Polkadot Summit 24' - Identity Hub: What could a new system chain for identities provide for the community?

Identity Hub: What could a new system chain for identities provide for the community?

Hi all, please see below a write up from one of the Polkadot Summit sessions that was held in Bangkok in 2024.
You can use the polkadot-summit tag to see all the other posts, and navigate to the summary post for a recap of the event.

11th March 2024 / POLKADOT SUMMIT ASIA

Host: Dudley & Antonia | KILT
Email dudley@kilt.io

Summary of the session

Dudley & Antonio from KILT led a session on addressing Identity fragmentation across the Polkadot Parachains & DApps by proposing their ‘Identity Hub’. The purpose of the Identity Hub was to help ‘unify’ identity handling. This can be done by allowing single identity claim to support various parachains and apps.

They also highlighted the important of a dedicated identity system chain, with the suggestion of extending the W3C RDF standard to better accomadate blockchain identity claims with additional metadata, such as confidence levels and origin information.

The idea of an Identity Hub as a registry not mirroring data from the Parachains but instead using off-chain Merkelised documents and Merkle roots for secure, cross-chain proofs and content integrity was highlighted.

Notes & Key questions asked

Identity Fragmentation Issue
Brought up the issue of users connecting identities across multiple parachains and dApps, resulting in a fragmented and less efficient process.

System Chain for Identity
Proposed shifting towards a standardized approach using an extended RDF model for identity claims to improve the interoperability and confidence in claim verification.

Open Questions Discussed

  • Data Availability and Management: The debate between supplying own data versus having data provided for claims and how Identity Hub can act as a registry without mirroring data.

  • Cross-Chain Proofs: The role of off-chain Merkelized documents and Merkle roots in ensuring content integrity and facilitating cross-chain proofs for identity claims.

  • Communication and Acknowledgment Mechanism: Addressing the challenge of dropped XCM messages and proposing mechanisms for acknowledgment or rejection of claims, enhancing the reliability and integrity of identity claim exchanges.

Key Takeaways & next steps

Identity Standardization and Interoperability
The session highlighted the need for unifying identity mechanisms across the Polkadot Eco, helping improve user experience [UX], reduce fragmentation and enhance the efficiency of the network.

Adoption of a Standardized Data Model
Pushed for the usage of an extended RDF model to facilitate better management and interoperability of identity claims. This particular approach is expected to foster innovation and analytical capabilities within the Polkadot Ecosystem.

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