DIF Labs showcases identity, privacy and digital assets projects in its inaugural cohort

DIF Labs has brought together its inaugural Beta Cohort of teams that want to solve some of the toughest challenges where identity, privacy, and digital assets intersect.

DIF Labs is dedicated to progressing impactful, real-world projects that are reshaping industries through decentralized identity. In its first cohort they chose three projects from Veranon, Linked Claims, and Ordinals Plus.

Veranon was presented by Alex Hache who spoke on their protocol that enables private, unique use of pre-verified identity with web services. “AI is advancing rapidly, and we will have continued need for human-centric web services, and that’s what Veranon is hoping to contribute,” Hache explained. The protocol allows users to prove their personhood while preserving their anonymity, thereby keeping bots out while protecting privacy.

It does this using Semaphore, a zero-knowledge group membership protocol. Managers verify user identity documents, adding their Semaphore identity commitments to a group. Subjects then generate zero-knowledge proofs to demonstrate membership without revealing their actual identities.

Linked Claims put forward verified skill credentials that can be endorsed by peers, mentors, and educational institutions, creating a “web of trust” around digital claims that are signed, portable, and machine-readable.

Brian Richter presented Ordinals Plus, a project that adds an identity layer to Bitcoin ordinals, with decentralized identity creating a more robust and trustworthy ecosystem for digital assets, according to Richter. Bitcoin Ordinals are a protocol where users can inscribe data such as images or text onto the smallest units of Bitcoin (satoshis) to create unique digital assets, which are similar to NFTs, on the Bitcoin blockchain. By connecting the ordinals to identity Ordinals Plus hopes to address a trust gap in this growing ecosystem. The emphasis is on privacy, scalability and seamless integration with existing W3C VC and DID standards.

More on the three projects can be found here. The next cohort, Beta Cohort 2 kicks off on May 20 with submission opening in late April. DIF Labs offers mentorship and guidance to help teams refine their concepts, with DIF Labs an initiative of the Decentralized Identity Foundation. Those interested in submitting can find more information here.

Article Topics

decentralized ID  |  Decentralized Identity Foundation (DIF)  |  DIF Labs  |  digital identity  |  proof of personhood  |  research and development