Of the many use cases touted for blockchain technology, digital identity is perhaps one of the most intriguing.
However, the real potential lies in several other features of blockchain.
But decentralization is perhaps the most potent concept underpinning blockchain-based digital identities.
The Domain Name System (DNS) system was developed to meet the requirement that existed.
Alongside the internet, the field of cryptography developed increasingly sophisticated means of securing data and communications online.
Then came the era of social networking and the rise of the tech giants.
This was back in 1993 when Mark Zuckerberg was only nine years old.
In 2008, Satoshi Nakamoto inventedBitcoinas a peer-to-peer version of electronic cash.
Now, thanks to Satoshis efforts, we look set to be entering a new era of digital identity.
When a user wants to open an account, they have to get verified by the identity provider first.
They can then transact with privacy using whichever utility their identity would permit them to use.
The identity provider cant associate their account with their identity.
Because they also want to take out a loan, they also share their credit history.
They can then use the utility to apply for the credit.
However, further down the line, the user defaults repeatedly on their loan repayments.
The lender decides to take legal action to enforce the loan agreement.
The Concordium Foundation appoints trusted third parties known as anonymity revokers.
The anonymity revoker can decrypt the users unique identifier.
Its important to note that neither the identity provider nor the anonymity revoker can act independently.
They can use this account to participate in a car-sharing app.
Its not linked to their other account used with the lending app.
So far, these are hypothetical examples.
However, they illustrate just a few use cases for a decentralized self-sovereign blockchain-based digital identity.
Its a far cry from the current status quo.
source: www.techworm.net
