China to roll out digital identification via blockchain platform

In China announced the launch of RealDID — a new digital identification service from the Blockchain Service Network (BSN) to provide ‘external anonymity’ based on blockchain.

The initiative is led by the Ministry of Public Security of the country with the participation of the National Information Center, and technology firms China Mobile Communications Group, Beijing Zhongdun Anxin Technology Development, and the BSN Development Alliance.

According to the statement, the service will allow users to register and log in to websites anonymously using decentralized identifiers (DID) and private keys. This approach ensures the concealment of a direct link between financial information and personal data.

“The launch of the real-name-based DID service gives users control over the use of their personal digital identifier and personal information,” the press release says.

Representatives of the project emphasised that this is the first decentralised national-level identity verification system. RealDID represents a combination of the BSN blockchain service network and the China Mobile Communications Group’s chain of digital identity certificates.

The blockchain platform offers a range of capabilities, including real-name verification, data encryption, system login to protect privacy, individual business-DID, and identity-certification services.

“Users can disclose varying personal information to different business platforms at their discretion, sharing only the necessary and minimised information, which significantly expands privacy protection and data security,” emphasised BSN.

The technology has drawn mixed reactions: on the one hand it raises online security, but on the other hand it expands possibilities for government surveillance of citizens.

China Prepare to Use Blockchain for Verifying its Citizens Identity

China’s RealDID initiative, led by the Ministry of Public Security and supported by China’s Blockchain-based Service Network (BSN), aims to utilize blockchain technology to verify the identities of the country’s…

— FireAccount (@_fireaccount_) December 12, 2023

“It should be noted that implementing blockchain in identity verification has both advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, the technology can provide a secure and transparent way to manage identity information. On the other — questions about data privacy, government surveillance and the potential for abuse of such a system arise, particularly in the context of China’s strict controls,” said a user on X under the handle FireAccount.

The BSN platform was launched by the State Information Center of the People’s Republic of China in April 2020. Its aim is to simplify the process of launching blockchain applications and reduce costs. In the organization’s white paper, the project is described as aiming to become the “Internet of Blockchains”.

In the same year, BSN launched the international version of its site and added support for six public networks: Ethereum, EOS, Nervos, Tezos, NEO and IRISnet. This enabled third-party developers to create decentralized applications and remotely run them on the platform’s infrastructure.

Later the list was expanded to include the cross-chain protocol Polkadot, the Oasis Network cloud computing service and the Bityuan project, as well as Everscale.

In January 2022, it was announced that BSN infrastructure to support NFTs, not related to cryptocurrencies.