Blockchain Tech 101 + Identity (onename)

Blockcahin Tech 101 + Identity (onename)

Wednesday 2C Convener: Ale Muneeb

Notes-taker(s):

Tags for the session - technology discussed/ideas considered:

Discussion notes, key understandings, outstanding questions, observations, and, if appropriate to this discussion: action items, next steps:

Summary:

This talk gave a brief introduction to Blockchain and Bitcoin. It explained how blockchain is a global ledger that doesn't rely on any trusted party and how this ledger can be used to build decentralized identity. Phil had a great description of the blockchain:

"The world is full of directories, registries, and ledgers—mappings from keys to values. We have traditionally relied on some central authority (whoever owns the ledger) to ensure its consistency and availability. Blockchain is a global-scale, practical ledger system that demonstrates consistency and availability without a central authority or owner. This is why blockchain matters." -- Phil Windley

The talk also introduced the work that Onename is doing. Onename is a registrar on top of a decentralized identity system built on the blockchain. Onename provides a web interface for users to register themselves and get a decentralized identity. Users are in complete control of their identity and data. To date, close to 30,000 users have registered themselves.