Blockchain as a cybersecurity strategy in digital financial transactions in the banking sector: a systematic literature review

Abstract

Digitalization has propelled the financial sector at breakneck speed, multiplying transactions with the same ease with which fraud and cyberattacks also proliferate. It's almost ironic: while banks boast of two-step authentication and "unbreakable" encryption, cybercriminals seem to advance with the elegance of those who are always one step ahead. In this interplay of light and shadow, blockchain emerges, transparent as crystal and stubborn as an age-old law. The systematic review conducted of 62 studies published between 2021 and 2025, filtered using the PRISMA method from Scopus paints a promising picture: an 80% reduction in settlement times, optimized traceability, and up to 40% less risk of fraud. But it's not all technological triumph. Obstacles persist, as heavy as old inherited furniture: outdated infrastructure, doubts about scalability, and regulations that move with the slowness of a bureaucratic winter. Will blockchain be the future of financial security, or just a promise that shines more in theory than in practice? Time, that relentless auditor, will have the final say.