Overview
Veridian is a self-sovereign identity platform from the Cardano Foundation that pairs a mobile identity wallet with enterprise cloud infrastructure. It lets individuals and organizations create decentralized identifiers and exchange verifiable credentials using the KERI protocol, with critical key events anchored to the Cardano blockchain as a tamper-evident trust root1. The platform targets both end users managing personal credentials and enterprises deploying compliant identity workflows.
The system is built around open standards rather than a proprietary stack. Identifier control remains on the user's device, while a cloud agent layer keeps credential messages available across sessions and networks.
Key Features
- KERI-based identifiers. Uses Key Event Receipt Infrastructure to generate autonomic identifiers whose control is rooted in cryptographic key events rather than a centralized registry2.
- ACDC verifiable credentials. Issues and receives Authentic Chained Data Container credentials and exchanges them through the IPEX protocol, supporting chained attestations and selective disclosure1.
- Cardano anchoring. Writes credential schemas and critical key events to Cardano, using the chain as a public, verifiable audit layer without putting personal data on chain2.
- Post-quantum posture. Designed with cryptographic agility in mind, including support for post-quantum-secure primitives suitable for long-lived identity commitments2.
- Native mobile apps. Published on iOS and Android under the
org.cardanofoundation.idwidentifier, with on-device biometric authentication and KERIA cloud agent integration1.
What to Expect
Veridian is structured as a credential wallet rather than a token wallet, so the experience centers on identifiers and attestations instead of balances and swaps. First-time setup walks users through enrolling device biometrics, generating a recovery passcode, and creating an autonomic identifier whose signing keys are held inside the device's secure enclave1. The wallet then provisions a connection to a KERIA cloud agent, which stores signed KERI messages so credentials remain reachable when the device is offline or moves between networks1.
Day-to-day use revolves around two actions: receiving credentials from issuers and presenting them to verifiers. Receiving a credential typically starts with scanning a QR code or opening a deep link from an issuer, after which the wallet displays the credential schema, the issuer's identifier, and the chained attestations behind it before the user accepts it into local storage2. Presentation uses the IPEX exchange protocol, letting the user approve a specific credential or a selective disclosure in response to a verifier's request, with each step signed by the on-device key2. Connections to DApps follow the CIP-45 session pattern, so pairing a browser application feels similar to connecting a standard Cardano wallet, but the signed payload is an identity proof rather than a transaction1.
For organizations, Veridian exposes an enterprise identity cloud built around the same KERIA agent infrastructure. Onboarding an enterprise deployment means standing up a KERIA instance, registering witnesses, and publishing credential schemas that can be anchored to Cardano for public verifiability2. From there, issuers define credential types for workflows such as KYC, vLEI organizational identity, carbon credit attestations, grant verification, and governance participation through Cardano Ballot. SDK references and integration guides are published at the project's documentation site, and the full wallet and agent source code is available for review on GitHub under an Apache 2.0 license1. Because Veridian is maintained by the Cardano Foundation, it is positioned as reference infrastructure for identity on Cardano rather than a standalone commercial product, and users can expect its cadence and standards choices to track Foundation priorities rather than short-term market cycles.
