TL;DR
- Extrimian and zkSync partner to bring QuarkID and decentralized, self-sovereign digital identity to the citizens of Buenos Aires.
- The pioneering initiative will enable citizens to claim ownership of their documents and personal data and provide greater security and privacy.
- QuarkID, an open source digital identity protocol, will use zkSync Era to empower users and ensure privacy.
- The collaboration establishes the City of Buenos Aires as a leader in the adoption of blockchain technologies for the benefit of its citizens.
- The project aims to expand nationwide, benefiting more than 45 million people in Argentina.
What is QuarkID?
QuarkID is the Decentralized Digital Identity protocol anchored on zkSync Era, developed by Extrimian, and driven by the Government of the City of Buenos Aires and other companies with extensive experience in decentralized technologies and data security. This initiative seeks to put the power of data in the hands of citizens.
Latin America’s leading Decentralized Identity protocol partners with zkSync to transform Digital Identity in the region, starting with the City of Buenos Aires.
In the ever-changing blockchain technology landscape, the quest for a billion users remains a constant goal. So what technology or use cases should we push to achieve greater adoption of blockchain technology?
And is that, considering the privacy and digital security needs due to the increase in cybercrime and identity theft that is occurring these days, an identity and private data verification system that puts the user at the center, is imperative.
What drives this development?
At the heart of the Web3 ethic is personal ownership and decentralization, principles that extend far beyond financial assets to encompass broader, more practical applications. Today, we are pleased to announce a groundbreaking initiative in this direction: citizen-owned digital identity. Buenos Aires, Argentina, is poised to lead the charge, gradually introducing Web3 identity solutions powered by zkSync Era’s privacy-centric properties.
In the effort to bring Web3 identity solutions to the global stage, it is imperative that privacy remains a paramount concern in technologies that enable personal data ownership. A decentralized world that neglects privacy considerations goes against the very essence of Web3.
We envision a future in which personal freedom and autonomous digital identity empower individuals to securely manage their data.
Empowering Buenos Aires Citizens with Decentralized and Self-Sovereign Digital Identity.
Under Argentina’s blockchain-based identification initiative, citizens will gain control over their personal documents, health data and, in the future, payment processing. To build the infrastructure for this transformative program, Buenos Aires has partnered with QuarkID, an open source digital identity protocol developed by Extrimian, Latin America’s leading decentralized identity company. QuarkID uses zkSync Era as its anchor protocol, powering the wallets through which individuals will claim their documents.
“This marks a monumental leap toward a more secure and efficient future for government services in Latin America,” ; “QuarkID fosters closer ties between governments and citizens while introducing digital identity practices and security standards in Latin America.”, expressed Guillermo Villanueva, CEO of Extrimian.
The data stored in QuarkID wallets is autonomous, allowing citizens to control the delivery of their credentials when interacting with administrative services. zkSync Era serves as a settlement layer for QuarkID, ensuring that each participating citizen maintains ownership of their legitimate credentials.
While QuarkID makes its debut in Buenos Aires, its architecture is designed to scale globally. Complying with international standards such as W3C, Trust Over IP and Sovrin Foundation, QuarkID is interoperable with networks around the world.
Leveraging ZK Technology to Empower 650 Million People in Latin America
While blockchain-based digital identity promises a revolutionary change in data ownership, it often generates controversy as to the true decentralization of these processes. Recent events, such as the Kenyan government’s concerns about data privacy in a biometric cryptocurrency project, highlight these issues.
However, the transparency and security inherent in the cutting edge of Zero Knowledge (ZK) technology, combined with Ethereum, have the potential to dispel such concerns. This partnership unlocks privacy-preserving digital identity enforcement for entire nations.
Source: ZkSync Blog
With zkSync and Ethereum as the backbone of this initiative, personal data stored on-chain mitigates identity theft and personal information attacks commonly associated with centralized data storage technologies. zkSync ensures that digital property is trusted, trustless and secure, while prioritizing privacy.
The Argentine government and the City of Buenos Aires aim to establish its digital identity framework as a public good, enabling individuals to seamlessly transact information between government, businesses and their peers.
Diego Fernandez, Secretary of Innovation of the Government of the City of Buenos Aires, emphasizes, “With this development, Buenos Aires becomes the first city in Latin America and one of the first in the world to integrate and promote this new technology and set the standard for how other countries in the region should use blockchain technology for the benefit of their people.”
Read this Note to Diego Fernandez in Fortune Crypto to learn more about this alliance and how it will be carried out.
QuarkID Roadmap
Beginning in October, residents of Buenos Aires will be able to download a QuarkID wallet to claim personal identification documents, including birth and marriage certificates. QuarkID will be available to all Argentine citizens and will eventually become mandatory nationwide. In November, documents such as proof of income and academic verifications will be available to obtain in QuarkID wallets. By the end of 2023, the government will establish QuarkID’s future roadmap and outline expansion milestones to initially provide its services to more than 3 million citizens.
Buenos Aires is leading this initiative, ushering in a new era of Internet through digital ownership. We hope that nations around the world will look to Argentina as an example of how Web3 identity can thrive at the government level.
