ISO/TS 23258:2021
(Main)Blockchain and distributed ledger technologies — Taxonomy and Ontology
Blockchain and distributed ledger technologies — Taxonomy and Ontology
This document specifies a taxonomy and an ontology for blockchain and distributed ledger technologies (DLT). The taxonomy includes a taxonomy of concepts, a taxonomy of DLT systems and a taxonomy of application domains, purposes and economy activity sections for use cases. The ontology includes classes and attributes as well as relations between concepts. The audience includes but is not limited to academics, architects, customers, users, tool developers, regulators, auditors and standards development organizations.
Technologies des chaînes de blocs et technologies de registre distribué — Taxinomie et ontologie
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TECHNICAL ISO/TS
SPECIFICATION 23258
First edition
2021-11
Blockchain and distributed ledger
technologies — Taxonomy and
Ontology
Technologies des chaînes de blocs et technologies de registre
distribué — Taxinomie et ontologie
Reference number
© ISO 2021
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, or required in the context of its implementation, no part of this publication may
be reproduced or utilized otherwise in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, or posting on
the internet or an intranet, without prior written permission. Permission can be requested from either ISO at the address below
or ISO’s member body in the country of the requester.
ISO copyright office
CP 401 • Ch. de Blandonnet 8
CH-1214 Vernier, Geneva
Phone: +41 22 749 01 11
Email: copyright@iso.org
Website: www.iso.org
Published in Switzerland
ii
Contents Page
Foreword .iv
Introduction .v
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 1
4 Abbreviated terms . 1
5 Taxonomy .2
5.1 Introduction . 2
5.2 Taxonomy of concepts . 2
5.3 Taxonomy of DLT systems . 12
5.3.1 General .12
5.3.2 Major characteristics of DLT systems .12
5.4 Taxonomy of application domains, purposes and economic activity sections for
use cases . . 17
5.4.1 General . 17
5.4.2 Cross-sector application domains . 17
5.4.3 Cross-sector use cases purposes . 19
5.4.4 Economic activity sections . 21
6 Ontology .22
6.1 Introduction . 22
6.2 Ledger Class . 22
6.3 Distributed ledger class . 23
6.4 Blockchain class . 23
6.5 Block class . 24
Annex A (informative) Classification of DLT system based on the taxonomy of DLT systems .25
Annex B (informative) Context from use-case classification .26
Bibliography .28
iii
Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards
bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out
through ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical
committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International
organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work.
ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of
electrotechnical standardization.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are
described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the
different types of ISO documents should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the
editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives).
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights. Details of
any patent rights identified during the development of the document will be in the Introduction and/or
on the ISO list of patent declarations received (see www.iso.org/patents).
Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not
constitute an endorsement.
For an explanation of the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and
expressions related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to
the World Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), see
www.iso.org/iso/foreword.html.
This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 307, Blockchain and distributed ledger
technologies.
Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A
complete listing of these bodies can be found at www.iso.org/members.html.
iv
Introduction
A taxonomy is useful for defining information and data classification rules and for identifying
classification items and classification criteria. An ontology aims at clearly showing the concepts that
make up the conceptual basis and the vocabulary of the technology under consideration and at creating
a foundation that is a prerequisite for understanding the concepts through the definition of their mutual
relations (synonyms, inclusions, dependencies, etc.).
A consistent taxonomy is a valuable resource in its own right that also supports and helps to understand
other relevant standards.
This document includes a taxonomy of concepts, a taxonomy of DLT systems, and a taxonomy of
application domains, purposes and economic activity sections for use cases. This document includes an
ontology providing classes and attributes as well as relations between concepts.
Figure 1 shows the relationships between this document and other standards developed by ISO/TC 307.
Key
feedback
direction of input
affects each other
Figure 1 — Relationships between this document and other standards developed by ISO/TC 307
v
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION ISO/TS 23258:2021(E)
Blockchain and distributed ledger technologies —
Taxonomy and Ontology
1 Scope
This document specifies a taxonomy and an ontology for blockchain and distributed ledger technologies
(DLT). The taxonomy includes a taxonomy of concepts, a taxonomy of DLT systems and a taxonomy
of application domains, purposes and economy activity sections for use cases. The ontology includes
classes and attributes as well as relations between concepts.
The audience includes but is not limited to academics, architects, customers, users, tool developers,
regulators, auditors and standards development organizations.
2 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content
constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For
undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO 22739, Blockchain and distributed ledger technologies — Vocabulary
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in ISO 22739 and the following apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminology databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at https:// www .iso .org/ obp
— IEC Electropedia: available at https:// www .electropedia .org/
3.1
taxonomy
scheme of categories and subcategories that can be used to sort and otherwise organize itemized
knowledge or information
[SOURCE: ISO 5127:2017, 3.8.6.07]
4 Abbreviated terms
DLT Distributed Ledger Technology
PoW Proof-of-Work
PoS Proof-of-Stake
DPoS Delegated Proof-of-Stake
BFT Byzantine Fault Tolerance
PBFT Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance
TPS Transaction Per Second
CA Certificate Authority
IPFS InterPlanetary File System
UML Unified Modeling Language
5 Taxonomy
5.1 Introduction
To better understand DLT systems, it is necessary to classify them into different categories based
on their similarities on different aspects. Such classification is also known as the taxonomy of DLT
systems. To be able to thoroughly classify and correlate DLT systems, it is imperative to investigate
and understand the existing blockchain and distributed ledger technologies as well as the relationships
among the DLT system options. This taxonomy helps the potential blockchain users and other
stakeholders to compare and choose the right options according to their business needs and applicable
legal and regulatory requirements. Furthermore, the ability to classify DLT systems can help with
knowledge advancement and can lead to a significant breakthrough in understanding and utilization
of DLT systems. Furthermore, the taxonomy informs the scientific research and could support wider
understanding and adoption of blockchain and distributed ledger technologies and systems.
5.2 Taxonomy of concepts
1)
Table 1 is based on and refers to the terms and definitions in ISO 22739:2020, ISO 23257:— and
completed with some of the concepts used in Reference [1]. It organizes the concepts into 6-level
hierarchical structure with only one entry per concept. Short forms of concepts are given in square
brackets and references are provided in parentheses, e.g. “[DLT user (ISO 22739:2020, 3.28)].”
Table 1 — Taxonomy of concepts
Level 1 con- Level 2 concepts Level 3 con- Level 4 conceptsLevel 5 concepts Level 6 concepts
cepts cepts
Asset (ISO Digital Asset Cryptographic Cryptocurrency
22739:2020, (ISO 22739:2020, Asset (ISO 22739:2020,
3.1) 3.20) 3.14)
(Crypto-as-
c
Token (ISO (Token) Fungi- Fungible Token
set ) (ISO
22739:2020, bility (Fungible
22739:2020,
Non-Fungible
3.76) (ISO 23257:—,
3.13)
Token [NFT]
3.12)
Token Metadata Digital Asset De-
scription
Privilege Descrip-
tion
Value Description
(Asset) Prov- Origin of Asset
enance (ISO
History of Asset
23257:—, 3.11)
History of Cus-
tody
1) Under preparation. Stage at the time of publication: ISO/FDIS 23257:2021.
Table 1 (continued)
Level 1 con- Level 2 concepts Level 3 con- Level 4 conceptsLevel 5 concepts Level 6 concepts
cepts cepts
Consensus (ISO Consensus Fault Tolerance Byzantine Fault Practical Byzan-
22739:2020, Mechanism (ISO Tolerance [BFT] tine Fault Toler-
3.11) 22739:2020, ance [PBFT]
3.12)
Crash Fault Tol-
erance
Nakamoto Con- Proof of Stake Delegated Proof
sensus [PoS] of Stake [DPoS]
Proof of Work
[PoW]
Consensus Secu-
...
TECHNICAL ISO/TS
SPECIFICATION 23258
First edition
2021-11
Blockchain and distributed ledger
technologies — Taxonomy and
Ontology
Technologies des chaînes de blocs et technologies de registre
distribué — Taxinomie et ontologie
Reference number
© ISO 2021
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, or required in the context of its implementation, no part of this publication may
be reproduced or utilized otherwise in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, or posting on
the internet or an intranet, without prior written permission. Permission can be requested from either ISO at the address below
or ISO’s member body in the country of the requester.
ISO copyright office
CP 401 • Ch. de Blandonnet 8
CH-1214 Vernier, Geneva
Phone: +41 22 749 01 11
Email: copyright@iso.org
Website: www.iso.org
Published in Switzerland
ii
Contents Page
Foreword .iv
Introduction .v
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 1
4 Abbreviated terms . 1
5 Taxonomy .2
5.1 Introduction . 2
5.2 Taxonomy of concepts . 2
5.3 Taxonomy of DLT systems . 12
5.3.1 General .12
5.3.2 Major characteristics of DLT systems .12
5.4 Taxonomy of application domains, purposes and economic activity sections for
use cases . . 17
5.4.1 General . 17
5.4.2 Cross-sector application domains . 17
5.4.3 Cross-sector use cases purposes . 19
5.4.4 Economic activity sections . 21
6 Ontology .22
6.1 Introduction . 22
6.2 Ledger Class . 22
6.3 Distributed ledger class . 23
6.4 Blockchain class . 23
6.5 Block class . 24
Annex A (informative) Classification of DLT system based on the taxonomy of DLT systems .25
Annex B (informative) Context from use-case classification .26
Bibliography .28
iii
Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards
bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out
through ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical
committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International
organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work.
ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of
electrotechnical standardization.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are
described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the
different types of ISO documents should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the
editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives).
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights. Details of
any patent rights identified during the development of the document will be in the Introduction and/or
on the ISO list of patent declarations received (see www.iso.org/patents).
Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not
constitute an endorsement.
For an explanation of the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and
expressions related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to
the World Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), see
www.iso.org/iso/foreword.html.
This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 307, Blockchain and distributed ledger
technologies.
Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A
complete listing of these bodies can be found at www.iso.org/members.html.
iv
Introduction
A taxonomy is useful for defining information and data classification rules and for identifying
classification items and classification criteria. An ontology aims at clearly showing the concepts that
make up the conceptual basis and the vocabulary of the technology under consideration and at creating
a foundation that is a prerequisite for understanding the concepts through the definition of their mutual
relations (synonyms, inclusions, dependencies, etc.).
A consistent taxonomy is a valuable resource in its own right that also supports and helps to understand
other relevant standards.
This document includes a taxonomy of concepts, a taxonomy of DLT systems, and a taxonomy of
application domains, purposes and economic activity sections for use cases. This document includes an
ontology providing classes and attributes as well as relations between concepts.
Figure 1 shows the relationships between this document and other standards developed by ISO/TC 307.
Key
feedback
direction of input
affects each other
Figure 1 — Relationships between this document and other standards developed by ISO/TC 307
v
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION ISO/TS 23258:2021(E)
Blockchain and distributed ledger technologies —
Taxonomy and Ontology
1 Scope
This document specifies a taxonomy and an ontology for blockchain and distributed ledger technologies
(DLT). The taxonomy includes a taxonomy of concepts, a taxonomy of DLT systems and a taxonomy
of application domains, purposes and economy activity sections for use cases. The ontology includes
classes and attributes as well as relations between concepts.
The audience includes but is not limited to academics, architects, customers, users, tool developers,
regulators, auditors and standards development organizations.
2 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content
constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For
undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO 22739, Blockchain and distributed ledger technologies — Vocabulary
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in ISO 22739 and the following apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminology databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at https:// www .iso .org/ obp
— IEC Electropedia: available at https:// www .electropedia .org/
3.1
taxonomy
scheme of categories and subcategories that can be used to sort and otherwise organize itemized
knowledge or information
[SOURCE: ISO 5127:2017, 3.8.6.07]
4 Abbreviated terms
DLT Distributed Ledger Technology
PoW Proof-of-Work
PoS Proof-of-Stake
DPoS Delegated Proof-of-Stake
BFT Byzantine Fault Tolerance
PBFT Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance
TPS Transaction Per Second
CA Certificate Authority
IPFS InterPlanetary File System
UML Unified Modeling Language
5 Taxonomy
5.1 Introduction
To better understand DLT systems, it is necessary to classify them into different categories based
on their similarities on different aspects. Such classification is also known as the taxonomy of DLT
systems. To be able to thoroughly classify and correlate DLT systems, it is imperative to investigate
and understand the existing blockchain and distributed ledger technologies as well as the relationships
among the DLT system options. This taxonomy helps the potential blockchain users and other
stakeholders to compare and choose the right options according to their business needs and applicable
legal and regulatory requirements. Furthermore, the ability to classify DLT systems can help with
knowledge advancement and can lead to a significant breakthrough in understanding and utilization
of DLT systems. Furthermore, the taxonomy informs the scientific research and could support wider
understanding and adoption of blockchain and distributed ledger technologies and systems.
5.2 Taxonomy of concepts
1)
Table 1 is based on and refers to the terms and definitions in ISO 22739:2020, ISO 23257:— and
completed with some of the concepts used in Reference [1]. It organizes the concepts into 6-level
hierarchical structure with only one entry per concept. Short forms of concepts are given in square
brackets and references are provided in parentheses, e.g. “[DLT user (ISO 22739:2020, 3.28)].”
Table 1 — Taxonomy of concepts
Level 1 con- Level 2 concepts Level 3 con- Level 4 conceptsLevel 5 concepts Level 6 concepts
cepts cepts
Asset (ISO Digital Asset Cryptographic Cryptocurrency
22739:2020, (ISO 22739:2020, Asset (ISO 22739:2020,
3.1) 3.20) 3.14)
(Crypto-as-
c
Token (ISO (Token) Fungi- Fungible Token
set ) (ISO
22739:2020, bility (Fungible
22739:2020,
Non-Fungible
3.76) (ISO 23257:—,
3.13)
Token [NFT]
3.12)
Token Metadata Digital Asset De-
scription
Privilege Descrip-
tion
Value Description
(Asset) Prov- Origin of Asset
enance (ISO
History of Asset
23257:—, 3.11)
History of Cus-
tody
1) Under preparation. Stage at the time of publication: ISO/FDIS 23257:2021.
Table 1 (continued)
Level 1 con- Level 2 concepts Level 3 con- Level 4 conceptsLevel 5 concepts Level 6 concepts
cepts cepts
Consensus (ISO Consensus Fault Tolerance Byzantine Fault Practical Byzan-
22739:2020, Mechanism (ISO Tolerance [BFT] tine Fault Toler-
3.11) 22739:2020, ance [PBFT]
3.12)
Crash Fault Tol-
erance
Nakamoto Con- Proof of Stake Delegated Proof
sensus [PoS] of Stake [DPoS]
Proof of Work
[PoW]
Consensus Secu-
...
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