Overview
NMKR Identity is a Cardano service that helps a token project prove it is the real one. The project creates a self-controlled digital ID, NMKR reviews its paperwork, and the project then publishes signed credentials linking that ID to its Cardano tokens. Anyone — a wallet, a marketplace, a buyer — can verify the link without taking NMKR's word for it.
It is built by NMKR, the Swiss-registered token-minting platform behind utxo AG, with funding from a Project Catalyst Fund 10 grant of one million ADA. The platform builds on Atala PRISM — an open-source identity toolkit originally developed by Input Output for Cardano — and pairs two open standards: decentralized identifiers (a way of issuing a public ID tied to a cryptographic key) and Verifiable Credentials (signed digital statements anyone can check)1.
Key Features
- Project identity tied to a key the project controls. Each project gets a decentralized identifier — a unique public ID linked to a private key only the project holds. Credentials and on-chain metadata are signed with that key, so impersonators cannot fake the same proof1.
- NMKR-attested trust layer. After reviewing a project's paperwork, NMKR issues its own signed statement vouching for the identity. Verifiers see two independent signatures: one from the project, one from the platform1.
- On-chain proof of which collection is real. The platform generates CIP-725 metadata — a proposed Cardano standard for attaching identity information directly to a token's on-chain record — so wallets and NFT marketplaces can show buyers the verified project behind a collection1.
- Open verification, no account needed. Any third party can fetch a project's identity record and credentials through public web addresses without signing up or paying. Each credential page also has a one-click Verify button that runs every signature check and reports pass or fail1.
- Open-source code, working API, and command-line tool. The full codebase is on GitHub under NMKR's account, with a public JSON API and a command-line tool for teams that want to script identity creation into their own workflows2.
What to Expect
A project signs in, fills out its company name and website, and downloads a private key file shown only once. After uploading registration documents for NMKR to review, the project receives an attestation and can issue one credential per Cardano policy or asset. Each credential gets its own public web page with a Verify button.
For non-technical users browsing the directory, the practical effect is that token projects using NMKR Identity have a public proof page anyone can check. For developers and project teams, the same flow is available through a command-line tool and a public JSON API, so identity creation can be wired into a minting pipeline rather than done through the web interface2.
The work is part of an ongoing Catalyst-funded project. The Fund 10 grant covers six milestones; five are complete and the framework is live, with the final close-out milestone tracked on the linked proposal page3. The codebase has a single primary committer (Patrick Tobler, the NMKR founder).
