Self-sovereign identity (SSI) promises to deliver innovation and value in every industry for a variety of use cases. It’s already picking up steam in financial services, healthcare, and government sectors around the world. But in order to get widespread adoption, sustainable business cases need to be developed—not just use cases.
In our recent expert-panel webinar, “Making Money with SSI,” we dive in to the details of creating a business out of SSI from experts who’ve done it. Whether you missed the webinar or just want to refer back to the best parts, we’ve got you covered with a full recording. Scroll below the recording to view a highlight reel!
Intro to the business of SSI
Before we got into the meat of the webinar, Riley Hughes, CEO & Co-founder of Trinsic, kicked us off by briefly defining self-sovereign identity (SSI) and discussing the business value of SSI.
He began by simplifying human identity into two parts:
- Intrinsic identity: This is what we see when we look in the mirror. It’s our gender identity, political identity, or cultural identity. It’s who we are in the context of our relationships with our closest confidants. It’s intrinsic to us and is the truest form of identity.
- Extrinsic identity: This is how others, often institutions, identify us. A driver’s license is the most ubiquitous example. Although intended to prove your eligibility to drive on public roads, it is also how financial institutions, airports, and bars identify you. It works because institutions trust the DMV, and with a driver’s license, you always have the DMV vouching for you. And it isn’t limited to government ID—educational, professional, and membership credentials all work this same way.
Social sites, blogs, and other internet platforms help people express their intrinsic identity. However, up until now, there has not been a good way to share your extrinsic identity online. SSI is the answer to that problem because it reduces transaction costs of verification. Riley explains this concept in the video below.
Meet the speakers
After Riley’s opener, each speaker introduced themselves and their SSI product which they have or are taking to market. Their demo videos are below.
Julie Esser
As SVP of Marketing/Communications at CULedger, Julie has played an instrumental role in the roll-out of MemberPass—the first KYC-backed digital credential that allows credit unions to easily and securely verify the identities of their members.
Timothy Ruff
Timothy is a General Partner at Digital Trust Ventures (DTV), a venture studio that helps entrepreneurs bring SSI and transitive trust technologies to market. He is taking StudentPass to market as CEO of Credential Master.
Tony Rose
Tony is the Founder & CEO of MedCreds, an application that provides people with their COVID-19 test result in the form of a verifiable credential. You can sign up for your MedCreds digital health wallet here: https://portal.medcreds.com/register.
The panel discussion
In the panel discussion, the main topics covered included:
- How to go from a use case to a business case
- Overcoming common adoption challenges
- How Trinsic can help you build a successful SSI business
Below are some highlights from the discussion.
What is the difference between a use case and a business case? How do you bridge the gap between creating a use case and creating a business?
How do you create an SSI business case in an ecosystem where you need to get multiple parties involved?
What will lead to a network effect?
How do you sell or market ‘SSI’?
How do you sell SSI to highly-regulated industries?
How can Trinsic help you create your SSI business?
Q&A
We had over 30 brilliant questions from the audience due to this highly engaging conversation. Unfortunately we couldn’t get to them all; but here are some of our favorites!
What makes a decentralized solution better than a centralized solution for passwordless authentication?
What if somebody wants to put their digital student ID, COVID-19 test result, and MemberPass all in the same wallet? How are all these different solutions going to work together?
How long will it be until there is broader market adoption of SSI and verifiable credentials?
Future webinars
The best way to stay informed on what our upcoming webinars are is to subscribe to the Trinsic monthly newsletter. Also, be sure to follow Trinsic’s YouTube channel where we will continue to post all our future video content. And as always, please feel free to reach out to us to suggest future webinar topics. We want to make sure we are providing you with the most useful content possible. Get started today on building out your SSI use case and turning it into a business case by signing up for a free Trinsic Studio account.
