February 8, 2025
To the Sovrin Community After seven years of leading decentralized identity management, the Sovrin Foundation is preparing for the likely shutdown of its MainNet ledger by March 31, 2025, or sooner (see the timeline section below for details). This difficult decision follows a careful evaluation of the network’s sustainability. Key Reasons: 1. Decline in MainNet […]
May 28, 2023
As powerful as SSI is, the technology is limited to individuals who have digital access and the legal and mental capacity to act for themselves, both online and offline. For SSI to work for everyone, guardianship needs to be designed and governed in an accessible, responsible and safe way. This whitepaper, written by the Sovrin […]
March 20, 2023
Resetting the Sovrin TestNet: What You Need to Know The Sovrin TestNet has been a vital part of the Sovrin ecosystem for over five years. It is a platform where developers can test their applications, deploy non-production proofs of concept, and where the Sovrin Foundation tests Hyperledger Indy upgrades prior to deploying them on the […]
March 6, 2023
Since April 2022 Sovrin Foundation has been charging a contribution for services on TestNet (formerly known as StagingNet). By offering a 90% discount on TestNet transaction fees, Sovrin wished to support adoption of DIDs and Verifiable Credentials. Sovrin Foundation hereby subsidized the digital identity industry with more than USD $300,000 in 2022. With the standardization […]
July 19, 2021
Outlining a Self-Sovereign Approach to Device Onboarding Authors: Damian Glover, Richard Allain, Bruce Conrad, Michael Shea, Michele Nati Publication date: 19th July 2021 Introduction Cryptographic trust needs to be built into IoT device onboarding and across the device lifecycle to address serious security vulnerabilities. The purpose of this post is to propose an alternative, decentralised […]
May 5, 2021
The Sovrin Foundation (“Sovrin”) Board of Trustees and Trust over IP Foundation (“ToIP”) Steering Committee are pleased to announce that they have signed a Letter Agreement (dated March 18, 2021). This agreement signifies the commitment of both organizations to mutual cooperation and recognition for each other’s mandates. Sovrin and ToIP intend to work together […]
April 22, 2021
Sovrin releases two new Guardianship Credentials papers at Internet Identity Workshop #32 In December 2019 the Sovrin Guardianship Task Force released a whitepaper titled, “On Guardianship in Self-Sovereign Identity.” This groundbreaking paper explored guardianship in the context of SSI, and provided two use cases: one for a refugee, Mya, and one for an elderly living with dementia, Jamie. […]
April 8, 2021
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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 […]