Introducing Hedera Improvement Proposal – 19

On June 7, 2021, RecDeFi, an automated, decentralized and scalable marketplace that accelerates investment in clean energy and climate solutions, in partnership with Envision Blockchain Solutions submitted the 19th Hedera Improvement Proposal (HIP). HIP 19, titled Decentralized Identifiers in Memos aims to provides a standard way to use Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) within Hedera state entity memo fields and thereby support the issuance of Verifiable Credentials about Hedera state entities. Just as the owner of a Hedera entity demonstrates that ownership and so claims associated authorizations via signatures with the private key(s) corresponding to the entity, a controller of a DID demonstrates that control via signatures with (likely) a different private key. Consequently, the DID controller can, when engaging in off-Hedera interactions, effectively demonstrate their association to the Hedera state entity without any on-Hedera transaction.

According to W3C, “Decentralized identifiers (DIDs) are a new type of identifier that enables verifiable, decentralized digital identity. A DID refers to any subject (e.g., a person, organization, thing, data model, abstract entity, etc.) as determined by the controller of the DID. In contrast to typical, federated identifiers, DIDs have been designed so that they may be decoupled from centralized registries, identity providers, and certificate authorities. Specifically, while other parties might be used to help enable the discovery of information related to a DID, the design enables the controller of a DID to prove control over it without requiring permission from any other party. DIDs are URIs that associate a DID subject with a DID document allowing trustable interactions associated with that subject.” 

Click here to read the entire proposal