standards
* Off-chain solutions and Layer-2 protocols and their influence on DLT networks
* Decentralization analysis of consensus mechanisms
* Social interactions among users and validators in DLTs
* Sharding and scalability solutions in DLT networks
* Novel solutions for block and transaction propagation
* Machine learning and artificial intelligence for network troubleshooting and security of DLTs
* Prevention of attacks on DLT networks
* Decentralized access control mechanisms for the Internet of Things
* Alternatives to blockchains
* Emerging research topics

This list is illustrative, not comprehensive.

Editors:
* Luigi Vigneri, IOTA Foundation, Germany
* Stefan Schulte, TU Wien, Austria
* Pietro Ferraro, Imperial College London, UK
* Dimitris Chatzopoulos, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, SAR China