Blockchain vs. Distributed Ledger Technology

Why does blockchain differ from distributed ledger technology?

Blockchain technology and distributed ledger technology are indeed different, and the two terms will be brought up together more often as time goes on. The terms are not interchangeable and there are some fundamental differences that separate the two.

Distributed Ledger

A distributed ledger is a spread-out database, spread across a handful of devices on a network. Every device or node, copies and then saves the ledger, creating a network of redundant data backups, and every device keeps itself up to date constantly. A distributed ledger also has no centralized power or authority, aka decentralized.

Blockchain (Distributed Ledger)

Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, it is a distributed ledger just using chained blocks of data. Blockchain data is grouped together and then linked using cryptography, an extremely safe method of data protection. Blockchain data can only be added, it can not be altered or removed on the chain. This makes the blockchain immutable and in a sense free from any destruction or altering of the data.

We will begin seeing more and more versions of distributed ledger technology as the economy and industry grows like wild fire. It is an extremely fast paced market, and it is pushing an insane amount of ideas and innovation. Government agencies, healthcare organizations, schools, banks, just about everything is adopting blockchain technology or some form of distributed ledger technology to secure and/or speed up their current processes.