Application of blockchain technology to5G-enabled vehicular networks: survey and futuredirections

Blockchain is disrupting several sectors as it continues to grow mainstream. The attraction for Blockchain is increasing from various application domains looking to take advantage of its immutability, security, cost-saving, transparency and fast processing properties. Blockchain has empowered several sectors to upgrade their existing systems or operate an entire system architecture shift. For instance, Blockchain has enabled IoT systems to improve their quality of services while simultaneously ensuring their security requirements. Particularly, several works are applying Blockchain to manage trust in 5G-enabled autonomous vehicular systems to ensure secure vehicle authentication and handover, guarantee message integrity and provide an irrefutable vehicle reputation record. Vehicular network systems require proper data storage management, highly secure transactions, and non-interference networks. The immutability, tamper-proof, and security by design of Blockchain make it a suitable candidate technology for 5G vehicular network systems. We present in this paper a methodical literature analysis of the application of Blockchain to 5G vehicular networks, architecture, and technical aspects. We also highlight and discuss some issues and challenges facing the application of Blockchain technology to 5G vehicular networks