The Centre Consortium, founded by renowned cryptocurrency exchanges Coinbase and Circle, has announced the release of a set of decentralized data models and identification protocols for credential issuance dubbed “Verite.” According to a press statement shared with Bitcoinist, the identity solution was designed as open software and is currently available for developers to deploy.
The Centre has published a set of interactive demos and samples demonstrating Verite’s use cases, as well as the source code for the demos and samples on Github. The identification solution will give individuals and organizations greater control over their data and the parties who have access to it:
These protocols allow people and institutions to cryptographically prove claims about their identities, and allow services to attest to those claims, while avoiding exposure of sensitive data.
Verite, which is backed by Coinbase and Circle, claims to be “easily connected” with top blockchains, crypto wallets, web applications, mobile applications, and smart contracts. One of the identity solution’s goals is to establish trust in a “scalable, dependable, and privacy-preserving” manner when engaging in the crypto market.
Sean Neville, Circle’s co-founder and a key architect of Verite and the stablecoin USDC, stated the following regarding this release:
The web’s early superpower was enabling everybody to connect and engage with content using standard protocols that everyone can use and no one can own. But we’ve lacked a similarly open, global, standard way to safely identify ourselves, control our own identity data, and establish trust between each other on the web.
Neville believes Verite will be able to address this issue and usher in a new era of the internet by merging financial services built on a blockchain with “new apps.” Additionally, the solution, according to its official website, will “ensure regulatory compliance” within the DeFi ecosystem.
A Coinbase-Backed Center Is Collaborating With Partners To Improve Verite
Verite will enable users to establish their identification and navigate Know Your Customer (KYC) processes, as well as their credit and investor status and other critical identity assertions, without disclosing any personal information. According to its website, the identification solution would work on a general-purpose basis, without the use of a token or a specific blockchain.
Verite, according to the Coinbase and Circle-backed Consortium, will be deployable across a variety of industries, including healthcare, arts, gaming, entertainment, and education. However, its primary application is in the context of decentralized finance and the USD Coin (USDC) ecosystem.
In that sense, they seek to instil confidence in institutions regarding their ability to operate within the DeFi sector without violating applicable laws, to increase people’s access to “the global economy,” to develop a method for crypto exchanges and marketplaces to validate their users without storing personal data, and to create opportunities through lending and borrowing protocols, among other things.
One of the most contentious topics surrounding cryptocurrencies and the DeFi industry is the widespread assertion, especially by governments and politicians, that they facilitate illegal activities. According to the company’s website, Verite is a solution that might help limit that risk without “stifling” innovation.
Thus, if broadly adopted, it has the potential to catalyse a new wave of DeFi protocol adoption. Centre will collaborate with its founders Circle and Coinbase to promote its identification solution, as well as with other prominent entities in the cryptocurrency sector, including the Algorand Foundation, Compounds Labs, ConsenSys, Hedera, Ledger, MetaMask, and the Jack Dorsey-led Block. David Puth, CEO of the Centre, stated:
Centre is focused on maintaining the highest standards of integrity, compliance and trust in driving the global development of an internet of value. Verite marks the next step on our open-technology roadmap by defining and harmonizing decentralized identity standards to help bolster trust and protect customers’ privacy in the growing marketplace for crypto-native finance.
As of press time, COIN trades at $186.72 with a 2.82% loss on the daily chart.
Disclaimer: These are the writer’s opinions and should not be considered investment advice. Readers should do their own research.
