In an increasingly digital world, control of your data and identity online is becoming a significant challenge. When digital assets are involved – which have greatly increased in value over the past year – keeping data safe becomes even more crucial for individuals, entities and corporates.
This is precisely the problem that “KILT Protocol”, a Polkadot ecosystem project, wants to address. KILT is a blockchain protocol for issuing self-sovereign, anonymous, verifiable credentials and decentralised identifiers. In other words, the project is providing a way to bring real-world accreditation to the digital world.
Entities will be able to use KILT to build their own system of accreditation using the software development kit (SDK). By combining the security of blockchain with real-life trust sources, the project aims to provide a way to enable individuals, businesses and governments to rely on a common standard that is owned by everyone participating and not by a single company.
KILT as a parachain
Previous blockchains had irregular and expensive costs, making them impractical for use by enterprise. Running as a parachain in the Polkadot ecosystem, KILT transactions (needed to register the validity of the credential on the blockchain) will have a predictable and low price. This predictable cost will allow businesses to create a business plan and budget projection for their own needs using the protocol.
In addition to the security and cost advantages, KILT will also enjoy a mutually beneficial relationship with other chains in the system, gaining functionality such as smart contract systems and oracles, while providing other chains with decentralised identifiers (DIDs) and verifiable credentials.
What's next?
The Relay Chain of the Polkadot Network has been live since May 2020. Parachains are currently being tested on the Rococo testnet and it is anticipated that the first parachain auctions will begin in the first half of 2021.
As parachains will be deployed first on Kusama, Polkadot’s canary network, KILT aims to participate in the first parachain auctions and start the mainnet on Kusama shortly after securing a parachain slot. This will allow functionality to be available at the earliest possible time.
Securing a Kusama parachain slot will also bring KILT closer to mainnet launch and full decentralisation. The project aims to be a central pillar in the next generation of the web by bringing trust from the real world to the blockchain and creating a way for individuals to reclaim their digital identity.
