Decentralized Self-Sovereign Identity Promises to End Traditional Documents
Self-sovereign identity aims to put control of personal documents like passports and driver's licenses directly into the hands of individuals through decentralized technology. This system replaces physical paperwork with cryptographic attestations stored on a shared global network.
Self-sovereign identity is a decentralized approach that gives individuals total control over their personal identification, removing the need for governments or corporations to hold sensitive data. This system relies on ten core principles, including user control, minimized disclosure, and transparent systems, to ensure that tools of identity remain accessible to everyone from stateless refugees to investment bankers.
In practice, this technology replaces physical documents with a unique, global identity account hosted on a shared decentralized datastore, which typically functions via a blockchain. Users access this account through a cryptographic private key derived from a secret series of words, allowing them to prove who they are without handing over physical paperwork like green cards or utility bills.
During a visit to a government office like the DMV, a person simply uses a trusted piece of hardware to convey the specific identification required rather than showing physical proofs of address. The decentralized identity account already holds cryptographic attestations from institutions like banks and utility companies, which securely confirm specific claims about the user without exposing unnecessary underlying personal information.