According to International Telecommunication Unit(ITU), “Distributed ledger technologies (DLTs), the most prominent implementation of which is Blockchain, enables large groups of nodes in the distributed ledger networks to reach agreement and record information without the need for a central authority.“
A distributed ledger is a type of ledger that is shared, replicated, and synchronized in a distributed manner. While there are currently several different types of distributed ledgers in existence, they share certain functional characteristics: a capability of ledger network’s nodes to communicate directly with each other; a mechanism for nodes on the network to propose the addition of transactions to the block and for computer programs to manage processes; and a consensus mechanism by which the distributed ledger network can validate what is the agreed-upon newly added block.
An overarching term that includes blockchain technologies and refers to the protocols and supporting infrastructure that allow computers in different locations to propose and validate transactions on a ledger and update ledger records in a synchronized way across a network. Many DLTs are designed to function without a centralized trusted authority, relying instead on distributed consensus-based validation procedures combined with cryptographic signatures.
