Mapping the landscape of blockchain technology: a bibliometric analysis

Blockchain technology has experienced a meteoric rise in popularity, revolutionising industries and igniting intense research efforts around the world. The intellectual environment surrounding research on blockchain technology has been meticulously analysed in this bibliometric paper. We seek to shed light on the major trends, research themes, and key contributors influencing the blockchain research domain by utilising comprehensive bibliometric data from Dimension.ai (An Open Access Database). Our analysis spans between the year 2019 to July 2023 and includes a wide range of scholarly articles. Initially, a screening process was employed to assess 16,479 published articles against our inclusion criteria based on keyword search. Finally, 11,593 articles met the criteria and were included in our analysis. We offer a thorough overview of the development and dynamics of blockchain research using bibliometric indicators like publication counts, citation counts, co-authorship networks, and patterns of international collaboration, with visualizations generated using VOSviewer. Furthermore, our analysis highlights the distribution of research efforts distributed globally, demonstrating the participation of various nations and institutions. We investigate the degree of international cooperation, illuminating the global interconnectedness of researchers in the advancement of blockchain knowledge. In conclusion, this paper provides a thorough overview of the state of the research on blockchain technology, offering insightful information to both academics and business stakeholders. This paper elucidates the evolution of research on blockchain technology by outlining the intellectual landscape, and it also provides a road map for future efforts to realise the transformative potential of blockchain technology.