Overview
SIST EN ISO 22739:2025 is the Slovenian adoption of the international standard ISO 22739:2024, which defines the fundamental vocabulary for blockchain and distributed ledger technologies (DLT). Developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and published by SIST, this standard aims to provide clear, consistent, and universally accepted terminology for the blockchain and DLT domains. By establishing standard definitions, it supports effective communication, interoperability, and application development across industries, ensuring all stakeholders-including solution developers, regulators, and end-users-operate with a shared understanding of essential concepts.
Key Topics
SIST EN ISO 22739:2025 covers a comprehensive set of terms relevant to blockchain and distributed ledger technology. Key terminology and concepts defined in this standard include:
- Blockchain & Distributed Ledger: Definitions of blockchain, distributed ledger, and DLT, emphasizing the principles of immutability, consensus, and data structure.
- Nodes and Networks: Terms such as DLT nodes, DLT network, peer-to-peer networks, and the roles of entities such as miners and validators.
- Tokens and Assets: Fundamental concepts related to digital assets, tokens, cryptoassets, cryptocurrencies, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and utility tokens.
- Consensus and Validation: Consensus mechanisms, the process of confirming and validating transactions or blocks, and types of consensus used in DLT systems.
- Governance and Permission Models: Definitions for DLT governance, permissioned vs. permissionless systems, and public vs. private DLTs.
- Security and Identity: Includes terms like digital signature, cryptography, decentralized identifiers (DIDs), self-sovereign identity, and wallet management.
- Data Structures: Discussions on block headers, ledger records, Merkle trees, hash functions, and related cryptographic principles.
- DLT Application Interfaces: Key concepts like smart contracts, DLT oracles, sidechains, subchains, pruning, and interoperability.
Applications
Standardized blockchain and DLT vocabulary, as established by ISO 22739:2024, plays a crucial role in multiple practical contexts:
- Technology Development: Provides software engineers and system architects with a precise language for requirements, design, and implementation of blockchain solutions.
- Regulatory Compliance: Assists regulators and auditors in interpreting, assessing, and enforcing policies or laws related to blockchain applications, ensuring clarity in legal and compliance contexts.
- Financial Services: Supports the integration and innovation of blockchain in fintech, including banking, payments, digital currencies, and asset tokenization.
- Interoperability: Facilitates the development of interoperable systems and solutions across different blockchain platforms or DLT networks, crucial for scalability and cross-industry adoption.
- Education and Research: Serves as an authoritative reference for academics, trainers, and researchers, promoting consistency in communication and publications.
- Standards Development: Provides a foundation for other international standards concerning blockchain applications, security, privacy, and governance.
Related Standards
SIST EN ISO 22739:2025 references and complements several other international standards in the fields of information technology, IT security, data management, and cloud computing, such as:
These and other standards support the broader context of blockchain deployment, including data security, identity management, and digital signatures.
By unifying vocabulary across international borders and technical fields, SIST EN ISO 22739:2025 helps drive the effective deployment, scaling, and governance of blockchain and distributed ledger solutions worldwide.