Polygon launches decentralized ID product powered by ZK proofs

Polygon, a layer-2 scaling protocol for Ethereum, has launched a zero-knowledge decentralized identity solutionto the public nearly a year after announcing its development.

The Polygon ID service uses zero-knowledge proofs (ZK proofs) that use cryptographic techniques to allow users to verify their identity online without having their sensitive information passed or potentially stored with a third party.

Polygon Labs publicly released Polygon ID on March 1, almost 12 months after the project was officially launched in a closed-source environment.

The Polygon team says Polygon ID was built to “solve the issue of digital trust.”

ZERO KNOWLEDGE IDENTITY FOR WEB3

The Polygon ID team is excited to announce 4 tools have been released in the #PolygonID Identity Infrastructure to build a more equitable internet that places identity at the center of it.

The future is self-sovereign⛓https://t.co/h66KyDurJE pic.twitter.com/jTBbzBNVJk

— Polygon (@0xPolygon) March 1, 2023

“What sets Polygon ID apart from most other decentralized ID frameworks is its implementation of zero-knowledge technology, allowing users to verify their identities or other credentials without necessarily revealing sensitive information,” Polygon said.

The public release introduces four new tools to the Polygon ID toolset — Verifier SDK, Issuer Node, Wallet SDK and Wallet App — that will allow Polygon developers to integrate decentralized identity into their applications.

Users will be able to produce zero-knowledge proofs using off-chain credentials — such as their passport, national ID or a bachelor’s degree — to interact with smart contracts and verify information on-chain.

“This means that off-chain data can now be used for trustless on-chain verifications in the widely-supported Verified Credential format.”

Polygon claims it’s also the first ZK-based digital ID tool that allows users to hold credentials locally on handheld devices such as smartphones, and that users will no longer need passwords:

“Passwordless logins exchange encrypted verifiable credentials by simply scanning a QR code or connecting to a desktop wallet. Organizations can benefit from improved security, a better user experience, and productivity of their system administrators whose time is not taken up by password resets.”

The co-founder of Polygon ID, David Schwartz, said in a March 1 tweet that the product was built “on the latest decentralized identity standards” which will help protect developers and users against unauthorized access from third parties.

Polygon ID’s ZK-based technology enables developers to build solutions to allow users to store their personal information privately and securely while giving them full control over who has access to their data.

— David Schwartz (@davidsrz) March 1, 2023

“Providing identity in a way that the average consumer can use is the holy grail of digital ID adoption,” he explained in a separate press statement.

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Multiple projects have already committed to integrating Polygon ID upon launch, such as Web3 infrastructure provider Kaleido, ID verification solution Fractal and Web3 community management system Collab.Land. Together they have a user base of over 4 million, according to Polygon.