A distributed ledger is a ledger that records the exchange of assets through a distributed computer network. A ledger is a list of transactions with associated identities. A distributed ledger is a ledger that keeps track of all of the transactions that have ever been made within a value system. This information is encrypted and held on many different computers. Whenever two individuals wish to conduct a transaction, one of these ledgers is randomly selected in order to verify the transaction. Once it takes place, all of the other ledgers will be updated with the new information. Distributed ledgers are open systems in that the information is distributed out, but this information is of course still encrypted. Distributed ledgers are essentially value exchange protocols. They can potentially exchange any form of value, the deeds to a house, some currency, claims to a parking spot for a car, victory points in a computer game etc.