In this track: How people use Ethereum
intermediate · 3 MIN READ

Decentralized identity explained

Identifiers, claims and verification rules can be controlled and checked in different ways.

LET’S PICTURE IT

A name tag identifies someone, while a membership certificate makes a separate claim about them.

SEE IT FOR YOURSELF
From a public address to a verified signatureStep 1 / 4
From a public address to a verified signaturePublic address0x0000…0001Share to receiveAnother personCan read the addressCannot sign for youPublic identifier ≠ secret authorizationLocal signerPrivate key stays hereSign the chosen requestSigned requestMessage + signatureSecret key not includedThe moving packet represents a signature, not a keySignatureCheck the exact messageCheck the signing contextVerificationAuthorization checkedIntent still mattersValidity and safety are different questionsWallet interfaceReads public dataRequests authorizationNetwork stateBalances and recordsIndependent verificationNo wallet is connected in this local illustration

An address is public receiving information. It is not the private key that authorizes actions.

Animated local teaching model. No wallet, RPC or live blockchain data. Some labels and hashes are abbreviated for readability.

Identity has several layers

An address, a name and a credential are not interchangeable. An identifier points to an entity or account; a claim states something about it; a verifier evaluates the evidence under a policy.

A signature binds authorization

A signer can attest to a claim, but verification must establish which signer is trusted for that purpose. A cryptographically valid claim from an unknown issuer may be irrelevant to the desired decision.

Privacy is a design problem

Publishing identifiers and credentials can reveal relationships or personal information. A decentralized mechanism does not automatically make disclosures private or erase them later.

Check expiry and revocation

A claim may no longer be current even if its old signature remains mathematically valid. The verifier needs appropriate context, lifecycle rules and a definition of what it is trying to establish.

QUICK CHECK · NO PRESSURE

Does any valid signature prove any identity claim is trustworthy?

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Original explanations by EtherTools. Examples are educational and source-linked; this site is independent of the Ethereum Foundation. Our approach.