# Overview Investor Warning - Investment in new business carries high risks. It is highly speculative and before investing in any project, prospective investors are strongly advised to seek professional advice. {% hint style="info" %} **The company:** NextID is a 2-year old Singapore-based company with a revolutionary approach to issuing verifiable digital certificates. The company's NextCert service is designed to fit any business use case, including awards, health status, authenticity of documents, artwork and copyright proofs, etc. All of these certificates are anchored to a blockchain, so are permanent and tamper proof. {% endhint %} **Our unique value proposition** is to easily produce the most trusted and attractive digital certificates for any business use case. Following are some key points about our certificate services. * NextID is a services company and revenue is based on fees paid by certificate issuers, including schools, academies, healthcare providers, document management companies, etc. * Our flagship **NextCert™** is a web-based application used to issue and manage verifiable digital certificates. The app family includes the free NextCert Viewer and Verifier. A NextCert Credentials Wallet is coming soon. These apps are available to issuers on a pay-per-use or subscription model. The company also offers data-processing services and has a full API for system integrators. * NextCert technology is compatible with multiple blockchains, supports multiple use cases and offers unlimited flexibility for the graphical design of certificates. * Our certificates rely on international standards and can be easily shared via social media. For example, a one-click feature lets recipients add certificates to their LinkedIn profiles. * Our certificates can also be minted as tradeable NFTs. This is a very exciting development for digital artists and marketeers who produce coupons. ## About this White Paper > "Decentralization will undoubtedly play a key role in shaping the future of the internet. The Web 3.0 revolution has already begun and the demand for decentralized identity management solutions that transfer the power back to the users is at an all-time high."\ > \- [How Can Blockchain Technology Protect Digital Identities?](https://zycrypto.com/how-can-blockchain-technology-protect-digital-identities/) The internet has given rise to a new era of data security and privacy predicaments including centralisation and hacking. Blockchain-powered and decentralised identity management solutions have the potential to eliminate problems clouding digital identity. In fact, Verifiable Credentials is [the #2 blockchain technology trend](https://ibsintelligence.com/ibsi-news/5-top-emerging-blockchain-technology-trends-to-follow-in-2021/) identified by IBS Intelligence. That's an even higher rank than DeFi. Juniper predicts that [the value of the decentralised identity market will be $53b USD by 2026](https://www.itnews.com.au/digitalnation/news/digital-identity-to-be-worth-53-billion-by-2026-juniper-575530). This white paper is intended to provide potential investors with an understanding of the decentralised identity market, what differentiates NextID's offering and what makes the company an attractive investment. ### Chapters This white paper is organised in chapters for easy browsing: {% content-ref url="/pages/cJA7QgAHLjCGCrK2uMq4" %} [Technical Foundations](/technical-foundations/verifiable-credentials) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/lm3aNJMqlLTUMj5xuxTu" %} [Market Opportunity](/market-opportunity/driving-forces) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/z9VAf9MpHN8oEUYONhJV" %} [Our Services](/our-services/product-focus) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/lSR0QKfpgQs0uDPasXIg" %} [Financials](/financials/summary) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/6GtnJLw7Cp0QTDAskhkK" %} [Team Profiles](/team-profiles/summary) {% endcontent-ref %} {% hint style="info" %} **Good to know:** Blockchain is a technology platform enabling developers to build powerful vertical applications easily. It is not necessary to issue tokens or create new protocols - we can rely on the fact that there are now several blockchains which can provide fast processing with low gas fees and excellent security. {% endhint %} ### Technical Foundations Of course, to fully understand a modern business, investors need to become familiar with perhaps unfamiliar underlying technologies. The next chapter provides a brief survey of these foundational technologies. # Verifiable Credentials ### History In November 2015, a group of internet security experts met in San Francisco to discuss the future of trust mechanisms on the internet. This event was known as the Rebooting Web of Trust (RWOT) design workshop. Participants were motivated by a desire to redesign the trust frameworks which had been in place for 25 years prior, known as Pretty Good Privacy (PGP). Email addresses, usernames, and website domains were (and still are) borrowed or "rented" through DNS, X.509, and social networks. What the participants hoped to do was to create a fully decentralised Public Key Infrastructure (DPKI) that would return control of online identities from the siren servers of Apple, Facebook, Google and others to the individual entities they belong to. ![Rebooting Web Of Trust meeting in Barcelona, March 2019](/files/YDrPXVat9iMGaYbJ2SuT) In the years since 2015, RWOT events have provided a regular forum for discussion of decentralised identity, and this work eventually led to efforts to standardise. The work was formalised by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), an international community where member organizations, a full-time staff, and the public work together to develop Web standards. The first standard to come out of this work was the Verifiable Credentials Data Model, the initial draft of which was published in August of 2017. ### Need For A Data Format When individuals are in control of their digital identity and are no longer reliant on trusted third parties, they face an immediate challenge in sharing selective portions of their identity. Supposing that a bank requests proof of your assets before granting a loan, how would you provide this proof in a manner that it did not disclose too much but just enough to satisfy the request. Additionally, how would you assure the relying party that your asset proof is reliable without performing additional inquiries? Cryptocurrency was young, but contributors to the standards effort were well aware that a blockchain can act as a decentralised registry, and that by retrieving the hash of some document, then comparing it to the hash generated from a copy, a relying party can easily verify if the copy is authentic. Conversely, issuers can create an attestation document, record its hash on a blockchain, and this establishes authorship, provenance and immutability of claims made in the document. The original document does not get stored on the blockchain, only the hash, which is just a string of 64 characters. So privacy is not compromised. This realisation led to the killer app which is Verifiable Credentials (VCs). Implementers can rely on a standard definition for VC documents and then create their own certificate issuance applications and verification services. This opened up the market for a number of first generation certificate issuance services such as the BlockCerts project let by MIT. The really wonderful thing about VCs is that the relying party can verify a document cryptographically, without referring back to issuers. This means that employers don't need to check with educational institutions. Medical authorities can rely on personal medical records without checking with the hospital where a patient was originally treated. This was a big breakthrough! ![The VC ecosystem - relying parties don't need to query the issuer.](/files/UhzmUJZOHD3I7oh5ZMss) ### **Anatomy of a Verifiable Credential** Verifiable Credentials are usually expressed in JavaScript Object Notation (JSON), a lightweight format for storing and transporting data. JSON is a language tailored to communications between computer systems. The structure of the data in a VC - its schema - captures information about the certificate issuer, the recipient (or 'holder' in the diagram above) and some number of claims about the recipient. Aside from the data itself, a Verifiable Credential also contains a signature block - a cryptographic proof to ensure the integrity and authenticity of the data. JSON files are human-readable, but such a raw document is not user-friendly. What users want to see is a digital representation which looks similar to the paper documents they are replacing. This can be achieved by creating a graphical overlay, referred to as a 'template' or 'layout', and populating it with data from the VC. To make this compound document verifiable, a QR code is overlaid onto the layout, and when scanned it will return the digital VC. Verifiable Credentials Data Model is now [a W3C standard](https://www.w3.org/TR/vc-data-model). VCs can represent information found in physical credentials, like a badge or a license, or new things that have no physical equivalent, such as ownership of a bank account. VCs are extensible. Any new property can be added to VCs, as determined by the issuer. However one limitation hindering adoption of VCs is that there is no standard for verification methods. {% hint style="info" %} In this document we use the terms 'certificate' and 'credential' interchangeably. {% endhint %} # Decentralised Identifiers {% hint style="info" %} **Good to know:** DIDs are a new type of identifier that are not necessary for Verifiable Credentials to be useful, but they are powerful tools when used as personal and organizational identifiers. DIDs are globally unique, resolvable with high availability, and cryptographically verifiable. {% endhint %} Once Verifiable Credentials existed as a trustworthy method for sharing achievements and capabilities, those in the standards community turned their attention to creating Decentralised Identifiers (DIDs). Having a unique identifier based on Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) would allow for issuers, recipients and relying parties to exchange credentials in private. > "When expressing statements about a specific thing, such as a person, product, or organization, it is often useful to use some kind of identifier so that others can express statements about the same thing. This specification defines the optional id property for such identifiers. The id property is intended to unambiguously refer to an object, such as a person, product, or organization. Using the id property allows for the expression of statements about specific things in the verifiable credential."\ > \- Verifiable Credentials Data Model v1.0, [Section on Identifiers](https://www.w3.org/TR/vc-data-model/#identifiers) DIDs are intended as the basis for decentralized Public Key Infrastructure. Despite the tremendous success of SSL (and its successor TLS) as protocols for encrypted Web traffic, these are centralised in hierarchical 'certificate authority' systems. There is extraordinary potential for global cybersecurity and cyberprivacy if identity protocols can become decentralised. The need for globally unique identifiers that do not require a centralized registration authority is not new, nor is the need to make these identifiers persistent. But decentralisation was a new requirement, and it was suggested (by RWOT co-founder Christopher Allen) that DIDs could be universal if they followed the same basic pattern as URIs and URNs (of which ordinary web URLs are a subtype), with the addition of a method specification. ![Structure of a DID](/files/fGuHe5sRSDyMdX3BK0zB) Supporting this new identity infrastructure would be a decentralised blockchain-based registry of DID names and corresponding DID documents. These DID documents would contain the public key information of the represented individual or organisation and perhaps specific protocols which should be used to establish communications. Defining how a DID and DID document are created, resolved, and managed on a specific blockchain or 'target system' is the role of a DID method specification. There have been [more than 100 DID methods](https://w3c.github.io/did-spec-registries/#did-methods) created by various vendors, and this has become a source for much debate in the standards community. The key issue is whether the DID standard should be prescriptive and suggest the best method for each use case, or leave it entirely up to industry to decide. As of this writing, a [working draft of the W3C DID standard](https://www.w3.org/TR/did-core/) is available online and it is widely implemented by vendors. But it has not yet become a formal standard due to [opposition from some participants in the process](https://www.w3.org/2019/did-wg/faqs/2021-formal-objections/), specifically Apple, Google and Mozilla. Note that Apple & Google are not only browser vendors but (along with Facebook) are operators of the 'siren servers' which perform most online identification today. # Tradeable Tokens {% hint style="info" %} **Background:** Cryptocurrencies have evolved into two distinct types: coins and tokens. Coins like Bitcoin and Ether are regarded by most regulators and tax authorities as equivalent to fiat money. They are convertible units of exchange and a store of value. Almost every other cryptocurrency (but especially the ones that do not run on their own blockchain) are described simply as digital payment tokens and they are typically regarded as securities, like stocks or bonds. {% endhint %} In early 2021, the cryptocurrency community went wild over Non-Fungible Tokens or NFTs. Non-Fungible simply means that each token is unique and indivisible. Compare this with units of BTC or ETH, which can be split into any fraction agreed by buyer and seller. NFTs were seen as a new and valuable asset type - a digital token which serves as a proxy for a real asset, such as work-of-art. When an artist mints an NFT, they are assigning rights such as non-commercial exhibition rights to the owner of the token. If they keep the token, the rights remain with them, and of course they still hold all the copyrights. But if they sell the NFT then the buyer acquires these rights. At the height of the NFT hype cycle, relatively unknown artists were producing high-resolution digital files, converting them into salable NFTs and commanding huge prices on marketplaces like OpenSea. Soon, other NFT markets sprang up and major art auction houses such as Christie's and Sotheby's started selling these tokens. NFTs were seen as a new and valuable asset type and spawned a genre known as 'generative art'. Crypto Kitties, Crypto Punks and Bored Apes serialised the same characters in multiple guises, then sold for ever-increasing prices based on planned scarcity. Well-known brands like Nike jumped in with their own 'limited editions' and sales driven by influencers and brands has largely characterised the NFT market since. But fraud has become common and real artists complained that their work was being tokenised by others, without their permission. ### Proof Of Authenticity While NFTs are great for trading and create royalty streams for creators, they do not actually provide a guaranty of authenticity. An NFT is created as a smart contract. When an NFT is created, it captures essential information about the artwork such as who is the artist and what is the medium (eg- photography, collage or animation) and it stores this info in a metadata file which is recorded on a decentralised file server network along with a copy of the image. The problem of course is that there isn't any confirmation that the creator is actually the copyright holder. Also, for various technical reasons, the artistic image or metadata can be unrecoverable in the future. If an artist or asset owner produces a Certificate of Authenticity (COA) in the form of a Verifiable Credential, then the certificate can be used to assure buyers that a particular NFT is genuine. The COA can be referenced in the NFT metadata and will thus be available to any future buyer. This is an obvious solution for art authenticity yet its even more compelling if the asset is a piece of real property or a crate of rare wines. ### Applications The connection between Verifiable Credentials and tokens is not very obvious. Most VCs represent personal status or achievements, such as the attainment of a university degree. One cannot envision a marketplace in which such certificates are bought and sold (unless they're forgeries). But supposing that you produce a coupon for goods and services in the form of a verifiable credential, and want to trade it in a marketplace like Groupon. In that case, you'd want to convert the certificate to a tradable token. Suppose that the token is going to represent ownership of a crate of rare wines. The certificate layout can mimic the wine label and that image can be stored with the NFT, so that a token in the owner's wallet not only proves which wines are owned, but it also displays the wine label as a further demonstration of authenticity. The applications are limitless. # Driving Forces According to the World Economic Forum, more than 60% of global GDP already depends on digital technologies. Furthermore, the world is in the midst of a sweeping digitalisation revolution that affects every public institution and private organisation. For industry everywhere, digitalization offers a chance to drive up productivity, drive down waste and bring forward novel solutions in new markets. And in developed countries, digital transformation is increasingly an engine of economic growth, with applications like IOT, Big Data and AI transforming agriculture, healthcare, financial systems and supply chain management. The recent Covid pandemic has made this transformation more obvious, accelerating the adoption of workplace messaging apps, video conferencing, remote learning and work from home. Data consumption has risen exponentially during the pandemic, throwing a spotlight on the need for enhanced network capacity, coverage, and security. Especially in the less-developed world, a lack of connectivity and inadequate access to digital services can disenfranchise the poor. According to the World Bank ID4D dataset, there are approximately 1.1 billion people with no legal identity in the world today, and a further 3.4 billion who have a legal identity but limited ability to use that identity to access digital services. This is why the UN's [ID 2020 initiative](https://id2020.org/digital-identity#approach) promotes the use of decentralised identity and verifiable credentials to recognise education and vocational skills. > "Identity is vital for political, economic and social opportunity. But systems of identification are archaic, insecure, lack adequate privacy protection, and for over a billion people, inaccessible. With “good” digital identity, individuals could use credentials issued from a variety of different institutions in order to gain access to a variety of different services, while preserving privacy and security and maintaining control over their information." - ID 2020 Initiative ### Types Of Identity Management Against this backdrop, identity is seen as a horizontal technology which underpins privacy, security and access to crucial services. But the identity services market is not monolithic. There are 3 distinct types of identity management competing for dominance: * **government and enterprise identity**, which is ever-more dependent on biometrics * **social identity**, where individuals barter their identity information in exchange for access to services * **decentralised or 'self-sovereign' identity**, where individuals take control and manage their own digital credentials and share them selectively using Public Key Infrastructure The market we're operating in is decentralised identity and the core technologies driving development of this market are, as explained in the first chapter, Verifiable Credentials and DIDs. Decentralised identity cannot replace centralised identity and the two will co-exist. After all, governments need to be sure that benefits reach individual citizens and they must solve tough problems like discriminating twins at border crossings. You can't fault them for using biometrics to do so. Decentralised identity solves different problems. With decentralised identity, individuals are able to manage their own academic, financial and medical affairs, largely without relying on biometrics or government id. DIDs can take the place of sign-ins on social media sites, and can thus eliminate the unwanted tracking of personal activity and preferences that comes with it. This in itself is a huge win. DIDs can also be used to sign into ecommerce sites, allowing easy onboarding for new services and a greatly simplified order process for airline and hotel bookings. Verifiable Credentials can take the place of CVs and resumes for job seekers, making it easy for potential employers to verify education and work experiences. ### A Dualistic World So we're heading for a dualistic world in which decentralised opt-in identity replaces social identity, yet it's competing all the time with government-issued fiat identity. We will see digital versions of birth certs and death certs, drivers licenses and passports. But at the same time, government issued digital identity will encourage adoption of DIDs and Verifiable Credentials for most non-governmental use cases. There is little doubt that our current methods of maintaining digital identity are badly flawed. We rely too much on services like Google and Facebook for password management. We rely too much on trusted third parties such as universities and hospitals to manage our personal information. This must change, but it won't happen overnight. The young and tech-savvy will be early adopters, while mainstream adoption of decentralised identity is likely to be a generational transformation. # Challenges In the previous section we looked at how the digitalisation megatrend is driving the adoption of digital identity and argued that opt-in decentralised identity will compete with government issued digital identity. Let's be more specific with examples: * privacy laws such as the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) have transformed personally-identifiable information from an asset to a liability * healthcare providers are seeking to transfer data back to identity owners through personal medical records * education providers are seeking to cut costs by providing verifiable digital degrees and transcripts * formal and continuing education is moving online, requiring digital identification and verifiable certificates of achievement * digital artists are employing verifiable certificates of authenticity to protect artworks they publish online * during the pandemic, governments armed their citizens with verifiable test and vaccination documents so that they could travel freely * document management systems are beginning to incorporate anti-tampering features based on verifiable credentials All of these examples demonstrate that there is a real need and a desire to deploy decentralised identity technology. Relevant international standards are also in place. But there are at least three challenges which are holding back broad adoption: wallet adoption, easy onboarding and universal verification. ### Wallet Adoption Let's face it, no one wakes up one morning and says to themselves: "I really need to get a credentials wallet". Adoption is usually driven by a specific external requirement, such as the need to pass some KYC test, to present health credentials at an immigration checkpoint or to manage multiple academic certificates. If a person has only one VC, they can just share the URL or a QR code pointing to the JSON data file. But if they have several, it's much easier to use a wallet in order to manage and share these credentials. The wallet is just a mobile app or a browser extension. It creates public-private keypairs for each credential, which eliminates the need for exchange of passwords. And all of these keypairs are tied to a single decentralised identifier (DID). All the user needs in order to unlock the capabilities of a credentials wallet is a single password - which they can change but should never share. Key recovery is important when valuable information is being stored securely. The use of 12 words in a 'key phrase' is the most reliable and popular method for ensuring access to a wallet if you forget the password. When you setup the wallet, you'll be asked to write down 12 words and store them securely away from your computing device. Even if you lose your device, you can download the wallet app on a new device and recover the credentials with your key phrase. ### Easy Onboarding One of the adoption challenges is deciding what level of trust is acceptable for different use cases. People will not start using DIDs if they have to provide a scanned passport image and selfie in order to onboard. But for many digital services, like attending an online course, it is not necessary to obtain biometric proof of a user's identity. There is no need to show a driver's license or passport in order to take a business course. The course provider can recognise users based on their verified Twitter handle or LinkedIn profile. This is known as Social KYC and it has shown great promise in simplifying the onboarding process. Once an individual has a credentials wallet and a DID, it is really simple to add Social KYC credentials such as a verified email address or LinkedIn profile. The process is slightly different for each credential, but to verify your email address, the service sends you an email with a code in it, and you retype the code to confirm you are in control of the email address. At that point, your email verified credential is associated with your DID, and you can use services that require this level of trust. ### Universal Verification The greatest challenge to broad adoption is the lack of truly independent verification. Methods of certificate verification were never formalised as a standard, instead leaving it up to industry to decide. This has resulted in different vendors using different methods to verify their own certificates. So vendor A creates certs that cannot be verified by vendor B, and vice versa. Academic certificates cannot be verified using the same tools as health certificates or certificates of artwork authenticity. Trust is built on independent verification. A universal verification service would make it possible for an independent service provider to verify certificates from many different vendors. Such a service would be able to verify certificates of any type as long as they comply with the Verifiable Credentials data model. With universal verification, firms like KPMG, EY and Refinitiv could offer free public verification. How can this be achieved? Actually it is not so difficult. If several vendors agree on a framework, verification can be modular and implemented via plugins. The framework would define which steps are required for successful verification and then each vendor could implement their own methods to do the job. # Use Cases Since the introduction of Verifiable Credentials, there has been a Cambrian explosion in the number and variety of use cases. This is depicted in the illustration below. ![Cambrian explosion of certificate types](/files/pGijWy69BVKhMVCYjRdh) Let's look at some of the specific use cases. Please note that all of these examples are credentials conferred by some issuer and are not forms of identification. * **Academic and Award Certificates** - These are the most common use case for verifiable credentials. The certificate can contain basic information about an attainment, such as a diploma or a degree, or it can contain a complete transcript. Unfortunately, there are as yet no standards for exchange of transcript data between institutions, so most implementations today are simple award certificates. This is the most common type of certificate, used for event certificates of participation and continuing education. * **Sporting Achievements** - The use of certificates for sporting achievements is an obvious application. Verifiable Credentials would be welcomed in sports such as Taekwondo, in which coaches keep detailed records of achievements and the results of competitions, usually in paper booklets. Sporting achievements can be memorialised in trophies or medals that are laser-etched with a QR code which is linked to the verifiable digital certificate. * **Health Status** - Verifiable digital certificates were widely used in the pandemic to prove that individuals had passed screening tests or had been vaccinated against Covid. Although many vendors offered competing implementations, almost all were based on the W3C Verifiable Credentials data format with medical information expressed in Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) codes. Adoption was mandated and was in fact the first VC used by the millions who travelled during the pandemic. * **Personal Medical Records** - This is one of the most compelling use cases for VCs because it enables individuals to present their basic health information to physicians or health service providers wherever they may be. For example, Personal Medical Records (PMRs) are useful to travelling athletic teams. Health Insurance and Benefits Providers use PMRs to encourage healthy lifestyles and early detection of medical issues. * **Certificates Of Authenticity** - A Certificate of Authenticity (COA) is relevant for digital works of art, since the files are easily copied and authorship can be disputed. Each COA includes an image hash, thumbnail, artist's signature and other attributes that are tied to a specific high-resolution image. With this hash, a buyer or other relying party can determine the identify the copyright owner and that the image (and authorised copies) are authentic. This is a solution to the misrepresentation and fraud which is rife in the NFT market. * **Document Integrity** - A QR code overlaid onto a document can be linked to an attestation that it hasn't been tampered with. There are great uses cases here, such as when official documents need to be protected from forgery or when engineering drawings are relied on long after the engineers have gone. To verify document integrity, the user simply scans the QR code and uploads the document for verification. The QR image signals: 'trust buy verify'. * **Carbon Credits** - When trees are planted or carbon dioxide is removed from the environment, credits are created that a business can use to offset taxes or emit their own greenhouse gases. To facilitate a spot market in carbon credits, issuance can be done using a Verifiable Credential and this VC is then converted to an NFT. Tokenisation makes the carbon credits tradeable. * **Property Titles** - A certificate can represent a property title in digital form. It could be the deed to a piece of real estate, an asset such as gold bars or even a crate of rare whiskey. The certificate might use the same design as the label on the whiskey bottle, but it's not just a fanciful commemorative. It is a digital representation of ownership, recognized in jurisdictions that allow electronic records as evidence. Once the certificate is converted to an NFT, this asset can be fractionalized and the units sold to multiple investors. Verifiable Credentials have so many compelling use cases. But to exploit all these use cases, without constant re-engineering, one must have a very flexible issuance mechanism. This is discussed in the upcoming chapter on Services. # Next Wave With the driving force of digitalisation and the manifold use cases, it is clear that there is a tremendous market opportunity for decentralised identity. But there are adoption challenges and decentralised identity will have to compete with centralised biometric identity. It may not be exaggerating to describe it as 'crypto identity vs fiat identity'. {% hint style="success" %} DIDs and Verifiable Credentials promise the convenience of: register once and use everywhere, without sharing passwords or being tracked as you use online services. {% endhint %} According to recent research, the global digital identity solutions market is projected to grow from 23.3 billion U.S. dollars in 2020 to 49.5 billion U.S. dollars in 2026. The rapid market growth is driven by increasing instances of identity frauds, data breaches and new government regulations. > "Based on solution type, the Digital Identity Solutions Market has been bifurcated into two segments: biometrics and non-biometrics. These solutions play a vital role in every organization. Most organizations are moving toward digitalization and cloud-based infrastructure, which help them drive businesses forward and strengthen customer relationships. Biometric segments market will hold the largest market share in the Digital Identity Solutions Market." - published by MarketsandMarkets, Jul 2021 This massive market opportunity is focused on biometrics, generically known as identity verification, particularly facial recognition. The market leaders are folks like Idemia, Clear Secure, Jumio and iProov. But there is a strong public backlash against facial recognition in the US and EU, where some communities have outlawed the use of facial recognition software for surveillance cameras used in public places. The UK and US don't even issue national identity cards. But countries like India and China have gone the other way, with India using retinal scans and 10 fingerprints for their Aadhar identity system. In China, the state not only has a central biometric registry with IDs for every citizen, this is combined with social scoring data to reward 'good social behaviour' and to punish non-compliance with government policies. The smaller part of this market is decentralised identity, which the above-mentioned research reports describe as 'non-biometric'. But it is also growing fast. A Juniper Research report published in Feb 2022, predicted a US 26b digital identity market by 2026 and stated: "The research also highlighted that verified digital identity, where identities are confirmed as genuine using verifiable credentials, as being vital for improving fraud mitigation. *This represents the next evolutionary step for digital identity*; moving from establishing infrastructure to utilising and verifying identity in practical applications. To facilitate this, the report predicts increasing data partnerships between vendors to provide comprehensive, data diverse identity systems." > "Verifiable Credentials *represents the next evolutionary step for digital identity" - Juniper Research* For NextID, the target market is South East Asia. The company will focus on the corporate market for continuing education and document management solutions. The total addressable market is global because the company's service is cloud-based, but currently the marketing reach of the company is limited. Working with resellers will allow NextID to reach customers outside of South East Asia. # Product Focus {% hint style="success" %} **Key Differentiator:** NextCert offers customers the most flexible certificates issuance solution and it achieves this flexibility by being product-focused with a strong underlying architectural framework. {% endhint %} NextID has competitors in the local market which are service-focused. They rebuilt their solution for each new customer requirement. This is not scalable. Right from the beginning, NextID has focused on creating a great product known as NextCert™, the world's must trusted and flexible certificate issuance service. NextCert is comprised of 3 core modules: Issuer, Viewer and Verifier. Each of these shares some features in common, such as a certificate renderer. The renderer is responsible for display of certificates, in much the same manner as Acrobat and other products render a PDF document. ### Certificate Rendering There are two ways in which the display of certificates can be invoked: * pass by reference (PBR) - this is used when someone clicks on a link to view a certificate and the link contains a certificate id (the reference) used to lookup and then retrieve the certificate data * pass by object (PBO) - this is used when the Issuer or Verifier displays a certificate; since it already has the certificate (the object), it does not need to perform any lookup {% hint style="info" %} This is what a certificate link looks like:\ \ \ The behavior of this URL is to open a NextCert Viewer and display the requested certificate. By adding another parameter which is an application key, a requester can obtain the certificate data without invoking any display. {% endhint %} At present, the lookup is trivial. From the URL we already know which server instance is hosting the certificate. We simply form a database query using the id parameter to retrieve the certificate data. But suppose our certificates were hosted in a decentralized file system such as the Interplanetary File System (IPFS)? To cater for just this situation, we plan to move the lookup functionality into a standalone service which would function similarly to a URL shortener like Tinyurl or Bitly. So think of lookup as a separate back-end service we use to handle link (and QR code) requests. ### Certificate Layering We talk about certificates as if they were a single document. In fact there are three layers which come together in each certificate: * **Schema** - This is the underlying data structure coded in JSON LD. Each business use case requires different types of data to be reflected in the certificate. The data fields, whether they are required or can be null and the enumeration of allowed values are defined in the schema. * **Layout** - This is the visual presentation coded in HTML and CSS, which defines what is shown when a certificate is displayed in a browser. The layout supports handle-bar tags for the placement of dynamic data on the certificate. Of course the renderer takes care of performing substitution of dynamic data. Layout is the same for all certificates in a batch. * **Data** - This is the instance data which is coded in JSON. The data is unique for each certificate and it is machine readable, which makes verification possible. The document structure follows the W3C Verifiable Credentials data format. The storage location of the schema and the layout are defined in each certificate, which ties together the three layers. # Architecture # Summary {% hint style="info" %} **Good to know:** depending on the product you're building, it can be useful to explicitly document use cases. Got a product that can be used by a bunch of people in different ways? Maybe consider splitting it out! {% endhint %} # Summary {% hint style="info" %} **Good to know:** depending on the product you're building, it can be useful to explicitly document use cases. Got a product that can be used by a bunch of people in different ways? Maybe consider splitting it out! {% endhint %}