Distributed Ledger Basics — ADN Ecosystem Series

This time, we will move back to something a bit more simpler. We believe that this topic is something which we need to give our readers adequate information about as esteemed members of our ADN Coin community.

As an indelible part of our ADN Ecosystem series, we will discuss the basics of DLT.

Distributed Ledgers

Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) is a type of digital technology wherein a certain database is held together and verified independently by every member — or node — in a massive network. It does not have a central authority that governs it. Instead, each node is empowered to process every single transaction that occurs in the network.

That sounds exactly like blockchain technology, doesn’t it? The answer is both yes and no. Let us explore further.

Blockchain technology and DLT are two different things — blockchain is a type of DLT, albeit one of the oldest and most popular types.

Other types are Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG), Hashgraph, Holochain, and the relatively-new Radix. Many of these aren’t as explored as blockchain technology, mainly due to a couple of technical differences.

Each type is unique in its own way. For example, DAG is a powerful DLT in the sense that it will prove more formidable against attacks of quantum computing compared to blockchain in its current state. However, blockchain technology will require a 51% attack before its security gets threatened, while DAG will only need a 34% attack for its security to be compromised. One popular example of a DAG-powered crypto platform is IOTA.

Did you know?

A 51% attack is a malicious assault at a particular DLT network wherein a certain entity takes control of 51% of the network’s hash rate to tamper with the transaction history and prevent new transactions from gaining confirmation. This is usually accomplished to allow double-spending. The same goes for 34% attack — the entity only needs to hijack 34% of the network.

Why Blockchain Technology?

Our ADN team decided to utilize blockchain technology because of its impressive decentralization features. Each block is validated by every node that belongs to a certain network. Because of this feature, transactions are practically immutable. This solves basic trust issues within the system.

Aside from decentralization, we also use blockchain technology because it is the most explored DLT as of now. The more experts have tested it, the more it has proven to be more stable.

Of course, we admit that by choosing blockchain technology, we will be giving up some features which other DLTs might offer. However, decentralization and trust are two factors that are very important to us. In fact, those are our non-negotiable priorities, the very reason why we created ADN.

We believe it is high time for centralized systems to go away — the power must return back to the common people. One popular activity that we have been impressed with is the practice of initial coin offerings (ICOs). Despite the ire that it has received from various individuals and groups, we believe that it is one of the prime examples of common people making collaborative efforts to accomplish something which they have all deemed important and profitable.

Stay tuned for more of our ADN Ecosystem series!