IdentityHub Feature Update: BRC20 Sign-in

Litentry
4 min readJan 20, 2024

In its relentless pursuit of advancing secure and private digital identity solutions, Litentry has recently expanded its service to accommodate BRC20 users via the BRC20 sign-in feature of the IdentityHub by integrating the Unisat wallet. This strategic move aims to expand Litentry’s provision of secure and decentralized digital identity solutions to the Bitcoin ecosystem, such as Ordinals NFT and Bitmap. BRC20 tokens are fungible digital assets created on the Bitcoin blockchain, and they have utility in Decentralized Identity since they can store verifiable credentials. These credentials can be issued by trusted entities and presented for verification without relying on intermediaries.

The new feature opens up data and identity ownership opportunities to BRC20 users, allowing them to generate a score that is validated by assessing their holdings of assets on the Bitcoin network to evaluate their current identity value. We aim to optimize it further to encompass more than just asset holdings.

Similar to the functionality of the EVM sign-in, the BRC20 sign-in feature capitalizes on the innovative Direct Invocation attribute of the IdentityHub. This attribute empowers users to send direct requests, eliminating the necessity to send extrinsics. With this enhancement, the IDHub can seamlessly process queries originating from BRC20 addresses. Users, in turn, gain the ability to create IDGraphs and request Verifiable Credentials (VCs) using their Unisat wallet addresses. This process involves mapping the BRC20 address to the Substrate address space and supporting the BRC20 signature scheme, ensuring a secure and efficient integration.

Primary Identity of IDGraph

Upon the launch of IdentityHub, an IDGraph is created when the shielding key for a Litentry-parachain address is set. Users can link, verify, or remove identities and request VCs by sending extrinsics from that address. Now, the same can be done with a BRC20 address.

This means that:

  • Each IDGraph has one primary identity, which can be a Litentry-parachain address, an EVM address, or a BRC20 address.
  • Only the primary identity can modify the IDGraph.
  • The shielding key is bound to the primary identity.

IDGraphs are not merged automatically. IDGraphs with distinct primary identities are considered different. For example, if substrateA links substrateB, and the user later logs in with substrateB, the IDGraph is empty, and they need to link substrateA again if they want to include it in the VC assertion building.

Implementation of the BRC20 Sign-In

The core scopes of the BRC20 sign-in feature are:

  • BRC20 signature verification: Through this implementation, users can now generate identity graphs and request Verifiable Credentials (VCs) on the IdentityHub utilizing their BRC20 addresses, expanding beyond the limitations of only substrate and EVM keys. This integration empowers users to connect their identities and set up an IDGraph, with the BRC20 address derived from their Unisat wallet as the primary account.
  • BRC20 IDGraphs: An identity graph serves as a data structure illustrating connections among various identities associated with a single individual. It delineates the relationships between a user’s diverse accounts, facilitating the mapping of an individual’s consolidated identity using their BRC20 address.
  • Identity Linking: A user’s identity can be associated with a singular IDGraph due to the binding of the user’s shielding key to that specific IDGraph. The management of this shielding key is exclusive to the primary identity, granting sole authority to view or update the key. This exclusivity is essential for encrypting user data, including the IDGraph or Verifiable Credential (VC) payload.

Advantages of BRC20 Sign-In

  • Security: Utilize the inherent security protocols of your Bitcoin ecosystem for seamless interaction with the IdentityHub.
  • Simplicity: With simplicity comes ease. Using the BRC20 sign-in feature, you don’t need to juggle between multiple usernames or passwords. Your BRC20 addresses from your Unisat wallet are the foundation of your web3 identity.
  • Interoperability: Now users can interoperate between the Substrate, Ethereum, and Bitcoin networks without hassle, with the IdentityHub being the linking factor.

Conclusion

In the ever-evolving landscape of digital identity solutions, Litentry’s latest IdentityHub feature update sets a new standard by seamlessly integrating BRC20 sign-in capabilities. This strategic move not only expands our secure and decentralized offerings to the Bitcoin ecosystem but also empowers users to take control of their data and identity. With the innovative Direct Invocation attribute at its core, this update enhances security, simplifies user interactions, and fosters interoperability across Substrate, Ethereum, and Bitcoin networks. Litentry remains dedicated to advancing simplicity, security, and interoperability in the web3 identity space, and the BRC20 sign-in feature stands as a testament to our commitment to redefining possibilities in decentralized identity solutions.

About Litentry

Litentry is a privacy-preserving Identity Aggregation protocol that enables granular access to and control of data. Featuring a DID indexing protocol and a Substrate-built distributed DID validation blockchain, Litentry provides a decentralized, interoperable identity aggregation service that mitigates the difficulty of resolving agnostic DID mechanisms. Litentry provides a secure vehicle through which users manage their identities and dApps obtain real-time DID data of an identity owner across different blockchains.

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