During the past few months, all eyes of people who work with digital identities were turned to the new eIDAS 2.0 regulation. This regulation aims to standardize national rules on electronic signatures in the EU. The purpose is to eliminate fragmentation and enable seamless digital interaction across national borders. Long before that private companies introduced digital wallets that work to this day independently, but the new regulation somehow stabilizes the ecosystem. 

In today's post, we'll focus on the role of Digital Wallets in Higher Education and explore how they intersect with eIDAS 2.0, examining their impact, if any.
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Digital wallets - what they are in eIDAS 2.0 regulation

At their core, digital wallets are software-based tools that securely store various types of data, from payment cards to loyalty points and, crucially for us: academic diplomas and credentials.

Credentials, in this context, refer to any form of digitally verifiable information that establishes an individual's identity, qualifications, or affiliations. The importance of credentials lies in their role as proof of identity, qualifications, and entitlements.

In the eIDAS context, the wallet should enable the user to i) securely request and receive, store, select, connect, and make available - in a transparent and user-identifiable manner - the necessary legal person-identifying data and electronic attestation attributes for online and offline authentication in order to use the services public and private online; ii) signing with a qualified electronic signature.

According to eIDAS 2.0, users should be able to be verified based on the information provided on their address; age; sex; marital status; family composition; nationality; educational qualifications, titles and licenses; professional qualifications, titles and licenses; public permits and licenses; and financial and company data. It allows them to easily access and share their personal information without having to carry physical copies of their documents. Digital Wallets can verify user identity when logging into websites or making online transactions.
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Digital wallets for education

Digital Wallets find their purpose in various use cases, eg. IDs, Membership cards, and Healthcare records. But, because of our business, we get a lot of questions about Blockchain-based Wallets in the Academic context, which is why we’ll dive deeper into the topic.

So, academic credentials stored in Digital Wallet (eg. on the DoxyChain platform) usually include degrees, diplomas, micro-credentials, other certificates, and transcripts.

Such a wallet is encrypted, secure, and is not subject to any central entity (eg. a university, or ministry). Of course, different wallets offer different functionalities. In the context of digital wallets, it’s important to underline the European Blockchain Services Infrastructure (EBSI) institution that adheres to eIDAS 2.0 regulations in its actions. In their projects, EBSI distinguishes three different types of wallets: 

1. Holders - who can request the issuance of credentials, receive and store them in the digital wallet
2. Issuers - where universities or other institutions can issue and manage credentials.
3. Verifiers - which entities that want to check the authenticity of the certificate can use.

Such wallets are issued or prepared by third-party (commercial) providers such as Validated ID, which provides services of Enterprise and Holder wallets, walt.id, which provides wallets for individuals, or even PwC-ID - wallets for organizations, and maybe in the future by government bodies. 
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How DoxyChain has incorporated wallets into its ecosystem

At DoxyChain we didn’t distinguish wallet as a separate product, as we provide it as an integral part of our comprehensive solution, free of additional charges. Our system creates a unique identity for the user by assigning a pair of keys to the blockchain. Users use those keys to identify themselves in the system and the blockchain network. 
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What does it mean for Educational Institutions?

Answering FAQ we get: How do Wallets work on the DoxyChain platform? Will a student who receives a micro-credential from our University also be able to use the same wallet for credentials from another university?

Yes. Here’s how:

The wallet is created automatically, once the student is invited to take ownership of a certificate.

The wallet identifies a person, beyond the university. The person who receives a certificate has full control over their wallet. After graduation, they can change their university e-mail address in the wallet to a private one, as in the DoxyChain platform their identity is created on a completely different security layer.

And thanks to blockchain technology, even if the university or entity that issued a certificate dissolves, the certificate is still available for the student and can be verified in real time.

Students don’t have to pay anything to store the documents in their wallets. They can aggregate new documents or certificates in one place for free.

When they receive another credential from a different university there are two options:

1. A university uses DoxyChain as its platform for issuing diplomas: The student receives a diploma straight to their wallet.
2. A university doesn’t use DoxyChain as its platform for issuing diplomas: Then, the student can manually add their diploma to their wallet on the platform.

That approach enables universities to have a comprehensive tool that’s student-centric and enables easiness in verifying credentials in the context of lifelong learning. 
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Future of Digital Wallets

Some governments are working on developing their own solutions to enable secure digital identification. So, will it be possible to integrate with them once they are ready, to create one place for all important documents?

From our perspective - of course. As soon as such solutions are ready and enable the connection between wallet providers and centrally distributed wallet (and they definitely should enable it), then DoxyChain can integrate with such systems.  After all, we are a blockchain company and believe in open and transparent systems that collaborate with each other. Therefore, government-issued wallets should also be built upon decentralized technology. These solutions must be compatible.
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Why digital wallets are the future (and are they here to stay)?

First of all, having a digital wallet for credentials is convenient. Software wallets, accessible through mobile apps or web browsers, give the holder and everyone participating in the process of credentials management one repository for storing and managing credentials. 

It enables replacing tons of documents, folders, and even wallets in our pockets with a secure app. 

Secondly, because of that characteristic, it’s easy to verify and share credentials. This streamlines the processes such as job applications, enrollment in educational programs, and access to government services. Just log into the app and share the QR code or link to verify the document. 

Lastly, it reduces time spent on administrative tasks, especially for Universities or employers. Universities can issue credentials to students automatically and then manage them remotely. Students can easily share credentials with employers. Employers simply check credentials, without extensive background checks, as everything is in a transparent database.
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Summary

The importance of secure credential management cannot be overstated. As fraudulent academic degrees are on the rise (22B USD in 2022) and 75% of administrative employees are not able to detect fake degrees (Source), it’s our responsibility to move from paper-based to blockchain-based, digital wallets. Such solutions create easy and secure ways to hold all the credentials, certificates, and micro-credentials. 

With a digital-first approach, not being scared of technology but utilizing it where it’s valuable, we all can create a safer, more trustworthy environment. 

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Curious what are other legal aspects of digital certification? See our blog post introducing this topic.

If you are thinking about implementing digital certificates or digital wallets at your institution and need help navigating through that process, contact us at contact@doxychain.com.