A Global Blockchain-IoT Architecture Integrating Layer-2 Protocols

Abstract

Integrating blockchain technology into Internet of Things (IoT) environments faces significant scalability and transaction-processing challenges associated with Layer-1 (L1) architectures. This study proposes a blockchain-IoT architecture centered on an adapted PoAh-based Layer-2 (L2) validation and aggregation mechanism and discusses Zero-Knowledge (ZK)-rollups and Optimistic rollups solely as comparative analytical approaches. In the proposed architecture, the Proof of Authentication (PoAh) protocol is reinterpreted as a lightweight off-chain validation and aggregation mechanism for blockchain-IoT environments. The architecture combines transaction validation, batch aggregation, and L1 anchoring through cryptographic state commitments derived from aggregated transaction batches. These commitments provide anchoring integrity and transaction traceability, while L1 governs state-transition validity and blockchain finality. Unlike rollup-based systems, the proposed mechanism does not implement independent settlement, fraud-proof procedures, or cryptographic validity proofs. Instead, it operates as a specialized L2 validation and aggregation architecture focused on authentication-oriented transaction filtering and off-chain processing. The conceptual and architectural analysis suggests that this approach reduces L1 interaction overhead and L2 processing complexity in constrained IoT environments. Since the study is analytical in nature, future work will focus on prototype implementation and experimental validation under real blockchain-IoT deployment conditions.