Example Use Case

Tim is a newly graduated Lawyer from the University of Chicago, looking for an opportunity to grow his career. With the use of verifiable credentials, Tim is issued a certificate proving his qualifications from the university, the certificate resides on Tim’s mobile device.

Details of the certificate reside in the Verifiable Credential and the proof of identity of the university (which is the decentralized identifier) is stored on the blockchain. The University can also opt to create a record (called an anchor) of the credential on the blockchain with a timestamp.

When Tim applies for jobs, the process of:

• Tim applying and providing a copy of his certificate to the company. The company having to call the university to prove the authenticity of the certificate before progressing.

Changes to:

• Tim sending his digital certificate to the company who can verify the authenticity immediately.

The new process of validating and authenticating credentials is instantaneous and leaves no room for error and tampering.

Participants in the Process

Issuer

The issuer in the scenario above is the university. The educational institution providing the certificate. They also have the power to revoke the credential if necessary.

Holder

The owner of the credential, Tim has the certificate proving his qualifications on his mobile device and can share and send it to whomever he wishes.

Verifier

The workplace where Tim wants to work. They are the ones who need to verify Tim’s qualifications and can instantly do this.