Crypto wallet firms integrate biometrics, zero-knowledge credentials for ID management

Dfns, a Paris-based firm which provides infrastructure and security tools for crypto wallets, is set to incorporate biometrics into its wallet-as-a service offering, CoinDesk reports.

A ‘crypto wallet’ enables users to store and transfer cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.

The new feature, dubbed “Delegated Signing,” uses the WebAuthn protocol to provide authentication via native device biometrics like facial authentication and TouchID, as well as PIN codes, and works across all major browsers and mobile operating systems.

For example, the new feature will allow users to access their wallet and send funds by scanning their faces or fingerprint instead of having to remember their private key or seed phrase, using a cryptographic key that is created and stored in the user’s phone.

Dfns, which was founded in 2020, raised $13.5 million in seed funding back in August 2022, in a round led by investment firm White Star Capital, tech firms Hashed and Susquehanna and also included Coinbase ventures, the venture capital arm of Coinbase, and the Dutch banking giant Abn Amro.

The product is in beta and is currently available for developer teams that would like to integrate it.

Australian Crypto wallet provider Verida has also added new digital identity capabilities into its offering.

The firm has integrated Polygon ID into its self-custody wallet Verida Wallet making it the first mobile crypto wallet to support Polygon ID zero-knowledge credentials.

Polygon is a blockchain platform which aims to create an Ethereum compatible multi-chain blockchain system.

Polygon Labs, the company behind Polygon, released Polygon ID in earlier March 2023, a tool that uses cryptographic zero-knowledge proofs (ZK proofs) to enable users to prove their identities online.

Polygon ID credentials are secured by the Verida Network, a self-sovereign data network developed for web3.

Credentials are encrypted on the user’s device and stored on region-aware storage nodes that can only be accessed (or permanently deleted) via the user’s private key.

Wallet users can manage decentralized digital identities and access Polygon blockchain assets. A promotional video notes the use of W3C’s Verifiable Credentials standard to support a self-sovereign identity model.

The companies said the collaboration will enable a new generation of dApps decentralized applications on the blockchain – in areas such as decentralized finance and gaming.

Initial use cases are said to include defending against what’s known as “Sybil attacks,” a type of digital identity-based cyber attack, and community role-based access.

Other potential use cases according to the firm include providing proof of reputation, regulatory-compliant decentralized finance (DeFi), and provide proof of real-world assets, for example verifying monthly income to access undercollateralized DeFi loans.

Article Topics

biometric authentication  |  cryptocurrency  |  decentralized ID  |  Dfns  |  digital wallets  |  Verida