Buenos Aires Sets Global Precedent by Empowering 3.6 Million Citizens with Blockchain-based Digital Identity on miBA platform

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, Oct. 22, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) —

• QuarkID, powered by ZKsync, marks world’s first government-enabled decentralized digital identity
• ZKsync-powered QuarkID becomes first decentralized ID enabled by a government entity

Today, the Government of the City of Buenos Aires announces the integration of QuarkID, a ZKsync-powered decentralized identity solution, into its miBA platform. This groundbreaking initiative makes Buenos Aires the first city worldwide to implement blockchain and zero-knowledge cryptography for creating self-sovereign digital identities. By empowering 3.6 million residents with enhanced control over their personal data, the city sets a new standard in privacy and security for digital identity management.

Starting October 1, 2024, all active users of miBA, the city’s digital platform for accessing government services and documents, received their own decentralized digital identity (DID). These DIDs are secured by QuarkID’s wallet and settled on Era, a Layer 2 blockchain powered by ZKsync. This initiative positions Buenos Aires as a pioneer in transforming government services through blockchain technology, setting a new global standard for privacy-focused digital identity.

Empowering Citizens with Ownership and Control

In a world where governments and institutions traditionally own and manage citizens’ data, Buenos Aires is turning the model upside down by giving citizens direct ownership of their personal information. Through QuarkID, individuals can now access, store, and share their verified credentials — like birth certificates or tax documents — securely and independently.

This self-sovereign identity approach gives citizens control over their personal data. Rather than relying on physical documents that expose unnecessary information, such as a full name or address when proving one’s age, residents can now verify their credentials peer-to-peer through their mobile devices. This guarantees that no third party, including the government, can track when, how, or why a credential is being used.

Jorge Macri, Chief of Government of the City of Buenos Aires, commented on the news: “The incorporation of zero-knowledge blockchain technology into the City’s digital identity system is an unprecedented milestone that positions us globally and once again demonstrates that the City of Buenos Aires is at the forefront of innovation. Adopting new technologies that simplify citizens’ processes and grant them full control over their information is a fundamental step to continue offering more secure and transparent digital solutions.”

The Benefits of Decentralized Identity

At the core of this initiative are QuarkID’s open-source digital trust framework powered by ZKsync’s zero-knowledge proof blockchain technology, which brings a new level of security, privacy, and transparency to how personal data is managed:

• Privacy and Zero-Knowledge Proofs: With QuarkID powered by ZKsync Era, citizens can verify the accuracy of their credentials without ever exposing their personal data. Through zero-knowledge proofs, only the necessary information is revealed — for instance, confirming an individual’s age without disclosing their full birthdate, address, or document number. This ensures maximum privacy while maintaining verifiable accuracy.
• Ownership and Control: Citizens now have full custody over their digital credentials, stored securely on their mobile devices and protected by biometric encryption. They are no longer reliant on centralized systems that retain and manage their data on their behalf, significantly reducing the risks of data breaches and identity theft.
• Security and Immutability: ZKsync’s decentralized architecture adds an additional layer of security. Proof of citizen’s personal credentials are settled on chain , making them far less vulnerable to cyberattacks.The verification of these credentials occurs through a secure peer-to-peer system, with zero-knowledge proofs ensuring that no personally identifiable information (PII) is ever exposed.
• Open Source and Scalable: QuarkID’s architecture is open-source and has been recognized as a Digital Public Good (DPG) working towards achieving the SDGs set by the United Nations. By making it accessible to cities, governments, and private enterprises across Latin America and beyond. This framework is designed to scale, encouraging banks, sports teams, artists, and businesses to adopt QuarkID and offer secure login solutions for citizens with endless possibilities such as providing exclusive benefits, including loyalty programs or discounts for verified users.

“We’ve seen a lot of blockchain-based innovation in financial services, but this initiative demonstrates the power of blockchain to revolutionize other uses cases such as government services by empowering citizens to safely and securely own their data,” said Diego Fernandez, Secretary of Innovation and Digital Transformation of the City of Buenos Aires. “By giving residents control over their identities, we’re not only improving privacy and security, but we’re also setting the foundation for a future where personal data ownership is a basic right, protected by advanced zero-knowledge-based cryptographic proofs.”

QuarkID: Present and Future

Since the initial announcement of QuarkID in September 2023, Buenos Aires has worked closely with partners such as Extrimian to transition miBA’s centralized system to a decentralized one. QuarkID allows residents to view, download, and share documents while also serving as the login portal for all government systems to schedule appointments, carry out procedures, or submit requests. Citizens can now access any of the City’s systems (previously miBA login) by simply scanning a QR code—no password required.

With the integration of QuarkID, miBA users will have access to over 60 digital documents and certificates, including but not limited to:

• Birth, marriage, and death certificates
• Student certificates
• Vaccination certificates
• Gross income tax certificates
• Citizen credentials

In the coming months, additional documents, such as driver’s licenses, public space permits, and high school diplomas, will be added. This innovation will also allow users to add credentials from other organizations that adopt the QuarkID protocol, enhancing the platform’s versatility and usability.

In addition to its use in Buenos Aires, QuarkID has successfully conducted pilot programs in Mexico, Colombia, and Peru, and is slated for future adoption in other Argentine provinces, including Salta.

Diego Fernández, Secretary of Innovation and Digital Transformation from the Buenos Aires City Government commented: “When we developed the open-source protocol QuarkID, one of our main goals was for the Government of the City of Buenos Aires to be not its owner but another user, allowing over 3 million citizens to have their official documents in their miBA wallet, secured by the ZKsync Era blockchain. Today, this is a reality, and we are very proud that this development positions us as pioneers in the region and the world”.

QuarkID: Open-Source Collaboration for Secure Digital Identity

As an open-source Digital Public Good, QuarkID invites developers, enterprises, and institutions to contribute to its continued growth. The framework offers a secure, decentralized infrastructure that can be adapted for secure logins, identity verification, and even loyalty programs across various industries.

• Developers: Contribute to QuarkID’s core protocol to help expand secure login capabilities for citizens. Learn more and get involved through the open-source codebase at [GitHub link].
• Private Enterprises: Banks, sports teams, and businesses are encouraged to enable secure logins and offer exclusive benefits to verified citizens, helping build a more secure and engaging ecosystem for everyone.

About miBA

miBA is the digital platform for accessing services and documents issued by the Government of Buenos Aires. Used by more than 3.6 million residents, miBA offers secure access to government services, document viewing, and management, all from a mobile app. Now, with the integration of QuarkID technology, miBA is taking a major step toward self-sovereign digital identity, giving citizens more control and security over their personal data.

About QuarkID

QuarkID is a digital protocol that implements a new trust framework for creating and managing digital identities and all their credentials in a decentralized manner, using asymmetric cryptography and the immutability of the blockchain to establish trust in a digital world. It is open-source and based on international standards such as those from W3C, Trust Over IP, and Decentralized Identity Foundation. It is designed to be interoperable with other protocols created around the world.

About Extrimian

Extrimian is a leading company in Latin America specializing in digital identity solutions on the blockchain. Its mission is to empower individuals and organizations through decentralized technologies that allow full control over digital identity and personal data.

About ZKsync

ZKsync leverages cutting-edge zero-knowledge (ZK) technology to create secure, scalable, and interoperable blockchain solutions. Through its ZK Stack framework, ZKsync enables developers, enterprises, and financial institutions to deploy customizable ZK Chains, forming the Elastic Chain ecosystem. This innovative network offers native, trustless interoperability, enhanced privacy, and unparalleled scalability while maintaining Ethereum’s security. ZKsync’s mission is to bring crypto to the mainstream, empowering millions of developers and billions of users with digital self-ownership and personal freedom. To learn more, users can visit zksync.io.

Contact

Henri Vies

mgroup@matterlabs.dev