The more i’ve learned about blockchain-based apps, the more i’m curious how ID will be managed across apps, platforms, and technologies (e.g Etherium, Corda, etc. ). One of the key design decisions of blockchain approach is that ID doesn’t really matter. Anonymity was the design intent. But, as the concept gets applied beyond currency/assets, ID will have to get figured out. Worst case, we end up with a bunch of accounts across new centralized platforms (e.g. Coinbase et. al). But, i have to believe we’ll have a platform that will enable us to manage our various identities in one place , something like Civic but one that will enable me to manage my various online identities: a public, professional, private, friends, financial, creative, hobby, etc.
Here’s a list of some places to start:
- Techcrunch – This article start with the idea that the blockchain is where the ID is managed, vs. ID for blockchain apps and makes the case that blockchain won’t be the solution for ID
- 21 Companies Leveraging Blockchain for Identity Management and Authentication – The title is a little misleading, as most of these companies are playing in the DigitalID space, but most of these companies are rethinking ID Management for a re-decentralized future. More details here.
- An argument for the use of Blockchain for ID Mgmt – But, this paper is making the case for using blockchain for ID Mgmt for one network, vs. a solution that could work across networks.
- BlockOne from Thompson Reuters – This is a tool for blending existing ID’s on social platforms (i.e. OATH) and ID management for custom, etherium based apps. Smart approach.
- Civic – These guys are using the phone to manage a personal ID for use across a number of distributed apps. I think this approach is inevitable, and for hardware based approaches, the phone makes a lot of sense.
I’m sure there a tons more, let me know which i should look at.