Technology solutions for faster trust verification

Visa processes your payment in 0.5 seconds. But merchants wait 3 days for their money. Why? Our research team just solved a problem that costs the global economy ~$90B annually. And it started with a simple question: Why can't fast also be final? The universal trap: Every transaction system faces the same dilemma: → Fast confirmation = Trust required → Final settlement = Time required → Both together = Expensive Stock trades, wire transfers, even your Uber ride - all stuck in this trust gap. The Scroll team built something different: Subcommitments. Think of it like tracking packages. Right now, you either trust Amazon completely or wait until delivery for proof. What if you could verify each checkpoint yourself - instantly? How it works: 1// Transaction happens 2// Instant cryptographic receipt (not just a promise) 3// Users can verify immediately 4// Full settlement happens later when cheaper The most important part: We separated trust from timing. Traditional systems force you to choose. Trust fast or verify slow. Subcommitments let you verify fast, settle cheap. And this matters beyond crypto: Payment processors charge 3% to be the trusted middle layer. Banks maintain billion-dollar infrastructure just to track who owes what. All solving a problem that math can solve better. We're shipping this at Scroll now. But every system with a trust gap - from supply chains to medical records - could soon rely on this pattern. Why are we still waiting 1-3 business days for settlement?

🔐 User-Centric Credentialing & Personal Data Sharing: Rethinking Data Ownership and Digital Trust I came across a powerful concept that’s redefining how we think about data and identity, while exploring Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and Government Digital Transformation. That is User-Centric Credentialing & Personal Data Sharing — a vision spearheaded by Centre for Digital Public Infrastructure - CDPI and already being adopted in countries like India, Brazil, and across the EU. 📄 You can read the full vision paper here: https://vc.cdpi.dev/ 🎯 The Problem: Most of our data—academic records, financial info, medical history—sits locked in institutional silos. Whenever we need to prove something, we must go back to those institutions, again and again. This system is inefficient, exclusive, and often inaccessible to those without digital privilege. 🔄 The Shift: Instead of relying on fragile paper documents or non-verifiable PDFs, Verifiable Credentials (VCs) allow individuals to receive cryptographically signed, tamper-proof data directly from the source—and hold it themselves. Your credentials live in a digital (or even printable) wallet, ready to be presented anywhere, anytime. 🧩 Why this matters: 🚫 No more redundant verification loops or complex API integrations 💸 Individuals and SMEs can unlock low-cost, high-trust access to loans and services 🌐 Cross-border, cross-sector data sharing becomes truly scalable 🔐 Privacy-preserving tech like selective disclosure and zero-knowledge proofs lets users control what they share 💼 Real-World Use Cases: 🚜 Farmers accessing government subsidies 🎓 Students applying for global jobs or education 🛒 Micro-entrepreneurs seeking credit 🌱 Green energy prosumers trading surplus power 🔧 How it works — The Technology: ✅ Verifiable Credentials (VCs) Issued by trusted institutions (banks, hospitals, universities) Tamper-evident and cryptographically signed Verifiable without contacting the issuer Works online, offline, and across borders 🌍 Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) Globally unique, user-owned digital identifiers Enable selective disclosure and zero-knowledge proofs Not tied to any centralized registry or country 🧠 The Architecture: Trust Without Friction 🟩 Issuer → signs and issues the credential 🟦 User → stores it in a wallet (smartphone, cloud, or paper with QR) 🟨 Verifier → verifies it cryptographically, without needing the issuer again This model eliminates the need for bilateral system integrations. Just one connection: the user. It’s asynchronous, scalable, and privacy-respecting. 🌐 Why this matters for the future: 📲 Anyone, even without advanced tech access, can participate 🛠️ Institutions issue once and never worry about re-verification 🔐 Built on open standards, decentralized architecture, and zero-trust principles Ministry of Digital Economy - Sri Lanka Information Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka

One of my main takeaways from our live podcast with Tim C. and Henrique Bernardes B Teixeira came from a discussion about one of IAM’s most persistent pain points: cross-company access. For decades, the standard approach has been federation: establishing direct, trusted connections between organizations so users can securely access each other’s systems. But here’s the truth: federation, as it is, doesn’t scale. Setting it up is time-consuming and rigid: > You need technical integrations for each partner. > You need legal agreements. > You need alignment between IT teams on both sides. > And you need to repeat the process for every new identity provider. That works if you're collaborating with a few long-term vendors. But it completely breaks down when you’re dealing with hundreds of external users like freelancers, contractors, suppliers, or ecosystem partners who need access today, not after a two-week firewall security review. Digital verifiable credentials offer a new approach: one that preserves trust but removes the need for pre-established integrations. Instead of linking systems and requiring users to log in with weak credentials like usernames and passwords, you give the user a passwordless verified ID credential tied to their biometric. The user can then present the credential wherever it’s needed by scanning a QR code, without the issuing and verifying systems being directly connected or the organization having to manage passwords. The biometric ensures only the right user can access the systems. This unlocks a powerful new model: > No federated trust setup required: You can grant access based on a passwordless verified ID credential from a trusted organization, without needing to setup a new SAML or OIDC connection > Faster affiliation-based access: Authenticate returning users and confirm granular details—such as employer, role, or specific permissions—almost instantly. > Built-in revocation and expiration: Revoke or expire credentials to remove access the moment it’s no longer needed, even across disconnected systems. Today, most systems rely on bilateral federation, one connection per relationship. Digital credentials flip that model. They decouple trust from integration, enabling a future where you don’t need to share infrastructure to trust someone’s identity, link accounts to validate someone’s role or rebuild your workflow each time you bring someone into your system. Digital credentials aren’t just a new identity format. They’re a new trust model. One that works across organizations, platforms, and ecosystems without the heavyweight baggage of federation.

#blockchain | #digitalidentity | #crossborder | #trade : "Unlocking Trade Data Flows with Digital Trust Using Interoperable Identity Technology" The paper reviews the current challenges in unlocking cross-border data flows, and how interoperability of digital identity regimes using high level types of decentralized technologies can overcome this with active public-private partnerships. Decentralized identity technologies, such as verifiable credentials (VCs) and decentralized identifiers (DIDs), coupled with interoperability protocols can complement the current Web3 infrastructure to enhance interoperability and digital trust . It is noted in the World Economic Forum White Paper that global trust worthiness is an important identity system principle for future supply chains, as this process of dynamically verifying counterparts through digital identity management and verification is a critical step in establishing trust and assurance for organizations participating in digital supply-chain transactions. As the number of digital services, transactions and entities grow, it is crucial to ensure that digitally traded goods and services take place in a secure and trusted network in which each entity can be dynamically verified and authenticated. Web3 describes the next generation of the internet that leverages blockchain to “decentralize” storage, compute and governance of systems and networks, typically using open source software and without a trusted intermediary. With the new iteration of Web3 being the next evolution of digitalized paradigms, several new decentralized identity technologies have become an increasingly important component to complement existing Web3 infrastructure for digital trade. VCs are an open standard for digital credentials, which can be used to represent individuals, organizations, products or documents that are cryptographically verifiable and tamper-evident. The important elements of the design framework of digital identities involves three parties – issuer, holder and verifier. This is commonly referred to the self sovereign identity (SSI) trust triangle. The flow starts with the issuance of decentralized credentials in a standard format. The holder presents these credentials to a service provider in a secure way. The verifier then assesses the authenticity and validity of these credentials. Finally, when the credential is no longer required, the user revokes it. This gives rise to the main applications of digital identities and VCs in business credentials, product credentials and document identifiers in the trade environment involving businesses, goods and services. EmpowerEdge Ventures

🔒 What is Microsoft Entra Verified ID? 🔑  🌐 Entra Verified ID is a decentralized identity solution within Microsoft Entra. It's designed to enhance security and streamline processes for both individuals and organizations. Here's a quick rundown of what it offers: 🔢 List of Benefits:   • Fast Remote Onboarding: Speed up the process of integrating new users or employees remotely.   • Secure Access: Strengthen security measures for accessing sensitive information. 🛠️ Use Cases:  • LinkedIn Verification: Employees can add a verification badge to their LinkedIn profiles.  • Application Access: Integrate Verified ID with entitlement management for consistent validation.  • Custom Credentials: Tailor credentials to fit specific organizational needs. How decentralized Identities work: 1️⃣ W3C Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) 🆔: Users create, own, and control their IDs independently, not tied to any organization or government. DIDs are unique identifiers linked to Decentralized Public Key Infrastructure (DPKI) metadata, containing public key material, authentication descriptors, and service endpoints. 2️⃣ Trust System 🔒: DIDs need a trust system to resolve DID documents, often recorded on a network representing trust. Microsoft supports the DID:Web trust system, based on web domain reputation for trust. DID:Web is currently in General Available support status. 3️⃣ DID User Agent/Wallet 📱💼: Microsoft Authenticator App. This app allows real people to use decentralized identities and Verifiable Credentials. It creates DIDs, helps with credential requests, and securely manages DID seed backups through an encrypted wallet file. 4️⃣ Microsoft Resolver 🛠️: An API that resolves DIDs using the did:web method, providing the DID Document Object (DDO) containing DPKI metadata like public keys and service endpoints. 5️⃣ Microsoft Entra Verified ID Service 🌐: This Azure service offers issuance and verification of W3C Verifiable Credentials signed with the did:web method. It empowers identity owners to generate, present, and verify claims, fostering trust among system users. 🚀 How to Get Started:  Navigate to the Entra admin center and locate the Verified ID section.  Follow the setup process to establish your domain for Verified ID.    📲 Experience the Convenience:  Users can obtain their verified credential through the 'My Account' site. #MicrosoftEntra #VerifiedID #DecentralizedIdentity #Security #RemoteOnboarding #AccountRecovery #LinkedInVerification #AccessManagement #CustomCredentials #DigitalIdentity #AzureTips #MicrosoftAzure #AzureTipOfTheDay #Entra #MicrosoftCloud #EntraID

UK carrier verification currently takes days, or even weeks, to complete. Qualified trucks sit empty while 3PLs pay premiums for overused carriers. Here’s how verification friction wastes capacity, and how to solve this: Historically, freight moved within close partner networks where carriers and 3PLs worked together repeatedly. That model works, but it’s imperfect. Especially as recent years have brought dramatic change: Volatility is standard, costs are unpredictable, and net-zero deadlines are looming. Facing this, 3PLs are searching for more efficient models - and the stakes are high. When a 3PL hands over critical cargo, it entrusts a third party with customer value and reputation. Proper licensing, reliability, and service are essential. A single failure can undo years of relationship-building. To manage this risk, many 3PLs created in-house verification systems: Checking certificates, reviewing compliance, and running processes that take days or weeks. They work, but are expensive, slow, and rarely scalable. Most providers remain tied to small pools of familiar carriers. The result is structural inefficiency. Carriers with capacity drive empty for lack of access, while 3PLs pay premiums to overused carriers. Empty miles rise, flexibility falls, and emissions grow. What began as a safeguard has become an industry-wide constraint. A better model treats trust as infrastructure: Instead of static approvals or one-time checks, verification runs continuously in the background. Carriers onboard instantly, and 3PLs flexibly tap wider networks without manual friction. This architecture relies on ongoing verification, dynamic scoring, and systematic proof over personal referrals. By embedding verification into the ecosystem, trust shifts from bottleneck to enabler of growth. We built Trustd to provide this capability, integrated into the TEG Logistics Technology platform. Trustd automates verification, monitors compliance continuously, and makes reliable capacity accessible at scale. The effect is immediate: Onboarding times fall from weeks to minutes. Carrier pools expand from dozens to thousands. Costs reduce. Emissions decline as networks operate more efficiently. Just as physical infrastructure once unlocked new possibilities, trust infrastructure now powers digital logistics. Adopters will gain efficiency, sustainability, and resilience. Learn how TEG’s trust infrastructure can transform your logistics operations - or stay ahead of the market with our free TEG Price Index: https://lnkd.in/eZTgQHqF