Polygon ID Release 6: Introducing the First-Ever Implementation of Dynamic Credentials by a Privacy Protocol

The team of researchers, ZK engineers, and Polygon ID developers are thrilled to unveil Polygon ID Release 6, another big milestone on Polygon ID’s path to become the most adopted digital identity solution.

The highlight of this release is the first ever implementation of Dynamic Credentials by a privacy protocol, a W3C specification that allows users to refresh expired credentials automatically from their wallet. 

Release 6 brings other exciting advancements, which we will discuss below. Get ready to fix identity with Polygon ID!

Dynamic Credentials: Update your credentials with ease

Although all credentials have some expiration date, some credentials are volatile and usually short-lived - things like your credit score, account balance or credentials for KYC/AML (Know Your Customer / Anti Money Laundry) vetting have short periods of validity. 

In these cases, the issuer of these credentials will define a short period before the expiration date is applied, and then the credential needs to be refreshed. Until now, this refresh was basically a repetition of the same process (manually going to the issuer for a new valid credential). 

To make this process more user-friendly, the W3C published Verifiable Credential Refresh chapter in the Verifiable Credentials standard - but nobody had implemented it until today - Polygon ID is the first project ever to implement it.‍

This new feature brings lots of benefits to a number of use cases:

• Issuers can create new business models based on recurring revenue through short-lived credentials (since the refresh can be charged).
• Polygon ID can support a truly compliant KYC/AML credential with the best user experience - The KYC credential issuer can issue short lived credentials and just perform the AML check on each refresh.
• The user can have an “eternal” credential that is always valid and up to date.
• Polygon ID supports volatile data which needs constant refreshing - like credit scoring. For the verifiers, this means they are basically “subscribing” to a user data stream  

As a specific example, let's examine a credential with high variability, such as an account balance. One approach might involve issuing the credential with an extended validity period, yet this could expose the credential holder to the risk of engaging in double spending activities. Alternatively, to address this concern, the issuer could opt for distributing short-term credentials. However, this would necessitate frequent interactions between the user and the issuer node to consistently provide the most current information. The use of dynamic credentials offers a solution, ensuring that the account balance remains up-to-date. The holder can manually refresh the credential upon expiration, or it will be automatically refreshed during any verification process if required.

The implementation of dynamic credentials includes a new service that is integrated on the issuer node, and the refresh protocol is implemented on mobile and js-sdk.

See the documentation here if you are an issuer and here if you are a wallet provider. Or watch the demo video to see the entire flow.

‍Test your zkQuery with the new QueryBuilder

With our clear goal in mind of making it easier to develop with Polygon ID, the new QueryBuilder enables verifiers (i.e. dApp developers) to test zkQueries, making query creation more accessible to verifiers. 

As a verifier (i.e. dApp Developer), if you are working off-chain, you will be able to generate a QR code, so the holder can send you a proof, and then you will be able to see the holder’s answer directly in the QueryBuilder (the JWZ containing the zero-knowledge proof and other data requested in your Query). If you are working on-chain, you will be able also to generate the QR code, and see the transactions of setting the zkQuery into the Smart Contract, and of receiving the proof from the holder into the Smart Contract. 

See the documentation here and watch the demo video below. 

Additional Enhancements

Polygon ID Release 6 also contains many powerful features to improve Polygon ID’s on-chain capabilities, as well as, setting up the foundations to solve core web3 problems such as sybil attacks among others.

• Private Proof of Uniqueness - Beta: The verifier can now make sure that a holder performs an action only once in a privacy-preserving manner. The wallet will present a proof of uniqueness (a unique identifier linked to a credential, for example a biometrics or national ID number) to a verifier without disclosing the real identifier. This unique identifier, also called “nullifier”, would always be the same within the scope of a verifier’s session, even if the holder is using profiles. This is very useful for use cases like e-voting to avoid the same person from voting multiple times or to avoid double spending. For more information see here. 
• Onchain Revocation Service: Polygon ID is more robust while removing the need of issuer services being online to be able to check the revocation status of an issued credential. The issuer can now publish the revocation status in a smart contract, so the holder can always check the revocation status of a credential before generating the zero-knowledge proof.  This is enhancing the previous off-chain configurations of “Centralized Revocation Status” where the issuer provides the information or “RHS off chain” where a service independent from the issuer provides the information. For more information see here. 
• Onchain issuer improvements: We have prepared a few examples for on-chain issuance of both merklized and non-merklized credentials, which are two different ways of representing W3C Verifiable Credentials with Polygon ID. The non-merklized Credential format is simpler and can be created completely inside smart contracts from on-chain data. This means it’s now possible to create trustless decentralized issuers, where users “self-issue” credentials. The examples include the self-issuance of “BalanceCredential”.  
• Support of custom methods and DIDs: Possibility to register custom networks for Polygon ID, so users can roll out Polygon ID in their ecosystem. For more information see here. 
• Credential Display Method: Now issuers can customize how their credentials are displayed in the holder’s wallet: title, colors, logos, background image and much more. For more information see the documentation here. ‍
• Circuits V3 - Beta: these new circuits prepare the path for new exciting features: they will allow among others nullifiers to prove the uniqueness of an identity, linked proofs to make sure that two different proofs are testing the same credential and new operators. To download them go to the settings section of your Polygon ID mobile application. For more information see the documentation here.

Polygon ID’s ecosystem keeps on growing

Thanks to all the improvements in Polygon ID infrastructure and tooling, and  the enhanced quantity and diversity of available credentials the vibrant decentralized identity ecosystem is constantly growing. 

The following are some highlights of projects that have decided to join the Polygon ID ecosystem since the last release:‍

IDX (Lumx’s project) leverages Polygon ID technology to develop an identity solution for one of the largest banking services consortiums in Brazil. ‍

Lumx prepared an identity solution for ELO, one of the largest banking services consortiums in Brazil. The IDX solution leverages the Polygon ID technology and SDKs to provide secure and private personal data management for financial services consumers. It is a white labeled web3 identity wallet that can be customized to the needs of the various financial services companies in Brazil and LATAM.

Company: Lumx‍

Standardized identity framework for using tokenized assets

Polygon ID and DigiShares collaborate on creating a decentralized ID framework for the tokenization ecosystem. Called DITO, it will be based on Polygon’s ID technology of issuing verifiable credentials and designed with fields crucial for KYC. These credentials will be used for white-listing and verification of wallets which will enable compliant on-chain issuance and trading of tokenized assets in real time. 

Company: DigiShares

MetaKeep integrated PolygonID to enrich HSM based wallet as a service with DID

MetaKeep is a DePIN hardware-wallet-as-a-service and a general purpose cryptography platform that is empowering end users of enterprises, blockchains, and government platforms with zero-risk self custody private key ownership. With the integration of Polygon ID standard, MetaKeep now unlocks globally compliant SSI ownership and management on an unprecedented planet scale. Users will now be able to navigate the Web3 as well as enterprise landscape with a literally invisible and unbreakable embedded hardware wallets within their favorite applications with a perfect user experience for managing their blockchain backed assets and SSI credentials.

Company: MetaKeep

Self attestations of private digital data on the internet while having a secure, private and anonymous interaction with verifiers. 

It's the first on-chain Issuer which has been setup by Reclaim Protocol (issuing credentials on Mainnet). Users can self-attest their private data, generate a zkProof and receive it as a verifiable credential. It can fetch literally any digital data on the internet while having a secure, private and anonymous interaction with Verifiers.

Company: Reclaim Protocol

On/off-chain reputation levering by scoring identity data and creating trustworthy personal brand profiles.

{R}elinkd helps real humans to leverage their achievements/reputation by creating trustworthy digital identity profiles with trust scores, verifiable credentials and experience. 

Company: {r}elinkd

Please visit the credentials marketplace and ecosystem page to find out which credentials and projects are available as part of the Polygon ID ecosystem.

What is next?

Release 6 marks a significant milestone in the evolution of Polygon ID, yet it's not Polygon ID’s final destination. Your valuable feedback continues to drive our commitment to improvement, and as a result, Polygon ID continues to grow the ecosystem, empowering a diverse array of pioneering initiatives.This includes support for issuers, verifiers, and users.

In the upcoming months, expect new projects (some of them currently in the research phase) that we believe can become breakthroughs for the space. Stay tuned, follow us on X (formerly Twitter), subscribe to our newsletter, and contact our business development team for any inquiry.  

Finally, be sure to tune into the blog and our social channels to keep up with updates about the Polygon ecosystem.

Together, we can build an equitable future for all through the mass adoption of Web3.

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