Verifiable credentials

Standards
1

Hello!
W3C verifiable credentials are available : https://www.w3.org/TR/vc-data-model/
Is blockcert compliant?
If yes, is the blockcert verifier able to verify credentials that has been issued through this standard?
If no, is there any other verifier available on the web ? And does blockcerts will complie to this standard? when? And what will happen to “old” blockcert certificates issued in the past ?

2

Hi Viky,

Blockcerts, launched in 2016, predated this W3C data standard. Now that the W3C 1.0 specification has just been released in November 2019, work has started to bring Blockcerts into alignment with that standard. So, Blockcerts will become a reference implementation during the first half of 2020. This will include an updated Blockcerts Verifier, which aims to have backwards compatibility as well.

1 Like
3

Thanks Chris, I better understand now. Have you a more precise idea of the date of the “W3C compliant” version?
Also, to your knowledge, are there already any compliant verifier available?

4

Viky,

I can’t provide a more specific timeframe for when Blockcerts’ updates will be compete.

Your second question about a “compliant verifier” is an interesting one. Since VCs are not a singular technology, there may never be a universal verifier. Currently, there is a checklist of ~ 100 requirements to be a VC, and many are optional/additional. So, every verifier in the future will likely need to show two things:

  1. Check min requirements that it is a validly formatted W3C credential
  2. That it is has the extra things required of a particular credential type.

In the case of Blockcerts, number 2 would include decentralized hash verification. For other verifiers like Sovrin, it would include a zero knowledge proof.

In short, there likely won’t be a simple universal verifier for all credential types/formats in the near term. However, all standard-compliant credentials should be verifiable according to a W3C core set of checks.