Decentralized identity (also known as self-sovereign identity) can help users to manage their credentials efficiently, speeding up authentication via cryptographic signatures and providing privacy through zero-knowledge proofs.
However, the benefits of decentralization are lost if there is a monopoly on trusted authorities, such as requiring government-issued ID as the sole method to verify a name or birth date.
Self-declarations like Memdeklaro can help to avoid lockout by providing an accessible root identity, while verifiable credentials can help to prove education, employment, memberships and more.
As development continues, DID/SSI may become a useful tool to manage accounts and credentials, while avoiding silos and improving privacy.
Tags: decentralized identity, self-sovereign identity, web3 identity, verifiable credentials, self-attested verifiable credentials, self-issued verifiable credentials, self-attested credential, self-issued credential, self-attestation