As the adoption of cryptocurrencies and blockchain applications grows globally, some governments are working to reap the benefits. This is the case of the City of Buenos Aires (CABA), Argentina's largest urban center, which is developing systems to promote its use on Ethereum and other networks.
In addition to accepting cryptocurrency tax payments soon through exchanges, the CABA will also have a sovereign digital identity system on the blockchain. In a meeting, Diego Fernandez, secretary for innovation of the Buenos Aires city government, explained what it is.
“You will have your own [digital identity] wallet and it will be anyone. We, as a government, will issue credentials (as well as football clubs, social works and other organizations that want to develop there). We will all use the same thing, but no one has the power over the information but the user, ”she said.
The official said that when we are in a sovereign and widespread digital identity system in the city and country, the following will happen, for example. He indicates that when a policeman asks for the green card, car insurance and driver's license, he will show a QR code which the driver will scan with his wallet.
In this way, the driver will allow the policeman to verify all these documents in a simple and digital way. He says this will solve the "hassle" of looking for all those documents in the glove box, as well as speeding up other bureaucratic procedures while maintaining user privacy, a point he then delves into.
He warns that the adoption of this initiative will not happen tomorrow, but will happen at some point in the future. He believes that the government has taken "the first small step" in this direction. And they expect the launch of this system, already anchored to Ethereum and three other blockchains, to take place in January 2023.
Argentines will be able to keep their private information in these wallets
Diego Fernández stressed that, within this “sovereign digital identity” system, all user information remains in their possession. In other words, there will be no private information stored in the blockchain, “this is a sharp no,” he pointed out.
This feature has been of concern in the past in other blockchain identity applications around the world, such as the covid passport. He clarified: “The only thing that will be stored on the blockchain is your ID (digital identifier). Everything you have as a credential, all the certificates, will be exclusively in your possession on your devices ".
How agencies will begin to accept this digital identity system
To get other agencies to accept submission of documentation in this way, the official points out that there are two ways. On the one hand, he ensures that the government will accept documents issued by them and those of other organizations as valid under the sovereign digital identity protocol.
