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The ecosystem

Networks​

At least one decentralized network must operate for our tools to make sense (multiple networks can be used, whether they are public, private or permissioned). Most of them were developed for EVM-based blockchains, but implementations for other types of networks (Substrate for instance) were already made. Some parts could work with alternative protocols (e.g. PKI), but we think blockchains are the best fit for our use-cases.

The decentralized networks is responsible for:

  • Serving a registry of identities and their different keys, each ONCHAINID is a smart contract on the network.
  • Serving a registry of claim issuers and the potential revocation on claims they emit, each Claim Issuer is a smart contract on the network.
  • For some use-cases, supporting the entire service (eg. Voting and governance with DAOs, DeFi with Tokens,
  • Collections with NFTs, etc).

Wallets​

Most of the interactions can be performed without writing to the blockchain, but implies a lot of cryptography. Almost all actors in the ecosystem need a wallet to manage their keys and sign messages. Signing keys can be of almost any type (some use-cases may require certain type of cryptographic curves and algorithms).

Wallets can be:

  • Self-custodial (preferred): the owner of the wallet is the only one with access to their private keys. No one can impersonate the owner as their keys are not accessible. However, it means the owner needs to be able to operate their wallet (eg. by using a hardware wallet, a mobile app wallet, etc).
  • Custodial: the owner of the wallet gives access to their private keys to a third party (eg. a wallet provider). Depending on the implementation and the provided service, it means the owner depends on their provider to operate their wallet, sometimes the service could also impersonate the user by using their private keys without their consent.

Writing to the blockchain requires a wallet to sign transactions. The wallet used for this purpose must have blockchain capabilities. However, using ONCHAINID does not always require blockchain transactions. Signing operation can be performed using other cryptographic curves and algorithm, and more democratized standards and tools could be used, such as WebAuthN (passkeys).

Claim Issuers​

Claim Issuers are entities that issue information about identities they attest, a claim is therefore a proof from this entity. It doesn't mean the information contained in the claim are true, but that this claim issuer declares them true.

Anyone could be a claim issuer, in fact, even an identity owner can issue claims for their own identity (those are called self attested claims).