Decentralized Identity: Where Did It Come From and Where Is It Going?

Abstract

The technology category now widely known as “decentralized identity” and more narrowly as “self-sovereign identity” didn’t even exist four years ago. At that time, the cutting edge of digital identity technology consisted of Internet- scale federated identity protocols such as OpenID Connect and user-centric data sharing protocols such as User-Managed Access (UMA). Then along came Bitcoin and a surge of interest in blockchain and distributed ledger technology (DLT). Although the initial uses of this technology focused primarily on cryptocurrency, it didn’t take long for the digital identity community to begin applying it to digital identity scenarios.