Ethereum: The Foundation attacks the sovereignty of public digital infrastructures

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This proposal joins the European debates on digital identity. Member States must offer an identity wallet by the end of 2026, within a common technical framework. Its use remains voluntary for citizens.

Digital public services need to exchange information between institutions, sometimes across borders. An administration may therefore have to verify a document issued by another authority, without depending on its IT service provider in the long term.

The Foundation presents Ethereum as a shared base of which no organization alone controls the operation. Its open software allows code review, while institutions can choose their network providers or operate their own infrastructure.

This does not mean publishing citizens' records on a blockchain. Applications can retain credentials with their holders and use the network to verify their authenticity. Issuing organizations remain responsible for the information they certify.

Bhutan’s National Digital Identity system exemplifies this approach. Users hold their credentials in their NDI wallet and choose what information to present. A shared ledger on Ethereum helps participating services verify these documents without making them public.

The system thus distinguishes three functions: issuing a certificate, storing it and verifying its authenticity. Their distribution aims to limit dependencies, without eliminating the role of national authorities.

The Foundation is also presenting a prototype for coordinating humanitarian aid, developed by its Technical Foundations team after discussions with players in the sector. This is not a widespread deployment.

The project combines decentralized identity and confidential payment mechanisms. It explores the possibility of coordinating assistance without forcing organizations to exchange personnel records or entrusting the network to a single agency.

In Europe, the identity wallet pursues certain comparable data control objectives. The Commission provides in particular for the sharing of only necessary information. However, selective disclosure does not automatically imply the use of zero-knowledge evidence.

The European framework also imposes common standards, protocols and formats to ensure interoperability. It includes a reference architecture and open software components: States therefore do not choose their technology without constraints.

The Ethereum proposal constitutes an architectural option, not an automatic guarantee of sovereignty. Effective control also depends on applications, intermediaries, data protection and the means available to institutions to check the system and change service providers.

Machine-translated from French