# Blockchain Application in Internet of Vehicles: Challenges, Contributions and Current Limitations
## 4 Discussion
### Blockchain Contributions in IoV-Assisted Smart Grid  
As stated in Section 4.1, the IoV ecosystem faces several issues, including heterogeneity of IoV systems, poor interoperability, privacy and security risks, network complexity, high vehicle mobility and the smart grid's demand response problem. The application of blockchain within IoV-assisted smart grids can provide several benefits to the present and future intelligent transportation systems [18]. This Section goes through the contributions in the field of smart grids and the IoV environment that are especially related to the features and functioning principles of blockchain, as derived from the current literature. Over the past few years, blockchain has emerged as a transformative technology in the context of the smart energy grids [67], enabling secure and reliable P2P energy trading between DERs [68]. Due to blockchain's nature, a stable, open and decentralized ledger could be established for all data and transactions, related to energy production and consumption [12]. In addition, smart contracts facilitated through blockchain can enable transparent and immutable transactions on the energy grid and promote interconnections between energy producers and energy consumers (i.e., prosumers) in a decentralized and fault-tolerant environment [69]. Thus, a technology such as blockchain, which does not have a centralized trust body, becomes necessary to ensure efficient and reliable energy trading within the smart grid [13]. Furthermore, blockchain has the ability to deliver a significant number of novel solutions in most IoV applications. The majority of such applications are real-time and mobile, generating and exchanging a huge quantity of data. Incorporating blockchain into IoV enhances system efficiency and automation while also increasing security, privacy and dependability. As a result, researchers have begun to build blockchain-based IoV [5,15,16]. IoV built on blockchain has the potential to establish a new ecosystem for the transportation and car industries in which value can be transferred and maintained in a safe, transparent, immutable and efficient manner. Moreover, the adoption of blockchain to the existing internet of vehicles can result in substantial improvements in terms of safety, efficiency and information delivery. The most compelling reasons for implementing blockchain in IoV-assisted smart grids are presented in Figure 11 and described below:  
**Contribution 1--Decentralization:** A growing number of consumers, producers and prosumers are projected to be accommodated in distributed energy trading scenarios via smart grids. As a result, they should be able to exchange their local generation or excess energy from DERs, such as microgrids, EVs and RSUs, with one another in order to attain benefits such as the lowering of load peaks and the balancing of energy supply and demand. The inherent features of blockchain make it a great option for designing a more decentralized and open energy market and trading system [70], since it is built on a decentralized structure that eliminates centralized entities and third-parties. Blockchain enables the creation of decentralized IoV networks, which comprise more dispersed entities such as RSUs, cars and people [71]. Simultaneously, these distributed entities can autonomously manage their own activities. Current IoV operating principles, which are mostly dependent on central decision-making, will be moved to a decentralized architecture and possibly simplified. Additionally, decentralization will improve the user experience of automotive services. **Contribution 2--Improved Security, Privacy and Trust:** As described in Section 4.1, one of the main IoV challenges is related to the privacy and security of the network and the involved parties. The adoption of blockchain in the IoV presents an opportunity  
Figure 11: Blockchain contributions in IoV-assisted smart grids. to overcome security risks such as interruption, single-point-of-failure and availability issues [72; 73].