Polygon unveils an identity service powered by zero-knowledge proofs

Polygon, a popular sidechain on Ethereum, has launched a new user identification service that gives blockchain-based applications the ability to verify a person’s credentials without revealing their personal data.

The service, called Polygon ID, will help verify user information while maintaining their on-chain privacy. Using Polygon ID, apps running on the blockchain will be able to authenticate user data while keeping sensitive information private, the development team working on Polygon announced today.

For this to work, Polygon will rely on iden3a decentralized identity protocol that uses zero-knowledge proofs – a cryptographic technology that can verify data that remains encrypted and hidden from the verifying party.

Polygon ID will be used in blockchain-related Know Your Customer (KYC) verifications required in certain regulated activities as well as in custom applications. Even though crypto addresses are anonymous on their own, the team emphasized the need for its identifier. A spokesperson explained that the addresses themselves cannot store user data.

“Blockchain addresses tell you nothing about the person behind. An address is not associated with KYC. Polygon ID takes real-world credentials and makes the details private via zero-knowledge proof. is about user data that we can associate with identity,” a Polygon spokesperson told The Block.

As such, Polygon hopes its ID offering will facilitate on-chain verification and eliminate the need to rely on centralized parties for user verification. The product will work with Polygon’s cryptocurrency wallet offering, the team said in its announcement.