The internet was built without an identity layer. Today, we are fixing that with Portable Verifiable Credentials.
A W3C Verifiable Credential (VC) is a tamper-evident credential that has authorship that can be cryptographically verified. It is the digital equivalent of a passport, but designed for the internet.
The Trust Triangle
The VC ecosystem relies on a simple trust triangle:
- The Issuer: An authoritative body (e.g., a bank, university, or government) that asserts a claim and cryptographically signs it.
- The Holder: The individual who receives the VC and stores it in their wallet.
- The Verifier: A third party who requests proof of the claim and verifies the issuer's signature.
Because the credential is mathematically verifiable, the Verifier does not need to contact the Issuer to confirm its validity. This creates a privacy-preserving, infinitely scalable identity network that operates across borders without centralized bottlenecks.