Blog > 2025 > January > Hyperledger Identus – then, now, and tomorrow

Hyperledger Identus – then, now, and tomorrow

Explore how Hyperledger Identus, a Linux Foundation Decentralized Trust project, leverages decentralized identity to create a more secure, private, and efficient future

27 January 2025 Javier Ribó 4 mins read

Hyperledger Identus – then, now, and tomorrow

While identity might seem straightforward in theory, the reality is far more complex. Who controls access to your private information and that of your loved ones? Is it truly secure? Who else can access it, and what happens if it falls into the wrong hands?

Identity management has evolved significantly to address these challenges. Traditional methods, like birth certificates and social security numbers, have progressively given way to alternative identification methods, such as fingerprinting and facial recognition.

Despite these advancements, significant challenges remain. People still rely on centralized providers and governments to safeguard sensitive information. However, people increasingly seek full control over their personal data and online identities. This is where blockchain technology – and Hyperledger Identus, an LF Decentralized Trust project – provide a viable solution.

What is Hyperledger Identus?

The Identus identity solution is built on the robust foundational work of the Atala PRISM protocol, which enables a degree of flexibility that other solutions lack – the Identus SDKs work with a multitude of platforms, such as web (through Typescript) and mobile (through Swift and Kotlin) – and delivers a comprehensive suite of tools for decentralized identity solutions. Identus prioritizes interoperability, security, and privacy, offering end-to-end encryption, verifiable claims, and secure data storage to establish software-defined trust and robust user protection.

For any identity solution to be trusted, it needs a decentralized source of information. This is one of Identus' stronger points, thanks to Cardano's underpinning. Identus does not need to manage or maintain existing nodes, nor does it need to incentivize new ones. While other chains struggle to provide such flexibility for their own identity solutions, Cardano perfectly supports and complements Identus.

As an open-source project, Input | Output (IO) is just one of a number of ongoing contributors to Hyperledger Identus, and the community has become integral to advancing the platform. Identus continues to improve through transparent collaboration, including events like the recent ‘Develop Decentralized Identity Solution Using Hyperledger Identus’ workshop. This approach unlocks new real-world applications, such as enabling secure access to medical records.

The Identus suite offers solutions for decentralized identifiers (DIDs) and verifiable credentials (VCs), enhancing the security and authenticity of identity documents, including:

  • Passports
  • Driver’s licenses
  • Bank accounts
  • National IDs
  • Educational certificates. 

Building upon the PRISM foundation, the Hyperledger Identus platform enables users to create, manage, and resolve DIDs using the Cardano blockchain as its verifiable data registry through:

  • DID management: facilitating efficient creation, updating, and deactivation of DIDs by publishing corresponding operations to the blockchain.
  • Transaction verification: ensuring the integrity and authenticity of DID operations through cryptographic verification before recording them on-chain.
  • Scalability: supporting the batching of operations into blocks, enhancing scalability, and reducing transaction fees.

For individuals, this means control over their personal data without relying on identity providers that may share, sell, or misuse it. The benefits extend beyond individuals – for organizations and the wider community, Hyperledger Identus can help prevent fraud, provide reliable and consented data sharing about stakeholders and members, and ensure compliance with privacy regulations.

What’s next for Hyperledger Identus?

Hyperledger Identus is expected to grow in 2025. With Cardano scaling to accommodate potentially billions of users and becoming the world's most decentralized blockchain, new opportunities will expand usability across the network.

Being part of LF Decentralized Trust – an umbrella organization under the respected Linux Foundation with numerous members – opens up a host of opportunities for further collaboration and growth. This affiliation strengthens Hyperledger Identus’ potential to lead the way in decentralized identity solutions.

By continuing to collaborate with the Cardano community, Hyperledger Identus is poised to offer solutions to the most pressing questions surrounding digital identity. Thus, users will be able to:

  • decide who can see their information and when
  • store identity securely
  • authenticate themselves without relying on third parties.

Want to stay updated on the latest work from the Hyperledger Identus team? Check out the community calendar to join upcoming calls and participate in discussions. 

This blog post has been written in collaboration with Fabio Pinheiro, Curtis Harding, Goncalo Frade, Benjamin Voiturier, Allain Magyar, and Daniel Calatayud. Fernando Sanchez and Olga Hryniuk also contributed.