had provided me with guidance, encouragement, but also a lot of freedom and resources to explore possible research directions for me to find those I was particulary excited about. I also learned a lot from him, as well as his never-ending energy, enthusiasm, and positive attitude.I also want to thank my co-supervisor Dr Wei Qingsong for his support, encouragement, valuable advice, and help with so many aspects of my PhD. I am immensely indebted to Dr Li Zengxiang who introduced me to academia, research, and blockchain, and helped me start my PhD in Singapore. I am grateful to A*STAR for supporting my PhD, financially and otherwise. I am extremely lucky to have Prof Li Yi and Prof Lin Shang-Wei as my collaborators and mentors, and would like to thank them for their continuous support, insightful research advice, editing my writing, and so much more. Their contributions to this work are invaluable. I would also like to express my appreciation to my wonderful labmates, especially Mr Liu Ye for fruitful research discussions and collaboration. I would also like to extend my gratitude to my friends outside of CSL, particularly Ayana Aspembitova, for their kindness, support, and good example they set for me. I thank my parents, Ihar and Natallia, and my sister Anna for their unparalleled love, endless support, and understanding. Finally, thanks to my husband, Vasily, for being there for me throughout these years. I would have never done it without your support and help. vii Contents Statement of Originality ii