Deloitte Taps Polkadot’s Kilt Protocol For KYC Credentials

Deloitte Consulting AG, a subsidiary of the ‘Big Four’ accounting firm, Deloitte, has tapped the Polkadot-based Kilt protocol for digital identity services.

Kilt will issue reusable digital credentials for Deloitte Consulting’s KYC/KYB identity checks, which aim to detect fraud and other criminal activity.

“Digital credentials that are convenient, cost-effective and secure have the potential to open new digital marketplaces, from e-commerce and DeFi to gaming,” said Micha Bitterli, head of Deloitte Managed Services.

Kilt said its digital identity (DID) credentials could support a variety of additional use cases, including “regulatory compliance for banking and DeFi, age verification, private logins, and fundraising.”

The KILT token rallied 50% to $0.51 on the news, and last changed hands for $0.36, according to CoinGecko. Deloitte generated $59B of revenue in 2022.

It’s a welcome boost for the Polkadot ecosystem, which was hammered in the bear market following excitement for its initial batches of parachain auctions.

“Deloitte, the world’s biggest accounting firm, is the latest major enterprise partner to come to the Polkadot ecosystem,” Polkadot tweeted. “Kilt’s tech eliminates existing inefficiencies around KYC/KYB processes that can put consumer data privacy at risk, while addressing regulatory compliance for banking and DeFi.”

Polkadot’s Layer 0 relay chain provides shared security from its vast staking ecosystem to Layer 1 “parachains” launching on its infrastructure. Polkadot projects rent one of a hundred parachain slots for periods of up to two years, with the parachains allocated through auctions.

Reusable KYC

Deloitte’s customers will be able to store their DID credentials in a digital wallet that is managed through a browser extension. “The customer can choose with whom they share their credentials and which data points they make available,” the company said.

Kilt said many existing KYC/KYB certificates are paper-based and are not reusable, resulting in the vast collection and storage of personal information that puts consumer data privacy at risk.

“The KYC process is typically inefficient for the verifying entity and repetitive for the customer,” Kilt said. “Reusable KYB and KYC credentials solve many of these challenges, while offering control and flexibility to the customer.”

Deloitte will digitally sign each of the DID credentials it issues. The company also has the power to revoke DID credentials.