From Paper to Blockchain: Toward Sustainable Decentralized Identity in E-Government

Abstract

In the era of rapid digital innovations and transformations, identity management still remains a largely paper-based and centralized process, which can lead to excessive paperwork, inefficient public administration and serious data privacy and security concerns. This paper aims to present GreenChainID – a digital identity management platform prototype, based on blockchain technology and Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) principle. The proposed platform prototype is designed to offer citizens several key functionalities such as secure personal data sharing, remote document signing, and anonymous digital petitions voting. Beyond offering citizens to selectively and carefully choose which personal data they are sharing with other stakeholders in both public and private sector, GreenChainID highlights sustainability by cutting resource consumption in public administration, paperwork, and citizen’s need for physical presence.