---
date: 2019-04-11
title: Blockchain Identity
description: "Why Blockchain for Identity? + Assorted Blockchain ID Initiatives"
excerpt: "Traditional identity systems typically suffer from single points of failure, lack of interoperability, and privacy issues such as encouraging mass data collection and user tracking. Blockchain technology has the potential to support novel data ownership and governance models with built-in control and consent mechanisms, which may benefit both users and businesses by alleviating these concerns; as a result, blockchain-based IDMSs are beginning to proliferate."
header: 
  image: /images/blockchain-id-header.webp
  caption: "[NIST Cybersecurity (DRAFT) Blockchain Identity Management Approaches](https://arxiv.org/pdf/1908.00929.pdf)" 
  teaser: /images/blockchain-Tumisu_3019121.webp
layout: single
permalink: /blockchain/
categories: ["Blockchain","Literature"]
tags: ["Blockchain"]
last_modified_at: 2020-11-10
toc: false
---

* [Impact of Blockchain on Digital Identity](https://www.tcs.com/content/dam/tcs-bancs/protected-pdf/Impact%20of%20Blockchain%20on%20Digital%20identity.pdf)
  > Starting from plain vanilla guidelines of security such as using a complex password to deploying cutting-edge technologies such as Biometrics, Machine Learning and Robotic Process Automation, multiple methods are being evaluated for digital identity protection.
  > 
  > Effective though they are, when applied on a Centralized Digital Identity Management system, these solutions prove costly and sometimes not as effective. One of the main drawbacks of such a centralized system is that the control of data remains with one entity
* [Self-Sovereign Identity: Why Blockchain?](https://www.ibm.com/blogs/blockchain/2018/06/self-sovereign-identity-why-blockchain/)
  > This question tends to stem from the notion that data associated with a person’s identity is destined to be stored, shared and used for verification on some form of distributed ledger technology. My hope is that this article with help to debunk that notion and provide a basic foundational understanding of how distributed ledger technology is being used to solve our identity infrastructure dilemma and resolve the impacts of the internet lacking an identity layer.
* [Deployment of a Blockchain-Based Self-Sovereign Identity - Delft](https://arxiv.org/pdf/1806.01926.pdf)
  > Digital identity is unsolved: after many years of research there is still no trusted communication over the Internet. To provide identity within the context of mutual distrust, this paper presents a blockchain-based digital identity solution. Without depending upon a single trusted third party, the proposed solution achieves passport-level legally valid identity. This solution for making identities Self-Sovereign, builds on a generic provable claim model for which attestations of truth from third parties need to be collected. The claim model is then shown to be both blockchain structure and proof method agnostic. Four different implementations in support of these two claim model properties are shown to offer sub-second performance for claim creation and claim verification. Through the properties of Self-Sovereign Identity, legally valid status and acceptable performance, our solution is considered to be fit for adoption by the general public.
* [**_A Taxonomic Approach to Understanding Emerging Blockchain Identity Management Systems_**](https://arxiv.org/pdf/1908.00929.pdf) NIST CYBERSECURITY WHITE PAPER (DRAFT) BLOCKCHAIN IDENTITY MANAGEMENT APPROACHES
JULY 9, 2019
  > Identity management systems (IDMSs) are widely used to provision user identities while managing authentication, authorization, and data sharing both within organizations as well as on the Internet more broadly. Traditional identity systems typically suffer from single points of failure, lack of interoperability, and privacy issues such as encouraging mass data collection and user tracking. Blockchain technology has the potential to support novel data ownership and governance models with built-in control and consent mechanisms, which may benefit both users and businesses by alleviating these concerns; as a result, blockchain-based IDMSs are beginning to proliferate. This work categorizes these systems into a taxonomy based on differences in architecture, governance models, and other salient features. We provide context for the taxonomy by describing related terms, emerging standards, and use cases, while highlighting relevant security and privacy considerations.
* [Identity Management with Blockchain: The Definitive Guide (2019)](https://tykn.tech/identity-management-blockchain/)
  > In identity management, a distributed ledger (a “blockchain”) enables everyone in the network to have the same source of truth about which credentials are valid and who attested to the validity of the data inside the credential, without revealing the actual data.
* [Phil Windley (@windley)](https://twitter.com/windley/status/1071469217650638848)
  > If ledger isn’t used, then every issuer of a credential has to maintain infrastructure or contract service provider to respond to DID resolution & revocation requests. And, credential issuers would know when the credential  was used, impacting privacy.

{% include video id="hUYpvI43bHA" provider="youtube" %}
[Daniel Buchner - Blockchain-Anchored Identity – A Gateway to Decentralized Apps and Services](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUYpvI43bHA)

![](https://i.imgur.com/bMbh6N7.png)
[Blockchain Identity – Success Factors and Challenges](https://www.kuppingercole.com/blog/kuppinger/blockchain-identity-success-factors-and-challenges) by Martin Kuppinger
  > When new things arrive, which are still in the pioneering stage and far from reaching maturity, there is always a lot of discussion. This is even more true for Blockchain Identity, where the massive hype around Blockchains, a long history of clever ideas failing, and a few interesting technical and security challenges come together. During my keynote at this year’s EIC, I addressed the challenges and success factors for Blockchain ID as well. That led to a discussion on Twitter about whether some of these success factors are contradictory.
* [GDPR - A reflection on the 'self-sovereign identity' and the Blockchain](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/gdpr-reflection-self-sovereign-identity-blockchain-nicolas-ameye/)
  > The GDPR is taking for granted a centralized identity model, meaning a centralized model of digital data storage and transmission. Those centralized models of digital data storage are relying on the principles that the data custodians are trustworthy and are mandated to steward personal data. The GDPR, while being technology-neutral by nature, is articulated around the idea that personal data are being stewarded by centralized authorities.

<iframe src="https://channel9.msdn.com/Shows/Blocktalk/Decentralized-Identity-and-Blockchain/player" width="640" height="360" allowFullScreen frameBorder="0" title="Decentralized Identity and Blockchain - Microsoft Channel 9 Video"></iframe>

* [Towards Self-Sovereign Identity using Blockchain Technology](https://essay.utwente.nl/71274/1/Baars_MA_BMS.pdf)
  > Blockchain technology could function as the foundation of such system being a network for decentralized trust and exchange. Because everyone can participate as issuer or acquirer (and both), there are low adoption barriers and low costs. This allows new business opportunities for governments, banks and other authorities and more transparency and control for end-users.
* [Identity and Distributed Ledger - Today and Tomorrow - June 26 - Identiverse 2019](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l04AHP7kPPw)
  > Join our expert panel, moderated by Paul Madsen, as they discuss and debate the future of distributed identity technology and its applications in solving identity problems.
* [Self-Sovereign Identity and the Legitimacy of Permissioned Ledgers](http://www.windley.com/archives/2016/09/self-sovereign_identity_and_the_legitimacy_of_permissioned_ledgers.shtml)
  > This post justifies the claim that an identity system based on a permissioned distributed ledger is legitimately self-sovereign. The post also examines the claims to legitimacy that social login and distributed ledger identity systems make.
* [Distributed Ledger Technologies, IAM, and the Truth in Things - June 27 - Identiverse 2019](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VV2rLgH9TUE) - Robert Brown
  > The Internet of Things has a problem with data silos – it’s difficult for data to move across domains and prove where it came from. Users of IoT data must understand how Things were made and kept up-to-date if they are to know the data received is truthful. Yet keeping Things healthy is not the sole responsibility of a single actor; components of a Thing may be shared amongst hardware and software vendors, system integrators, retailers, system operators, owners, regulators or third parties. Safety and security rests with all involved in authorizing updates, how and when they are applied as well as the right to repair when Things are no longer officially supported. Shared device lifecycle assurance is the basis for verifiable service histories of Things which give data provenance. When data can be proven to originate from reliable sources, its value increases while reducing the risk of using it. Enabling third parties to build value from data would unlock the true value of IoT which in turn could fund its upkeep. This talk will outline how identity and shared ledger technology have key roles to building Truth in Things for a sustainable IoT.
* [Decentralized Identity: Intersection of Identity and Distributed Ledger - June 25 - Identiverse 2019](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjlnZyMTf1M) - Preeti Rastogi
  > Decentralization in Identity is a shiny object, promising amazing benefits – but sometimes it is nice to just see how the protocols work. Join this session for an overview of the distributed ledger landscape and a discussion of the role it plays in the identity world, as well as the new challenges it introduces. We will talk about how public keys stored on a ledger might act as an anchor for digital trust and what architectures are evolving to leverage that trust.
* [Blockchain for Identity - Myth or Potential](https://www.kuppingercole.com/blog/kuppinger/blockchain-for-identity-myth-or-potential)
  > Authentication might definitely become simpler, by having various authenticators and IDs, from eIDs to social logins, associated with a wallet. Just one simple store to get access. Yes, there are challenges in creating secure, easy-to-use wallets, but there is potential as well.

![](https://i.imgur.com/YSyv11h.png)

## Assorted Blockchain ID Initiatives

* [peacekeeper/blockchain-identity](https://github.com/peacekeeper/blockchain-identity) - Blockchain and Identity 
* [Identity at Coinbase: Welcoming the Distributed Systems team](https://blog.coinbase.com/identity-at-coinbase-welcoming-the-distributed-systems-team-d929dd64de2e) [[**ϟ**](https://www.wired.com/story/coinbase-distributed-systems-acquisition/)]
* [Shocard](https://shocard.com/) — "Blockchain-Based Mobile Identity Platform" [[**ϟ**](https://medium.com/shocard/why-shocard-is-the-premier-blockchain-based-mobile-identity-platform-6fad15410106)]
* [Authenteq](http://authenteq.com/) [[**T**](https://twitter.com/authenteq)] [[**G**](https://github.com/authenteq)]
  * enables users to create their own sovereign digital IDs which are stored encrypted on [BigChainDB](http://docs.bigchaindb.com)
* [JLinc](https://www.jlinc.com/) — registers cryptographic public keys on the Stellar blockchain. 
   > "The founders have been at the center of a community of developers working on “user-centric digital identity for almost two decades."
* [Civic](https://www.civic.com/) launches: [identity.com](https://identity.com)[[**G**](https://github.com/identity-com/)][[**B**](https://www.civic.com/blog/identity-com-first-open-source-update/)][[**wp**](https://tokensale.civic.com/CivicTokenSaleWhitePaper.pdf)]
  * [Dapp Framework Melo One to use Civic](https://www.cryptoninjas.net/2018/08/30/dapp-framework-menlo-one-to-use-civic-for-blockchain-identity-verification/)
  * [Brave Civic Partnership](https://brave.com/brave-civic-partnership/)
* [I/O Digital Foundation](https://iodigital.io/) [**[**wp**](https://simplebooklet.com/iocoinwhitepaper#page=0)**]
   * "offers a Proof-of-Stake blockchain called Decentralised Input Output Name Server (DIONS). It will enable applications such as identity and alias registration, storage of legal documents, key exchange, and encrypted messaging."
* [Gemalto and R3 pilot blockchain for SSID](https://www.cryptoninjas.net/2018/09/18/gemalto-and-r3-pilot-blockchain-technology-for-self-sovereign-digital-id-network/#.W6drpckvGLU.twitter)
* [Datum](https://datum.org) [[**wp**](https://datum.org/assets/Datum-WhitePaper.pdf)]
   * "network allows anyone to store structured data on a smart contract blockchain. Data can optionally be bought and sold on a marketplace using the DAT token. Datum leverages BigchainDB and IPFS as data storage backends. All data is encrypted and protected using AES256-GCM.
* [Pro-civis](https://procivis.ch) — "e-government as a service" platform called "eID+". It enables citizens to get an official, electronic Citizen-ID on a mobile app. 
   * The platform includes the [Vetri](https://vetri.global/) wallet and marketplace. 'Earn extra income and rewards by joining the data economy.'"
* [We can do better than selling our data](http://blogs.harvard.edu/doc/2018/09/18/data/)-Doc Searls(*IIW*)


## Democracy Earth

![](https://i.imgur.com/KxbXb1t.png)

* [Democracy Earth Foundation](http://democracy.earth/) [[**G**](https://github.com/DemocracyEarth/)][[**B**](https://words.democracy.earth/)][[**T**](https://twitter.com/DemocracyEarth)][[**C**](http://chat.democracy.earth/)] - Crypto Governance
   * [Sovereign](http://sovereign.software/)[[**G**](https://github.com/DemocracyEarth/sovereign)], a blockchain direct democracy tool using "vote" tokens to grant democratic participation rights to every human. A proof-of-individuality (POI) process based on peer-to-peer validation establishes that a self-sovereign identity is uniquely tied to a single person. Cooperation is happening with other decentralized identity initiatives such as Blockstack and uPort.
* [The Social Smart Contract](https://github.com/DemocracyEarth/paper#The_Social_Smart_Contract)[[**ϟ**](https://www.dropbox.com/s/sifogl4zimwkkei/Democracy%20Earth%20-%20Social%20Smart%20Contract%20-%20Paper%20v0.2.pdf?dl=0)] An Initial Rights Offering from Democracy Earth Foundation.
* [December App-Mining Results](https://words.democracy.earth/decembers-app-mining-results-are-live-7bd2b4f2390)
* [Yellow Jackets on the Sovereign Platform](https://words.democracy.earth/yellow-jackets-on-the-sovereign-platform-bdebe6d62ae1)
* [Meet the Dad Who Registered His Daughter’s Birth on the Blockchain](https://www.coindesk.com/meet-the-dad-who-registered-his-daughters-birth-on-the-blockchain) [[**ϟ**](https://www.coindesk.com/humans-on-the-blockchain-why-crypto-is-the-best-defense-against-ai-overlords)]
* Token: [Sale](https://token.democracy.earth/) • [Economics](https://www.dropbox.com/s/8q35dvht2hkfvqa/Democracy%20Earth%20-%20Token%20Economics.pdf?dl=0) • [testnet](https://votest.democracy.earth/)
>we worked with councils, senates, non profits, student centers, political parties, corporations.. but implementing real digital governance at scale really took off with crypto networks. our partnership with @blockstack is our biggest milestone of 2018. -[Santi](https://twitter.com/santisiri/status/1076259390154592256)

