  While recent reviews of blockchain technology have focused on the latest
developments in cryptocurrency and their derivative impacts, less attention has
been given to analysing their knowledge paths and boundaries based on past
research to guide their development. To address this gap, we conducted both a
bibliometric study of 2525 articles and a lexicometric study of 123 articles.
The bibliometric study provided holistic insights into the evolution and
distribution of blockchain research, including influential researchers and
countries, discipline composition, knowledge development trends, and emerging
frontiers. The lexicometric study identified the boundary concept structure
with a quantitative textual approach, extracting the strongest signifying
epistemic communities. Our findings indicate that blockchain research draws
from four major disciplines, making it a multidisciplinary field. With the
increasing maturity and development of technological infrastructure, the
application and management of blockchain become increasingly relevant issues.
Our analysis suggests that blockchain can be considered more of a boundary
object than a disruptive change from knowledge perspectives. Therefore, this
paper proposes a comprehensive understanding of the development path and
epistemic concepts of blockchain research.
