Blockchain Use Cases in Digital Sectors: A Review of the Literature

Blockchain technology is a ledger system that is popularly known as the backbone of the Bitcoin cryptocur-rency. Since its conception, the potential beneficial applications of blockchain in other digital sectors have been lauded in the literature, and related challenges have been disputed. In this study, the literature is reviewed for frameworks and use cases that fully realize the applicability of blockchain beyond financial applications and cryptocurrencies. A network analysis of the literature was performed to identify the most popularly documented digital sectors in this context, which include the Internet of Things (IoT), healthcare, supply chain management, and government sectors. For each sector, this review documents use cases in which an attempt is made to implement blockchain solutions. The main purpose of this paper is to probe each sector for the growing maturity of blockchain technology and to document the unique benefits and challenges arising from the use of this technology. The findings show that despite the growing reputation of blockchain technology, its implementation within these four sectors remains in infancy because the use cases lack concrete evaluations of its effectiveness and plausibility. Nevertheless, the categorization of current blockchain use cases demonstrates current applications and sector-specific concerns that suggest future directions for further research.