Why Interoperability Standards Will Make or Break DID Adoption

The W3C's DID Core specification provides the essential grammar for decentralized identity, defining the URI scheme, DID Documents, and verifiable data registry interfaces. Without this, every project invents its own incompatible format.

• Universal Syntax: Enables any resolver to parse a DID, regardless of underlying blockchain.
• Decentralized Proofs: Anchors cryptographic proofs (like Ed25519 signatures) to the DID Document, enabling portable verification.

These implementations separate the DID's logical identity from its chain-specific anchoring, solving the vendor lock-in problem. ION (Bitcoin) and Veramo (modular framework) demonstrate how to build resolvers for any ledger.

• Sidetree Protocol: ION's layer-2 protocol batches DID ops onto Bitcoin, achieving ~10k TPS for identity transactions.
• Plugin Architecture: Veramo's agnostic design supports Ethereum, Polygon, and Ceramic simultaneously, letting users own their key material.

W3C Verifiable Credentials (VCs) are the interoperable 'claims' issued against a DID. Standards like JSON-LD and JWT bind credentials to the holder's DID in a cryptographically verifiable package, enabling cross-chain trust.

• Selective Disclosure: Users can prove specific claims (e.g., age > 18) without revealing the entire credential.
• Universal Verification: Any compliant verifier (e.g., Gitcoin Passport, Civic) can check the proof, regardless of the issuer's origin chain.

Wallets must become universal DID resolvers and VC holders. MetaMask Snaps allows dynamic addition of DID methods, while WalletConnect's Auth protocol standardizes the sign-in flow across dApps.

• Dynamic Resolution: A wallet can resolve a did:ethr: and a did:ion: in the same interface.
• User-Centric Flow: Replaces chain-specific pop-ups with a single, standardized authentication request, reducing UX friction by ~70%.

Polygon ID leverages zero-knowledge proofs to make VCs and DIDs privately interoperable. It allows users to prove claims from one chain to a verifier on another without exposing underlying data.

• On-Chain Verification: ZK proofs are ~1-2 KB, enabling cheap verification on any EVM chain.
• Revocation Privacy: Uses cryptographic accumulators so issuers can revoke credentials without revealing which user was affected.

Standards need bridges. The Ethereum Attestation Service (EAS) provides a schema registry for on-chain claims, while Hyperlane's interoperability layer allows those attestations to be permissionlessly routed and verified across any connected chain.

• Schema Portability: An attestation schema defined on Ethereum is usable on Arbitrum, Optimism, and Polygon.
• Warp Routes: Hyperlane's modular security stack ensures the attestation's validity is maintained during cross-chain transit.

Without the W3C's DID Core standard, your identity system is a dead-end silo. This spec defines the universal resolver and document structure, enabling portability and vendor independence.\n- Key Benefit: Enables a user's DID to be resolved across any compliant verifier or wallet.\n- Key Benefit: Prevents lock-in, forcing providers to compete on service quality, not data captivity.

A DID without verifiable statements is useless. The W3C VC Data Model is the standard for issuing, holding, and presenting cryptographically signed attestations (e.g., KYC, diplomas).\n- Key Benefit: Enables cross-ecosystem trust; a credential from Polygon can be verified on Ethereum or Solana.\n- Key Benefit: Drives composability, allowing DApps to build on attested user attributes without re-verification.

Fragmented standards (e.g., proprietary ZK proofs, custom schema registries) create a negative network effect. Users won't adopt a DID they can't use everywhere.\n- The Problem: Each new proprietary standard shrinks the addressable market for your DID system.\n- The Solution: Champion IETF's SD-JWT-VC for selective disclosure and adopt decentralized schema registries like cheqd to ensure global verifiability.

Standards mean nothing if wallets can't talk to each other. Protocols like DIDComm and WalletConnect (v3 with DID support) are the essential transport layer for credential exchange and authentication.\n- Key Benefit: Solves the user experience fragmentation; a single wallet can interact with any service.\n- Key Benefit: Enables agent-based automation (e.g., autonomous credential renewals) by standardizing message formats.

Tying your DID method to a single blockchain (e.g., only Ethereum) is a strategic blunder. Standards like ION (Sidetree protocol) and KERI abstract the underlying VDR, enabling operation across Bitcoin, Ethereum, or any ledger.\n- Key Benefit: Future-proofs your DID system against chain-specific failures or obsolescence.\n- Key Benefit: Enables cost-optimized operations by anchoring proofs to the most secure/cheapest available chain.

Treating DID infra as pure compliance is a missed opportunity. Interoperable DID/VC systems become a programmable business development layer.\n- Key Benefit: Enables new revenue streams via cross-chain attestation services and verifiable reputation markets.\n- Key Benefit: Unlocks DeFi/NFT utility for billions by enabling seamless, compliant onboarding via reusable credentials (see Circle's Verite).