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Distributed Ledger Technology

A digital system for recording the transaction of assets in which the transactions and their details are recorded in multiple places at the same time.

AbbreviationDLT
Categoryweb

Overview

Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) refers to the technological infrastructure and protocols that allow simultaneous access, validation, and record updating across a network that's spread across multiple entities or locations.

Key Concepts

  • Decentralization: No central authority manages the ledger; instead, it is maintained by a network of nodes.
  • Consensus: All nodes must agree on the validity of transactions before they are added to the ledger.
  • Immutability: Once a transaction is recorded, it cannot be altered or deleted without the consensus of the network.

DLT vs. Blockchain

While all blockchains are a form of DLT, not all DLTs are blockchains. Blockchains organize data into blocks, whereas other DLTs might use different structures like Directed Acyclic Graphs (DAGs).

Related Terms

Consensus MechanismImmutabilityPublic Blockchain