Blockchain Research In Portugal: A National Mapping Study

This study provides a national mapping of blockchain-related academic production in Portugal, focusing on master’s dissertations and doctoral theses produced between 2016 and 2025. Using a descriptive and exploratory approach, data were collected through the Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (RCAAP), which aggregates institutional repositories from Portuguese higher education institutions. A total of 707 records were identified in the national working database, of which 706 met the inclusion criterion requiring the presence of the term “blockchain” in the title, abstract, or keywords. The data were consolidated, cleaned, standardized, and descriptively analyzed using Excel pivot tables, enabling the examination of publication trends, institutional distribution, document types, thematic patterns, and supervisory networks. The results show a clear growth trajectory in blockchain-related academic output over the period analyzed, a strong concentration of publications in a limited number of institutions, and an overwhelming predominance of master’s dissertations. Thematic patterns are mainly oriented towards management, information systems, and finance, while governance- and regulation-related topics remain comparatively underrepresented. This study contributes a structured national baseline for future research, policy design, and strategic academic positioning in the Portuguese blockchain research landscape.