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Self-sovereign identity

Using KYC data in the web3 world has a couple of problems:

  • Firstly, personal data becomes publicly available when published on-chain, as transactions in public chains are open for anyone to review;
  • Secondly, credentials issued by identity providers on one chain cannot be used on any other chain, limiting their utility;

Rarimo Identity Protocol offers solutions to these issues:

  • Use of ZK-proofs for identity verification, which enables identity checks on-chain without compromising sensitive information. Users are also in control of the information they choose to reveal;
  • Cross-chain identity verification: Rarimo syncs data necessary to verify identities between all connected chains, so identity providers are no longer restricted by the chain on which users choose to utilize their web3 identity;

Rarimo Identity Protocol​

Rarimo has integrated the ZK-identity protocol, which is based on the Iden3 protocol. Unlike other identity representation methods like Soul Bound Tokens (SBTs) or Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), Rarimo allows users to utilize cryptographic proof as their identity representation. This cryptographic proof is comprised of two main components:

  • On-chain state that is used to verify proofs;
  • An off-chain claim that is owned by the user;

By leveraging these two components, users are able to provide dapps with proof regarding a specific statement about their identity, without disclosing any additional information. For instance, users can demonstrate to a smart contract that they are not a resident of the United States, without revealing any other personal information.

Utilizing these cryptographic proofs also simplifies and reduces costs for identity providers. Rather than having to mint a separate NFT for each identity, providers can simply update the on-chain state in the event of a change. The Rarimo protocol even supports minting credentials, updating them, revoking them, and setting credentials with expiration times, further streamlining the process for identity providers.

Cross-chain identity​

To enable cross-chain verification of identity, Rarimo transfers the on-chain state from different identity providers across the supported chains. This means that each smart contract can verify credentials on the chain where it is located without requiring additional logic for bridging. By publishing identity data through the Rarimo Protocol, identity providers are not required to implement any additional logic or integration to enable clients to utilize proofs on other chains.

On-demand verification

The publishing of on-chain state will occur on-demand, meaning that when someone wants to verify identity in a certain state, the user can retrieve the relevant state from the Rarimo chain and publish it on the chain where verification is required. This approach will result in significant savings on state synchronization fees, as states will only be published when needed for verification purposes.

Fees​

One of the primary challenges for cross-chain platforms is the cost of network fees for publishing data on connected chains. Rarimo utilizes several techniques to reduce these fees:

  • Aggregating all identity data into a single state reduces the amount of data transmitted between chains;
  • The Rarimo protocol uses a Threshold Signature Scheme for updating states, which is much cheaper in verification than other options;
  • States can be submitted on-demand, so they do not need to be updated after every change. This reduces the number of transactions and the amount of network fees;

Rarimo is a flexible protocol in terms of paying network fees, with multiple options available:

  • Users can pay fees when checking identity;
  • Dapps can pay fees for updating states of the identity provider they are using;
  • Identity providers can pay fees for publishing state on a specific blockchain;

Conclusion​

The Rarimo protocol offers several advantages for identity providers, including:

  • The use of ZK-credentials allows for the use of cryptographically secure credentials without revealing personal data on-chain, making it easier and cheaper for identity providers to publish identities;
  • The Rarimo Protocol has embedded cross-chain functionality, meaning that credentials published on the Rarimo chain will be verifiable on any connected chain, and identity providers do not need to write additional integrations for new blockchains;
  • State aggregation and Threshold Signatures make publishing identity data cross-chain inexpensive;
  • The instant finality of consensus allows for the bridging of identity data immediately after publishing it on the Rarimo chain;