Among many applications of Distributed Ledger technology (DLT) in fields such as finance or the Internet of Things, each has its own specific requirements for configuring DLT features, such as high throughput or anonymity. Due to trade-offs between DLT characteristics (e.g., availability vs. consistency), there will not be a one-size-fits-all DLT design, which leads to a steadily growing number of differing DLT designs. A DLT design describes a particular implementation of a DLT system, such as the Bitcoin or Ethereum system. To meet specific application requirements, advancements in the area of DLT are strongly application-driven, leading to an ever-increasing number of different DLT designs. Since most DLT designs are open source, one can easily change DLT characteristics, such as block size and block creation interval. However, how the re-configuration of individual DLT characteristics affects DLT systems is unclear because there is only a scattered analysis of potential side effects caused by DLT design configurations. DLT designs come with no obvious interdependencies between DLT characteristics, resulting in trade-offs and unexpected side effects. For example, high performance of a DLT design mostly comes at the cost of its level of security. Such trade-offs between DLT characteristics make it a challenging task to select suitable DLT designs for applications.

In the COOLedger project, we investigated interdependencies between DLT characteristics and developed a suitability assessment process that can support practitioners in selecting and configuring DLT designs that can be used in DLT systems that meet application requirements. We employed qualitative and quantitative methods to develop a suitability assessment process and prototype that implements the process in form of a browser application.

The main contribution of this project is to support better understanding of how interdependencies between DLT characteristics need to be considered in selection and configuration of DLT designs that meet application requirements. In particular, the project results support a better understanding of trade-offs between DLT characteristics. Moreover, based on key DLT characteristics and interdependencies between them, we offer a suitability assessment process that can facilitate selection and configuration of DLT designs that meet application requirements.