DLT allows multiple parties (nodes) to propose, validate and record changes to a ledger consistently across the network. DLT platforms fall into two categories depending on who may write to the ledger: "permissioned," where a coordinating body approves participants, and "permissionless," where anyone may participate1.

Footnote 13 of the October 2024 report by the Financial Stability Board (FSB) describes a blockchain as one form of DLT that holds transaction information as a chain of blocks linked by a cryptographic mechanism. The report describes DLT as the technology underpinning most of the tokenization initiatives by the private and public sectors to date (section 2.2).

Notes

  1. Financial Stability Board, "The Financial Stability Implications of Tokenisation" (October 2024). ↩