April 8, 2021

An open letter to Financial Crimes Enforcement Network advocating for financial inclusion in its regulations

On December 23, 2020, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) of the US Treasury Department published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding “Requirements for banks and money services businesses” related to certain transactions involving convertible virtual currency (CVC) or digital assets with legal tender status (“legal tender digital assets” or LTDA). FinCEN is identifying […]

February 9, 2021

Promoting Banking for All—Announcing the Compliance & Inclusive Finance Working Group (CIFWG)

1.7 billion adults and millions of organizations do not have access to essential financial services; billions more have bank accounts but are unable to use them. Despite initiatives such as the World Bank’s Universal Financial Access program and governmental and industry encouragement, many remain underserved or entirely excluded from the global financial system. For many, […]

January 12, 2021

2020 – How SSI Went Mainstream

An introduction to SSI and where it came from. 2020 as a growth catalyst and where SSI is going. A Sovrin Foundation perspective. Written by: Chris Raczkowski – Sovrin Foundation, Chairman of the Board of Trustees Drummond Reed – Evernym, Chief Trust Officer; ToIP, Steering Committee Member It goes without saying that last year was […]

January 8, 2021

Finding the Numbers for SSI to Grow

In December 2003, Frederick F. Reicheld published an article in the Harvard Business Review entitled ‘The One Number you need to Grow’ where he defined a simple way for all businesses using a Net Promoter Score (NPS) by asking the question: ´Would you recommend this company to a friend?’. Since then, NPS has become one […]

December 17, 2020

The Principles of SSI

At its open community meeting today, the Sovrin Foundation Board of Trustees formally adopted the Principles of SSI (the “Principles”) and directed them to be published on the Sovrin Foundation website, including 15 language versions as downloadable PDF documents. Developed over the last five months by the global SSI community, these twelve principles represent the […]

November 23, 2020

Interoperability Series: Linking and Exchanging Attachments with Verifiable Credentials

Episode 2: This is the second episode of the Sovrin Foundation Interoperability blog post series, highlighting an interoperability achievement between two Sovrin Stewards. Contributing Members: Swisscom Blockchain AG / Spherity GmbH ToIP Stack Interoperability: Technology stack / Layer 2 Back in 1982, Jon Postel introduced a standard internet protocol called Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) […]

October 21, 2020

The Sovrin Community Releases New SSI & IoT Whitepaper

From the Sovrin Foundation SSI & IoT Task Force It’s no secret that computers have gotten faster, smaller and more connected. What isn’t often realized is they are also more pervasive. Commonly known as the Internet of Things (IoT), our automobiles, thermostats, medical devices, livestock tags and door locks now compute and connect across global […]

October 19, 2020

Sovrin Foundation and Trust over IP Foundation Building a Trustworthy Internet for All

Starting during late 2019, Sovrin community members originated the Trust over IP (“ToIP”) concept and helped lead the formation of the ToIP Foundation as a new Linux Foundation project. The missions of each organization are different and highly synergistic.  The mission of the ToIP Foundation is to define a common stack of governance and technology […]

August 31, 2020

What Is SSI?

A View From Phil Windley, Co-founder of Sovrin Foundation (Syndicated article: https://www.windley.com/archives/2020/06/what_is_ssi.shtml) It is no coincidence the Sovrin Foundation takes its name from the concept of self-sovereign identity. Our three-word mission statement—”Identity for All”—is based on the premise that self-sovereign identity (SSI) should be a human right. And although our early work was focused on […]

August 27, 2020

Interoperability Series: Sovrin Stewards Achieve Breakthrough in Wallet Portability

One of the core principles of the Sovrin Governance Framework, and shared goals of the Sovrin community, is the broad categorization of interoperability within or between one or more layers of the ToIP Stack. Through interoperability, self-sovereign identity (SSI) will truly become a Universal Service. The Sovrin Foundation is starting an Interoperability Series to showcase […]

August 10, 2020

Taking the Sovrin Foundation to a Higher Level: Introducing SSI as a Universal Service

TL;DR: The Sovrin Board of Trustees has asked the Sovrin Governance Framework Working Group to evolve the current Sovrin Governance Framework into two new governance frameworks. The Sovrin Utility Governance Framework (SUGF) will continue to govern operations of the current Sovrin Public Ledger. The new Sovrin Ecosystem Governance Framework (SEGF) will define the requirements for […]

July 31, 2020

Sovrin Foundation Presents a Path Forward

In the short six weeks since the new members of the Sovrin Foundation Board of Trustees have taken their seats, they have formed a viable path forward for the Foundation. This “path” and other exciting resolutions were presented at the Board’s most recent meeting on July 30, 2020. Below are the highlights from the meeting […]

July 29, 2020

Sovrin Foundation Announces New Task Forces Focused on Token and Public Write Access

The power behind the Sovrin Foundation is its strong community which is made up of individuals and organizations united in their support of the Sovrin Network and in their mission to create a global public utility for Identity for All. Since the network’s launch in 2017, the path to a public utility has been blocked […]

July 17, 2020

Advance the Mission of Identity for All as a Trustee of the World’s Leading SSI Community

Just a few weeks ago, a second generation of Trustees took their seats on Sovrin Foundation’s Board. At that time, five individuals were elected to represent the growing Sovrin community. The Foundation is now looking to expand the Board by electing a few more Trustees.  Since the Board of Trustees represents identity holders around the […]

June 4, 2020

The Sovrin Foundation Announces Formation of a New Board of Trustees

June 3, 2020: The Sovrin Foundation announced today a slate of five initial nominees for a new Board of Trustees that will be formally elected at the Foundation’s annual meeting on June 17. This was the culmination of a two-month intensive community feedback process overseen by the Sovrin Transition Committee. “The primary goal of the […]

April 23, 2020

An Invitation to Attend the Internet Identity Workshop #30

The 30th edition of the Internet Identity Workshop (IIW) will be taking place from April 28th to 30th, and unlike previous editions, this one will be totally online. The event provides a fantastic opportunity for the Sovrin community to come together to accelerate the SSI mission of “decentralized identity for all”.   Someone once said that IIW […]

April 22, 2020

Sovrin Community Aids in Global Initiative to Tackle COVID-19 Challenges

On April 17th, the COVID-19 Credentials Initiative (CCI) was launched bringing public awareness to a call for action from the self-sovereign identity (SSI) community to fast-track an “immunity passport” solution to help curb the current coronavirus pandemic. The mission statement for CCI states that the initiative is a “global, cross-sector community of organizations using digital […]

April 8, 2020

Sovrin Evolution—Community Members Working Together

The Sovrin Network has reached the status of a global leader in blockchain digital identity technology because our goal of self-sovereign identity for all is both industry agnostic and untethered to any nation, state, company, or enterprise. Our technology is adaptable and scalable—and it has been built by an open-source developer community nurtured by the […]

March 16, 2020

Next Steps for the Sovrin Foundation

To the Sovrin community and the world that depends on it— A search for “self-sovereign identity” brings close to 200,000 results.  At the top of those results, and prominent within the rest, is the Sovrin Foundation, which has led the SSI movement from the start. The Sovrin Network, built and maintained as a decentralized utility, […]

March 13, 2020

The Status of the Sovrin Foundation

Click here for updated information. To the Sovrin Community –  We would like to share an update from the Sovrin Foundation. The recent economic climate has forced the Foundation to make some changes to our operations.  Sovrin Network The Sovrin Network is operational. Stewards are operating validator nodes and transactions are being validated and added […]

March 10, 2020

Sovrin Community Guest Post: Coronavirus Propels Digital Identity Despite Limitations

Scott Perry owns and operates Scott S. Perry CPA PLLC, a boutique cybersecurity CPA audit Firm which is one of only seven Firms qualified to audit public Certification Authorities (internet trust anchors) in the U.S. He is a founding member of the Sovrin Governance Framework Working Group and has lent his expertise to major sections of the Sovrin […]

March 3, 2020

Sovrin Foundation Community Involvement

Note: In celebration of Sovrin Foundation’s new membership program, the Foundation is providing periodic updates on the impactful work taking place across the community.  At the Sovrin Foundation we believe in ‘Identity for All’. This means that every person and organization around the world should have access to a digital identity that they, and they […]

March 2, 2020

The promise of self-sovereign identity and its impact across industries

It’s no secret that a new model for digital identity is emerging, and trust is the foundational layer. Businesses and organizations are increasingly focused on how they can establish more trusted relationships with their customers. According to Accenture, lack of trust costs global brands $2.5 trillion annually as users desert them for competitors. Additionally, governments […]

February 17, 2020

Fourth pillar of an SSI network: SSI advocacy

Note: In celebration of Sovrin Foundation’s new membership program, the Foundation is writing a series of blogs that highlight the core activities it provides as a nonprofit which Sovrin Chairman Phil Windley refers to as the “Four Pillars of an SSI Network”. Much of the material used in this blog post was originally published on […]

February 13, 2020

Third pillar of an SSI network: Community engagement

Note: In celebration of Sovrin Foundation’s new membership program, the Foundation is writing a series of blogs that highlight the core activities it provides as a nonprofit which Sovrin Chairman Phil Windley refers to as the “Four Pillars of an SSI Network”. Much of the material used in this blog post was originally published on […]

February 4, 2020

Second pillar of an SSI network: Network operations

Note: In celebration of Sovrin Foundation’s new membership program, the Foundation is writing a series of blogs that highlight the core activities it provides as a nonprofit which Sovrin Chairman Phil Windley refers to as the “Four Pillars of an SSI Network”. Much of the material used in this blog post was originally published on […]

January 30, 2020

First pillar of an SSI network: Governance

Note: In celebration of Sovrin Foundation’s new membership program, the Foundation is writing a series of blogs that highlight the core activities it provides as a nonprofit which Sovrin Chairman Phil Windley refers to as the “Four Pillars of an SSI Network”. Much of the material used in this blog post was originally published on […]

January 28, 2020

Become a member of the Sovrin Foundation

Announcing Sovrin Foundation’s new membership program for champions of data protection and privacy. Note: The Sovrin Foundation has a new membership program for individuals and organizations that wish to become involved with and support the mission of the Sovrin Foundation. To celebrate the start of this initiative, the Foundation will publish a series of blog […]

January 8, 2020

Giving people the privacy protection they need in the coming decade

The Sovrin Network shows how blockchain-based digital identity systems simplify and strengthen data privacy. The emergence of data privacy as a consumer right over the past decade accelerated through a series of scandals and data breaches and reached a crescendo with the introduction of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation. Better known as GDPR, […]

January 6, 2020

Hyperledger Aries community drives growth & interoperability in 2020

In the space of just a few short months, the landscape for the Hyperledger Identity community has dramatically altered. Three projects now exist within the Hyperledger greenhouse (Indy, Aries, Ursa) offering a plethora of tools and libraries to begin the trusted exchange of decentralized identity credentials. More contributors and maintainers than ever are working together […]