Definition
A ledger records information such as transfers, account balances or ownership changes. Traditional accounting ledgers and blockchain ledgers serve related recordkeeping purposes but can differ greatly in structure and control. A ledger may be held by one organization or maintained across a network.
Blockchain Context
A blockchain ledger records accepted transactions or the state resulting from them. Some systems track account balances; others, such as Bitcoin, track spendable transaction outputs. Software applies the relevant rules to determine whether a proposed update is valid. The visible balance in an application may be derived from ledger data rather than stored as a separate on-chain account entry.
Key Considerations
A ledger’s usefulness depends on who can add entries, how corrections are handled and how readers verify its contents. Recording an event does not by itself establish that the event was truthful or legally effective. Public accessibility, distributed storage and cryptographic integrity are separate properties; the word ledger alone does not imply any of them. Users should distinguish a platform’s internal account records from settlement recorded on an underlying blockchain.