Distributed Ledger Technology [DLT]
The larger class of technology of which blockchain is a subset. A digital system for recording the transaction of assets in which the transactions and their details are recorded in multiple identical copies at the same time with no central data store or administration.
A distributed ledger (also called a shared ledger or distributed ledger technology or DLT) is the consensus of replicated, shared, and synchronized digital data that is geographically spread (distributed) across many sites, countries, or institutions. In contrast to a centralized database, a distributed ledger does not require a central administrator, and consequently does not have a single (central) point-of-failure.
In general, a distributed ledger requires a peer-to-peer (P2P) computer network and consensus algorithms so that the ledger is reliably replicated across distributed computer nodes (servers, clients, etc.). The most common form of distributed ledger technology is the blockchain (commonly associated with the Bitcoin cryptocurrency), which can either be on a public or private network. Infrastructure for data management is a common barrier to implementing DLT.
In some cases, where the distributed digital information functions as an accounting journal rather than an accounting ledger, another term is used: RJT for replicated journal technology.
