1Kosmos BlockID

Blockchain and other Distributed Ledger Technologies have moved beyond initial hype into a slower, more practical phase focused on delivering concrete services that address real-world problems. A particularly promising application area is “Blockchain ID,” spanning verification, KYC, and authentication. Three identity challenges stand out: costly and cumbersome identification and verification (especially during onboarding), the absence of universal IDs that forces people to manage many weakly protected identifiers, and persistent loss of control over personal data once it is shared with third parties.

Blockchain identity approaches are evolving away from storing personal data “on-chain” toward storing only trust relationships, public keys, and pseudonymized links, reducing regulatory and scalability concerns. This model is closely tied to Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs), which link a DID subject to DID documents containing cryptographic material, authenticator details, and service endpoints. The resulting goal is Self-Sovereign Identity, where individuals keep control of identity data, typically combining ledger-held relationship data with sensitive information stored locally in a device wallet.

1Kosmos’ BlockID is presented as an early commercial implementation of this approach. Its core is the BlockID Safe (an SSI wallet) on iOS, Windows, and Android, storing authenticators, credentials, and other private attributes (including payment data). An “API Gateway” brokers interactions among user safes, blockchain/ledger repositories, new apps via an SDK, and existing identity providers and services via standard or proprietary integrations. BlockID uses Ethereum and smart contracts, splitting data across an Ethereum-based quasi-permissioned side chain (identity data and DID hash blob) and a separate public ledger (encrypted, asynchronous transaction records). It supports third-party identity verification integrations and assurance levels up to level 3, plus enterprise integration such as automated linking to Active Directory accounts. Key challenges include passphrase-only recovery, limited roaming across devices, and the need to prove critical-mass adoption, though enterprise-focused deployments help mitigate the classic adoption “chicken-and-egg” problem.

• Three major identity challenges are identification & verification, lack of universal IDs, and limited ownership & control of personal data.
• DIDs are URLs that relate a DID subject to DID documents containing cryptographic material, authenticator information, and service endpoints.
• The DID specification is in draft status at W3C.
• BlockID Safe runs on Apple iOS, Windows, and Android.
• BlockID uses an API Gateway as a broker between user safes, ledger platforms, new apps via SDK, and existing identity/service providers.
• BlockID uses Ethereum and relies heavily on smart contracts for relationships between individuals and organizations.
• Identity data and the user’s DID hash blob are stored on an Ethereum-based side chain described as quasi-permissioned.
• A separate public ledger stores encrypted transaction information such as login attempts or form fills asynchronously.
• BlockID integrates with third-party verification sources including Melissa, postal services, and passport databases.
• BlockID supports assurance levels up to level 3, requiring strong proof of the individual.

• “There is a shift from overhyping scenarios to understanding and realizing the potential of these technologies to better solve real-world challenges.”
• “Today, there are three major ‘identity challenges’ that lack good solutions.”
• “The evolution of Blockchain ID is characterized by a shift from the idea of storing data about individuals in the distributed ledger or ‘on the chain’ to just maintaining bidirectional relationships on that ledger.”
• “It serves as a distributed storage for pseudonymized relationships and public keys.”
• “Storing private data on the ledger itself would cause major issues with regulatory requirements such as the right to be forgotten.”
• “This approach enables what is named Self Sovereign Identity, i.e. identity and related data that remains under control of the data subject, not the service that is accessed.”
• “The central component is what 1Kosmos names the ‘API Gateway’, better described as a broker…”
• “Data is distributed between a side chain as a quasi-permissioned ledger and a separate ledger is used for a public ledger.”
• “That chicken-and-egg problem is bypassed by 1Kosmos by enabling enterprise use cases…”
• “In sum, BlockID is among the first promising real-world, commercial implementations of a blockchain-based ID concept, following the concepts of Self Sovereign Identity.”