How would you design a strongly consistent distributed ledger system using Java?

A distributed ledger uses consensus algorithms like Raft or Paxos to ensure ordered, immutable transactions.

Each node maintains a replicated log. A leader node proposes transactions, which are replicated to followers. Once majority acknowledges, entries are committed. Java implementations often rely on Raft-like coordination (via ZooKeeper or etcd-style systems). The ledger is append-only to ensure immutability and auditability.