GLEIF kicks off corporate digital identity hackathon

The Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF) has launched a hackathon aimed at developing new applications for its organizational digital identity, known as the verifiable Legal Entity Identifier (vLEI).

The vLEI Hackathon 2025 takes place from July 14th to December 2nd and invites developers, entrepreneurs, and policy stakeholders from around the world. Winning teams and runners-up will present their solutions at forums in New York, Hong Kong and Frankfurt.

The participants’ main task is to expand the use cases of vLEI in “real-world scenarios,” according to Alexandre Kech, CEO at GLEIF. The digital counterpart of the 20-digit Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) is used to link an organization’s identity with that of a natural person and their professional role, allowing automated identity verification.

“The vLEI is a transformative leap forward in digital organizational identity, one that empowers organizations and individuals alike to operate with greater transparency and confidence across borders, infrastructures, and ecosystems,” Kech says in an announcement.

Participants can compete in three key areas: The Digital Assets and Financial Infrastructure track focuses on organizational IDs that can bridge digital assets trading with traditional finance. The Industry 4.0 track will attempt to connect manufacturing and smart contracts to financial systems, while the Trade, Supply Chain Resilience, and SME Finance theme centers on digitizing trade and documentation as well as financial inclusion.

The hackathon is backed by organizations such as banking communication system Swift, the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Digital Standards Initiative and the Emerging Payments Association Asia (EPA Asia).

“With trust and interoperability at the core of financial services, initiatives like the vLEI Hackathon foster solutions that align with the evolving needs of digital finance and effectively build bridges between digital assets and established systems,” Jonathan Ehrenfeld, Swift’s head of strategy, said in a release.

Companies such as Key State Capital, Giesecke+Devrient (G+D), Affinidi, and Cardano Foundation are also participating, with blockchain company Chainlink hosting the hackathon at its Chainlink SmartCon event in New York.

The hackathon is also meant to expand GLEIF’s network of Qualified vLEI Issuers (QVIs). Among the list of QVIs are the China Financial Certification Authority (CFCA), Certizen Technology, Finema, Finternet Lab, Provenant, TradeGo and Global vLEI. Earlier this year, it announced a collaboration with the UK business registry Companies House.

More information on the vLEI Hackathon 2025 is available here.

Article Topics

digital company ID  |  digital ID  |  digital identity  |  digital trust  |  GLEIF  |  KYB  |  Legal Entity Identifier (LEI)