About Podcast Episode

Verifiable Credentials are tamper-proof digital data which can be cryptographically verified.  In other terms, these are credentials which the holder of them cannot edit or falsify, while guaranteeing to anyone verifying them that the data and provenance of that data being claimed is in fact true. Verifiable Credentials live at Layer 3 of the Trust over IP Stack. This is the layer where issuers, holders, and verifiers exchange credentials and proofs using credential exchange protocols.

There are different implementations of verifiable credentials in the market today. One of them which has seen good traction, having been adopted by major digital ID programs is the AnonCreds specification. AnonCreds supports important privacy-preserving capabilities through the use of zero-knowledge proof (ZKP) cryptography. The use of Zero Knowledge Proofs (ZKPs) in the verifiable presentation process enhances privacy protections available to the holder in presenting data to verifiers.

Some of the key topics covered during this episode with Stephen include:

• Introduction to Various Credential Types – AnonCreds and different types of W3C credentials.
• Converting AnonCreds VC to W3C VC Standard format and adding other signature types (e.g. LD-Signature/NIST/ed25519/BBS+)
• History of AnonCreds – blinding signature work in the 1970s, advancements and track record since then.
• Why are AnonCreds suited for Government Digital ID use cases?
• Capabilities provided by AnonCreds – non-correlability, minimizing data shared, zero knowledge proofs (ZKPs), etc.
• Comparing transferable vs non-transferrable credentials.
• Can the way that W3C credentials are formatted get in the way of interoperability in the future?
• Are there use cases where AnonCreds aren’t the right implementation?
• Are AnonCreds more computing intensive than W3C credentials?
• Future for AnonCreds and for Hyperledger Indy.
• Why Revocation remains the weak point of AnonCreds and Indy.
• Is mDL better suited than AnonCreds for Driver’s Licence use cases?