Distributed Ledger Technology is re-emerging from the first wave of troubled implementations to become a mature capability with serious users across financial institutions, governments and supply chains.
The most successful implementations put value-generating business networks first, not the technology. In key verticals, DLT and blockchain-like implementations are moving forward again.
Do you need to do something, or is it better to wait? Are you equipped to define what your DLT stance should be?
The basis of trade throughout history is the private ledger.
In fact, some of the earliest written records we have tend to be commercial ledgers
Globular envelope with a cluster of accounting tokens. Clay, Uruk period. From the Tell of the Acropolis in Susa. A bulla is an inscribed token used in commercial and legal documentation as a form of authentication and for tamper-proofing whatever is attached to it (or contained in it). © Marie-Lan Nguyen / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY 2.5
For millennia, trade has involved institutions keeping their own private ledgers and recording transactions about assets on those ledgers
- Farmer: I sent you the beans on Tuesday – my record says so
- Processor: I never received them – my record says so
Any business network has a hybrid of
- Decentralized, disconnected records
- Records centralized in a clearing house
- Bespoke transfer and reconciliation methods
All of which add delay, cost and limit trust.
Frictions such as disputes, reconciliation overhead, compliance exposure and data silos all add operational tax to your team.
Think about the last transaction you had. Was there was a wrinkle? How long did it take to iron out the problem?
What if all participants could see all of the relevant records, all of the time?
Essentially, this is what Distributed Ledger Technology enables. It takes the millennia-old idea of a business ledger, together with the centuries-old idea of double-entry bookkeeping and applies modern information systems technology to create a shared, trusted view of the relevant information for a business network.
DLT doesn't remove network complexity, but it does remove ambiguity, where cost, disputes and delay hide.
We haven't had that before.
By A.Davey from Portland, Oregon, EE UU - Man with an Abacus and a Book, CC BY 2.0
- Distributed Ledger Technology eliminates the need for intermediaries by ensuring that all parties have access to the same immutable information
- By delivering ‘built-in-trust’, it reduces opportunities for fraud, lowers costs associated with intermediaries, increases transparency and improves efficiency
- DLT shifts the lens from information held by an individual owner to the cross-entity history of an asset or transaction
Distributed ledgers can become the foundation of a robust system of trust, a decentralized platform for massive global collaboration
Think about the application, not the technology. Think about the value creation for the network participants.
So why now?
You might be thinking "we've heard all this before". DLT seems to be following the hype cycle Gartner* has popularized* and we have certainly experienced the Trough of Disillusionment on this topic.
Attribution: Jeremykemp
- Innovation Trigger (1990s-): Research in the 1990s on cryptography, distributed ledgers and time-stamping. Bitcoin whitepaper (2008) and the Bitcoin launch (2009): First decentralized ledger with Proof of Work
- Peak of Inflated Expectations (2017-): New protocols outside of cryptocurrency. Major SIs like IBM include DLT within digital transformation offerings. Shift to enterprise as a strategic enabler
- Trough of Disillusionment (2020-): High profile DLT projects like TradeLens withdrawn. Interest wanes as experiments and implementations fail to deliver.
- Slope of Enlightenment (Now): Successful DLT networks driving value, sometimes in a revised form. Consider we.trade in Trade Finance, IBM Food Trust in supply line and the emerging applications such as DIGIT and the Digital Securities Sandbox.
Governments of countries comprising 98% of global GDP are exploring central-bank-issued digital currencies.
As Boston Consulting Group’s Dr Bernhard Kronfellner said at the 2025 London Blockchain Conference:
"The crowd has changed – from hoodies to suits".
He was talking about stablecoins, but the same trend is occurring across the entire DLT landscape. I was at the conference and I expected it to be full of crypto-anarchists. It wasn't - it was full of suits.
I am thinking we will see more instances like we.trade where a DLT application that faltered re-emerges in a more focussed form.
DLT vendors are also realizing that interoperability is key, and solutions are being brought to market.
More instances of how the technology can benefit the enterprise start to crystallize and become more widely understood. Second- and third-generation products appear from technology providers. More enterprises fund pilots; conservative companies remain cautious.
- Plateau of Productivity: Mainstream adoption starts to take off. Criteria for assessing provider viability are more clearly defined. The technology's broad market applicability and relevance are clearly paying off.
Slope of Enlightenment?
Now, there are serious use cases across industries that are creating a resurgence in interest in DLT. Prime areas are
- Regulatory frameworks for supply chains that are diffcult to comply with without a shared, immutable record
- The need for verifiable data and models for AI
- Trading of real world assets such as government debt
- Interest by central banks in digital currencies
- Digital Identity, needed for all digitization projects including public sector
A great example is the DeBeers Tracr solution, which solves for the need to demonstrate the provenance of diamonds. Another is the UK Government call for solutions to digitize government debt trades (DIGIT)
Organizations seeking early competitive advantage or to avoid disruption should identify DLT applications and threats to their business model and initiate projects to define the business case for a response
Workshop
To meet this need, my business partner Simona Cara and I have created a one‑day leadership workshop that cuts through the technobabble, shows where DLT can create value and equips leaders with the knowledge to define their strategy with confidence.
Do you feel you should understand DLT but are put off by the noise? Do you find prior conversations fragmented, technical and driven by hype rather than business value?
You might be thinking:
- Why does this matter?
- Why now?
- Where does DLT fit with our strategy?
- How do we identify real opportunities vs distractions?
The one-day workshop is designed to give leaders the clarity they need to make informed decisions. We'll cover
- Why Distributed Ledgers matter
- Why Now?
- Key Use Cases across industries
- How does DLT Work? In simple terms
- Major Platforms in place
- Simulated ledger exercise
- Deep dive on Real implementations
- Reasons for Success and Failure
- DLT Strategy in your Organization
- Key Questions to consider when formulating an approach
- A roadmap for DLT Programmes
Who It’s For
This workshop is for:
- Senior leaders shaping digital transformation
- Strategy, innovation, and architecture teams
- Operations, supply chain, and compliance leaders
- Public sector and regulated industries
- Any organisation exploring multi‑party data, provenance, or trust challenges
What You’ll Walk Away With
- A shared leadership vocabulary for DLT
- A clear understanding of real‑world use cases
- A decision framework for evaluating DLT opportunities
- A practical activation roadmap tailored to your context
- Confidence to engage vendors, partners and internal team
If it is time to move forward then we can bring in implementation partners from the best networks.
Format
- 1 day (on‑site or virtual)
- Interactive exercises and real‑world case studies
- Neutral, vendor‑agnostic perspective
- Tailored examples for your industry
Equip your leadership team with the clarity to make smart, strategic decisions about DLT.
Please get in touch to schedule a workshop or simply find out more,
Gareth.
*The Gartner Hype Cycle is owned by Gartner