Polygon Launches Privacy-Oriented Decentralized ID For Web 3.0 Services
On Thursday, the popular Ethereum sidechain network Polygon announced the launch of Polygon ID, a Web 3.0-based decentralized identification tool. The service, first touted by Polygon in March 2022, allows developers to build self-sovereign, decentralized, and private identity solutions for users interacting with Web 3.0 services.
Polygon ID Can Verify On-Chain Transactions With Real World Identification
Polygon ID is now available to the public under an open-source license, where anyone can become an issuer, verifier, or holder of a blockchain-oriented identity. According to the company, the tool can be used to verify on-chain transactions with off-chain data in the widely supported Verified Credential Format, which includes personally identifiable information like national ID cards, birth certificates, and education certificates often used to identify a person’s credentials.
The self-sovereign identity infrastructure stack (SSI) is powered by zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs). ZKPs leverage cryptographic techniques to allow users to verify their identity online without uploading or storing their sensitive information on a public blockchain or with a third-party service.
By performing computations outside the main net, and combining multiple transactions into a bundle before verifying them, ZKPs make blockchains faster, highly scalable, and more efficient. Due to their technical feasibility, ZKPs are becoming a popular self-verification technique in the blockchain space.
Polygon ID is set to bring about fundamental changes to the Internet’s trust model as it offers multiple benefits to businesses and individuals. It helps eliminate the difficulties with user data management in businesses while providing individuals with greater control over their identity and how they wish to share their sensitive information with institutions and private entities.
With ZK-Query, Polygon ID users can prove their identity without necessarily disclosing private information on the internet. Users can interact with smart contracts of decentralized applications (DApps) by generating ZKPs of their off-chain credentials like a driver’s license or passport.
Passwordless login with reusable credentials lets users easily get onboard new services across multiple applications while safeguarding them from hackers. Developers can deploy the zero-knowledge technology into the existing compliance process of their DApps without sacrificing user privacy.
The Polygon ID toolkit comes with four new tools: a Verifier SDK (software development kit) for network verifiers, Issuer Node for transaction issuers, Wallet SDK for crypto wallet providers, and Wallet App for developers and end users. The tools available under the open-source AGPL license will allow developers to integrate decentralized identity into their applications.
Polygon ID Has A Variety Of Use Cases
Polygon also listed some use cases for the SSI. Members of Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) that wish to remain anonymous while still participating in governance can use Polygon ID to verify their membership to the DAO without disclosing their personal information.
Traditional finance (TradFi) and decentralized finance (DeFi) services generally rely on data-heavy know-your-customer (KYC) processes for identity verification which has long been a concern of privacy for users. Instead, developers can build a one-time KYC credential using Polygon ID that will allow users to prove their eligibility once and then re-use the credential for other high-value services without needing to share their private information ever again.
E-commerce platforms can implement a Polygon ID layer to increase payment security when customers purchase goods and services and reduce the cost of storing and securing user and payment information. With Polygon ID’s passwordless login feature, users won’t lose track of their hundreds of passwords.
They can simply share an encrypted verifiable credential by scanning a QR code or connecting their wallet to an application. Thus, improving the security, user experience, and productivity of applications.
Decentralized finance (DeFi) lending services use off-chain risk assessment for loan approvals and store borrowers’ identity information in case they default on the loan. Lending platforms can use Polygon ID to bring these processes on-chain by combining the borrower’s on-chain credit score with their persistent identity. This system will only share required data with the services while cryptographically storing the rest of the information.
Polygon ID also allows users to store their achievements, purchases, and progress made in Web 3.0 games and use them across different games and metaverses.
Polygon also mentioned multiple blockchain-based projects that are currently working on deploying Polygon ID into their services. Blockchain Lock, a blockchain and IoT (internet of things) company, is implementing Polygon ID into its trust network to facilitate the locking and unlocking of office spaces. DePay, a peer-to-peer payments app, is using Polygon ID to eliminate two-factor authentication (2FA) and instead enact passwordless login with hashed phone numbers.
NFT wallet and aggregator platform Komet will allow users to access marketplaces and DApps with Polygon ID. LoginID, a KYC and identity verification service, has integrated the tool to simplify identification processes on their mobile app. Moov Airways AG, a low-fare point-to-point airline, will deploy Polygon ID to streamline air travel procedures from booking tickets to boarding the flight.
The Sandbox, one of the largest Ethereum-based metaverse gaming platforms, is set to launch a Polygon ID feature towards the end of the year that will allow players to manage multiple in-game identities under a single account using KYC.
Other Web 3.0-based projects using the service are blockchain community builder Guild.xyz, digital identity verification services Fractal ID and IDfy, KYC provider PruvID, and decentralized ID verification solutions provider ToggleID.
At the time of writing, Polygon (MATIC) is trading at $1.18 – down by 2.6% in the last 24 hours.
