In this study, Distributed Ledger Technology systems were purposefully ‘deconstructed’ and then ‘reconstructed’ using a systems perspective and an analytical framework that envisions all DLT systems as constructed of three layers: Protocol, Network, and Data.

The authors of this paper articulates how these core layers interact with each other through processes and flows, as well as their conditional dependency and hierarchy within the system. The analysis demonstrates how varying the ‘configuration’ of these layers and their components will result in ‘DLT systems’ that function and behave very differently. It also illustrates how these systems might interact with each other within the wider ecosystem, how centralisation and decentralisation should be understood as falling along a spectrum rather than binary, and the necessity for making a distinction between ‘native’ and ‘non-native’ record keeping.

On the basis of their current settings and configurations, many self-proclaimed systems can only be considered ‘potential DLT systems’ that have the basic architectural features to allow eventual evolution into ‘pure’ systems. This paper helps users to analyse specific properties by providing a conceptual framework that involves different actor types, roles, and layers on which they’re active.