Evolution of Smart Contracts- A Bibliometric Analysis and Review

Abstract

Abstract: Smart contracts are self-executing, deterministic scripts that run transparently on top of a blockchain. They enable trusted transactions and agreements between anonymous parties without the need for a trusted figure or authority. The smart contract code and agreement between the parties are publicly available on the blockchain, making transactions transparent, traceable, and irreversible. Smart contracts have the potential to revolutionize and disrupt numerous industries' traditional operating procedures. Although research on smart contracts has yielded significant results, their full potential remains untapped. A bibliometric analysis was performed in this paper to obtain a holistic overview and to assist academic researchers in developing a comprehensive understanding of the state of scientific research on smart contracts. 513 articles on smart contracts were extracted and analyzed using biblioshiny and VOSviewer from the core collection of the Web of Science (WOS) database. Influential journals, top authors, most contributing countries, and impactful articles in the smart contract domain are revealed. A three-fields plot is constructed to show the interactions between the most relevant sources, author key words, and countries, providing a deeper understanding of the state of global research on smart contracts. Furthermore, keyword co-occurrence analysis identified four clusters representing underlying research streams: (1) smart contracts technology and its applications in healthcare (2) applications of smart contracts in supply chain management (3) smart contracts for the Internet of Things (IOT) (4) Smart contracts for business ventures on consortium blockchains Finally, future research directions are suggested based on areas of low coverage but high potential impact