Corda

Corda is an open-source distributed ledger platform designed for business applications, developed by the R3 consortium. It supports multi-party workflows and asset transfers with an emphasis on privacy, scalability, and interoperability. Unlike some public blockchains, Corda does not broadcast every transaction to all participants; instead, it enables direct, point-to-point communication among involved parties.

The platform is built around a small set of core concepts. A Corda network is composed of nodes that run CorDapps (Cordapp modules), which contain the business logic for contracts, states, and flows. Contracts define rules for how state objects can be updated, while states represent on-ledger facts. Flows coordinate multi-party interactions to automate processes such as asset issuance, transfer, and settlement. Transactions are validated by agreed-upon rules and are anchored by a notary service to prevent double-spending and to provide consensus on transaction ordering.

Privacy is a central design principle. Transaction data is shared only with parties involved in the transaction or those with a legitimate need to see it, reducing data exposure across the network. The notary component plays a key role in ensuring uniqueness of transactions and can operate in different modes, including validating or non-validating configurations.

Corda is available in an open-source edition under a permissive license, with commercial offerings such as Corda Enterprise that provide additional features and support. It is widely used in financial services, trade finance, supply chain, and other enterprise sectors for regulated, private, and scalable distributed applications.