JAKARTA - Having launched on the Bitcoin mainnet since March 2021, ION's Decentralized Identity Network is one of the most exciting projects in the crypto space, right now. This second tier solution operates as a permissionless public network to support Decentralized Identifiers (DID) and Decentralized Public Key Infrastructure (DPKI).
This project has been developed by Microsoft and has goals not usually associated with the tech giant. ION seeks to give individuals and other entities complete control over their personal data and the exchange thereof.
When it launched, Daniel Buchner, Senior Product Manager for Decentralized Identity at Microsoft said that the Bitcoin-based solution was built to operate without third parties. "ION doesn't answer anyone but you, the community," added Buchner.
At the 2021 Miami Bitcoin Conference, news site Reason interviewed Buchner to talk about the project's potential to create "a new era of personalized online identity and privacy". In it, he claims that ION operates like Bitcoin, in the sense that users can leverage the underlying technology to own their money.
ION allows users to have their own identity to apply in multiple use cases. For example, a user can login to a website and get credentials without third-party validation. “You are the only one proving this ID and no company anywhere has one,” says Buchner.
The solution is available through a public preview called Azure verified credential service. The Senior Product Manager emphasized that credentials are the first use case for ION. This will allow anyone to issue diplomas, workplaces and other documents with immutable and trustworthy information that is secured by the Bitcoin network.
As a result of these use cases, Buchner believes businesses can be optimized and reduce certain costs. He added that identity has been left out in the digital advances that have been applied in many sectors over the past two decades. ION leverages Bitcoin to bring people's information and privacy into the digital age.
The project faced major challenges in its development, as it sought to create more human interfaces (“human interfaces”). “Unlike other services, DID can be lost, just like you can lose Bitcoin on a hard drive,” says Buchner. According to him the project explores custodial technology, but users will need more "awareness" and take on more responsibilities.
Moreover, one can issue multiple IDs, and these can be used for different scenarios. For example, a person can have a relationship ID, a job ID, and so on. In this way, people can choose and control how much information other people have access to.
Microsoft is attracted to this technology because of their interest in corporate identity through Azure Active Directory, a service used by "most companies on the planet". While the tech giant can't control ION, Buchner explains that this aspect is irrelevant to Microsoft's core business.
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