Blockchain technology has rapidly evolved from a niche cryptographic innovation into a transformative force across industries, offering decentralized, secure, and transparent systems for managing digital transactions and data. As blockchain adoption grows, critical challenges related to data storage, scalability, and availability have come to the forefront of academic and industrial research. This article presents a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of recent scholarly work focusing on these three pivotal aspects, leveraging tools like CiteSpace and VOSviewer to map the intellectual structure, emerging trends, and key contributors in the field.
Understanding Blockchain: Core Concepts
At its foundation, a blockchain is a distributed ledger technology (DLT) that records transactions across a decentralized network of nodes. Each block contains a batch of verified transactions, cryptographically linked to the previous block, forming an immutable chain. This architecture ensures data integrity, prevents tampering, and eliminates reliance on centralized authorities.
Blockchains operate through consensus mechanisms such as Proof of Work (PoW) or Proof of Stake (PoS), where network participants—miners or validators—verify and validate new transactions before they are added to the chain. Once recorded, data cannot be altered without altering all subsequent blocks, which requires consensus from the majority of the network—a feature that underpins blockchain’s security.
While initially popularized by cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, blockchain's applications now span finance, healthcare, supply chain management, IoT, and more. However, widespread adoption hinges on overcoming inherent limitations in storage efficiency, transaction throughput, and system availability.
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The Three Pillars: Storage, Scalability, and Availability
Blockchain Data Storage
Traditional cloud storage systems rely on centralized servers, creating single points of failure and vulnerability to breaches. In contrast, blockchain-based data storage distributes data across multiple nodes using cryptographic hashing and decentralized protocols like IPFS (InterPlanetary File System).
This decentralized model enhances data security and user ownership. Users retain control over their information, while encryption ensures privacy. However, storing large volumes of data directly on-chain is inefficient due to high costs and limited capacity. Therefore, hybrid models—where metadata resides on-chain and actual data is stored off-chain—are increasingly common.
Solutions such as Sia, Storj, and Filecoin have emerged to create marketplaces for decentralized storage, incentivizing users to rent out unused disk space. These platforms use smart contracts to automate agreements between storage providers and clients, ensuring trustless interactions.
Despite progress, challenges remain:
- Data duplication across nodes increases storage demands.
- Latency in retrieving distributed files can affect performance.
- Long-term data persistence depends on node participation and economic incentives.
Blockchain Scalability
Scalability refers to a blockchain’s ability to handle increasing transaction volumes without compromising speed or cost. The so-called "blockchain trilemma" suggests that systems can only optimize two out of three qualities: decentralization, security, and scalability.
Bitcoin and Ethereum, for example, prioritize decentralization and security but suffer from low transaction throughput—Bitcoin processes around 7 transactions per second (TPS), while Ethereum handles about 15–30 TPS under normal conditions. This pales in comparison to traditional payment networks like Visa, which can process thousands of TPS.
To address this, several scaling solutions have been developed:
Layer-1 Solutions (On-Chain)
- Sharding: Splits the blockchain into smaller partitions (shards) that process transactions in parallel.
- Consensus Upgrades: Transitioning from energy-intensive PoW to efficient PoS (as Ethereum did with "The Merge") improves throughput.
Layer-2 Solutions (Off-Chain)
- State Channels: Allow parties to conduct multiple off-chain transactions before settling the final state on-chain.
- Sidechains: Independent blockchains connected to the main chain, enabling asset transfers and faster processing.
- Rollups: Bundle multiple transactions into a single on-chain submission (e.g., Optimistic Rollups, ZK-Rollups).
These innovations are crucial for supporting mass adoption in sectors like finance, gaming (GameFi), and decentralized identity.
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Blockchain Availability
Availability measures how consistently a blockchain system remains accessible for reading and writing data. While read operations (querying transaction history) are generally reliable, write availability—the ability to submit and confirm new transactions—can be constrained during network congestion.
Factors affecting availability include:
- Network latency
- Node distribution
- Consensus finality time
- DDoS attacks or node failures
In enterprise settings, especially within IoT or healthcare systems, uninterrupted access is essential. Frameworks like ProvChain, BDUA, and AutAvailChain aim to enhance data availability by integrating blockchain with provenance tracking and auditing mechanisms.
For instance, ProvChain ensures tamper-proof data lineage in cloud environments, improving accountability and trust. Meanwhile, AutAvailChain leverages software-defined networking (SDN) to enable secure and autonomous sharing of IoT-generated data.
Research Trends and Key Findings from Bibliometric Analysis
Using data from Dimensions.ai (2012–2022), this study analyzed over 3,500 publications related to blockchain storage (2,002 papers), scalability (1,298), and availability (282). Key findings include:
Publication Growth Trends
- Research on blockchain storage and scalability surged after 2016, peaking around 2020.
- Studies on availability gained momentum later, with peak output in 2021.
- The upward trend indicates growing academic interest in solving real-world deployment challenges.
Leading Contributors
- India leads in publications on storage and scalability.
- The United States dominates availability research.
- Top institutions include Nirma University (India) and Federal University of Pernambuco (Brazil).
- Influential authors include Rajesh Gupta, Sudeep Tanwar, and Mohsen Guizani.
Most Cited Journals
- IEEE Access ranks highest across all three domains.
- Other prominent journals: IEEE Internet of Things Journal, Future Generation Computer Systems, Lecture Notes in Computer Science.
These journals serve as central hubs for disseminating cutting-edge research on blockchain infrastructure.
Emerging Research Themes
Keyword co-occurrence analysis via VOSviewer revealed four dominant clusters:
- Smart Contracts & Automation
- Supply Chain & Traceability
- IoT Integration & Vehicle Networks
- Energy & Smart Grid Applications
Notably, topics like smart contracts, traceability, and transparency have become focal points beyond financial use cases.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is blockchain scalability?
Blockchain scalability refers to a network’s ability to handle increasing transaction loads efficiently—measured by throughput (transactions per second), confirmation speed, and resource usage.
Why is data storage a challenge in blockchains?
Blockchains store data immutably across all nodes. This redundancy ensures security but leads to bloated databases and high storage costs, especially when large files are stored directly on-chain.
How do Layer-2 solutions improve scalability?
Layer-2 protocols process transactions off the main chain and only submit summaries back to it. This reduces congestion and lowers fees while maintaining security through cryptographic proofs.
What affects blockchain availability?
Network outages, consensus delays, DDoS attacks, or insufficient node participation can reduce availability. Hybrid architectures combining on-chain verification with off-chain data access help mitigate these issues.
Which industries benefit most from improved blockchain availability?
Healthcare, finance, logistics, and IoT systems require continuous access to trusted data—making high availability critical for operational reliability and regulatory compliance.
Can blockchain be both scalable and secure?
Yes—but it requires innovative design trade-offs. Modern protocols use techniques like sharding, rollups, and optimized consensus algorithms to balance scalability with strong security guarantees.
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Conclusion
This bibliometric analysis highlights the evolving landscape of blockchain research centered on storage, scalability, and availability—three interdependent pillars crucial for mainstream adoption. While significant progress has been made through Layer-1 upgrades and Layer-2 innovations, challenges persist in achieving optimal performance without compromising decentralization or security.
The concentration of research output in countries like India, the U.S., China, and South Korea reflects global collaboration and investment in advancing blockchain infrastructure. Meanwhile, journals like IEEE Access continue to play a vital role in shaping discourse and driving innovation.
Looking ahead, integrating blockchain with AI, edge computing, and federated learning offers promising avenues for enhancing scalability and data management. Continued interdisciplinary research will be essential to unlock the full potential of decentralized systems across sectors—from finance to healthcare to smart cities.
By mapping the current state of knowledge and identifying emerging trends, this study provides valuable insights for researchers, developers, and policymakers navigating the complex yet transformative world of blockchain technology.