The XLS-40 amendment on the XRP Ledger, which introduces a new standard for Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs), was activated on October 30. Approved by 28 out of 35 validators (85.71%), the amendment went live yesterday.
Mayukha Vadari, a Senior Software Engineer at RippleX, announced the activation via X (formerly Twitter), stating: “The XRPL DID amendment goes live today! DIDs (Decentralized Identifiers) in web3 can be pretty confusing, when looking into how they work. Here’s an explainer for XLS-40 and DID on the XRPL!”
XRP Ledger Gets Decentralized Identifiers
DIDs are unique, user-owned identifiers that are not controlled by any central authority. Vadari explained, “A DID is roughly equivalent to a fingerprint in the real world. Everybody has one, and though it doesn’t really do anything on its own, it’s useful in other contexts. For example, it can connect to Verifiable Credentials (VCs) or other data that prove who you are without relying on a centralized authority.
These identifiers are designed to be “persistent, globally resolvable, cryptographically verifiable,” and compatible with any distributed ledger or network, adhering to the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) specifications.
The XLS-40 DID specification was developed by Aanchal Malhotra and Vadari. She elaborated on the implementation: “A DID is represented on-chain via a series of two-way links (bidirectional pointers). The user creates a DID document and links to it in their on-chain DID object on the XRPL. The DID document also refers to the on-chain DID object, so there’s no way for someone else to forge your identity. In other words, the document says your account is part of its identity, and the account says that the document is its identity.”
When users sought clarification on the mechanics, one asked, “Creates when and how?” Vadari responded, “There’s a new transaction called DIDSet.” This new transaction type enables users to establish their DIDs on the XRP Ledger, facilitating the creation and association of a DID with an XRPL account.
Addressing concerns about potential identity forgery, a user inquired, “Ok, so what is preventing me from copying someone else’s document and ass
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Author: Jake Simmons
