What are the different types of DLTs & how they work?

Although used interchangeably with blockchain, Digital Ledger Technology is a broad-based term

Let me clarify from the get-go that although both the terms DLT (Digital Ledger Technology) & Blockchain are used interchangeably, there is a certain differentiation between the two that needs to be understood to clear any misconceptions. The 700-year old paper-based double-entry system (debit/credit) which originated in Italy was prevalent everywhere until the invention of Computers & the Internet.

Although the idea of Blockchain gained relevance & fame after the launch of Bitcoin in 2008, the idea had been conceptualized as far back as 1991 with Stuart Haber and W. Scott Stornetta’s work on cryptographically secure (tamper proof) chain of blocks of data with the associated timestamps.

DLT is a wider term used to encompass the digital database technology which has different implementations in the ecosystem, of which the Blockchain is the most popular one. DLT consists of nodes on the underlying network which employ different agreement processes to reach a common conclusion. Thus the DLT not only digitized the whole ecosystem but provided the functionalities of dynamism, immutability, security & decentralization.