Address Identity Registry

The Address Identity Registry (AIR) enables associating credentials and other information related to identity with a ledger address, similar to how a traditional bank account is linked to an identity. Attaching credentials/identity to an address via the AIR is an action that does not publicly disclose the user’s identity, but is binding. At some point in the future, the user may need to disclose select information to a third-party, e.g. in order to acquire an asset, or prove to validators that the hidden credentials bound to their address satisfy a policy.

The AIR can also help to hold users accountable for their activity on the blockchain, or be used to provide a stronger proof of legal ownership. A plain address has no legal owner: anyone with a secret key for the address public key can control it. As knowledge of the secret key could be shared among several individuals, knowledge of the secret key may be insufficient for legal ownership and disperses accountability. Committing a unique identity to a ledger address through the AIR can be used to establish ownership over ledger assets assigned to the address, similar to the way holding assets in a traditional custodial bank account constitutes legal ownership.

Cryptographic credentials and attestations may be issued by entities accredited by government agencies or by government agencies directly, such as credit reporting agencies, universities, and licensing bodies.