Reconciling GDPR and blockchain on data protection issues

Abstract

As blockchain technologies become increasingly prevalent in everyday applications, integrating them with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) raises significant challenges. This paper analyses the relationship between GDPR and blockchain by examining how the literature identifies key points of conflict and possible compliance pathways. The study asks which thematic areas dominate this literature, which data protection issues are most frequently identified, and which technical or governance-oriented solutions are proposed. Using bibliographic coupling and term co-occurrence analysis, the paper analyses 695 unique papers derived from selected review and survey articles indexed in Scopus and Web of Science. The results identify six thematic clusters covering the right to erasure, blockchain mutability, architecture alternatives, IoT and FinTech integration, system changes for GDPR compliance, smart contracts, privacy, identity management, and data protection. The findings highlight privacy-by-design and interdisciplinary cooperation as key conditions for reconciling blockchain innovation with GDPR requirements.