Down to the Rabbit Hole: How Gamification is Integrated in Blockchain Systems? A Systematic Literature Review

Blockchain is becoming a core technology in all application domains as it brings several advantages, such as immutability, transparency, high availability, strong data consistency, and interoperability. Despite these advantages, blockchain systems still have several concerns that might significantly reduce their effectiveness, including motivational, human concerns and miners' involvement and participation. Gamification, on the other hand, was proposed as a solution for these concerns, among others. However, little is known in the literature on the use of gamification for blockchain systems, calling for more investigation in this regard. Therefore, this study conducts a systematic literature review to investigate why and how gamification is used in blockchain systems. Specifically, 41 studies were included and analyzed in this systematic review. The obtained results highlighted that gamification is integrated into blockchain systems to achieve different purposes, including motivating users/miners and increasing data validation and trust. Additionally, the findings revealed that Ethereum is the most used blockchain platform, where points and challenges are the most used game elements in blockchain systems. Furthermore, when using gamification as an incentive mechanic in blockchain, there is no difference in the effect of the consensus algorithm on miners' motivation. The findings of this study provide insights into the ways of integrating gamification to enhance blockchain systems, as well as reveal future research directions to consider before deploying the next generation of gamified blockchain systems.

Automated summary

Blockchain is a core technology with advantages such as immutability, transparency, high availability, strong data consistency, and interoperability. However, there are concerns regarding motivation, human factors, and miners' involvement and participation. Gamification has been proposed as a solution, but its use in blockchain systems is not well studied. This study conducts a literature review and finds that gamification is integrated into blockchain systems to motivate users/miners and increase data validation and trust. Ethereum is the most used platform, with points and challenges as the most used game elements. The study provides insights for integrating gamification in blockchain systems and suggests future research directions.