The government of the City of Buenos Aires announced this Tuesday the integration of QuarkIDa decentralized identity solution powered by ZKsyncon your platform miBA. This innovative initiative makes Buenos Aires the first city in the world to implement blockchain and zero-knowledge cryptography to create self-sovereign digital identities.
“By providing 3.6 million residents with greater control over their personal data, the city sets a new standard in privacy and security for digital identity management,” the City Government points out,
And as of October 1, 2024, all active users of miBA, the city’s digital platform to access government services and documents, received their own decentralized digital identity (DID). These DIDs are secured by the wallet QuarkID and settled in Eraa Layer 2 blockchain powered by ZKsync.
“This initiative positions Buenos Aires as a pioneer in the transformation of government services through blockchain technology, establishing a new global standard for privacy-focused digital identity,” they added.
Empower citizens with ownership and control
Experts explain that in a world in which governments and institutions are traditionally the owners and managers of citizens’ data, Buenos Aires is turning the model on its head by giving citizens direct ownership of their personal information. Through QuarkID, People can now access, store and share their verified credentials –such as birth certificates or tax documents – securely and independently.
This autonomous identity approach gives citizens control over their personal data. Instead of relying on physical documents that expose unnecessary information such as full name or address to prove age, residents can now verify their credentials peer-to-peer through their mobile devices. “This ensures that no third party, including the Administration, can track when, how or why a credential is used,” they say.
In that sense, Jorge Macri, Head of Government of the City of Buenos Airescommented: “The incorporation of zero-knowledge blockchain technology to the City’s digital identity system is an unprecedented milestone that positions us globally and demonstrates once again that the City of Buenos Aires is at the forefront of innovation. “Adopting new technologies that simplify citizen procedures and give them full control over their information is a fundamental step to continue offering more secure and transparent digital solutions.”
Advantages of decentralized identity
At the core of this initiative is QuarkID’s open source digital trust framework, powered by blockchain technology ZKsync’s zero-knowledge proof, which brings a new level of security, privacy and transparency to the management of personal data:
- 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 necessary information is revealed – for example, confirming an individual’s age without revealing their full date of birth, 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 no longer rely on centralized systems that hold 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. Verification of these credentials occurs through a secure peer-to-peer system, with zero-knowledge proofs ensuring that personally identifiable information (PII) is never exposed.
- Open and scalable source: QuarkID architecture is open source and has been recognized as a Digital Public Good (BDP) working to achieve the SDGs established by the United Nations. Making it accessible to cities, governments and private companies throughout 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 use cases, such as government services, by empowering citizens to securely own their data,” commented Diego Fernández, Secretary of Innovation and Digital Transformation of the City of Buenos Aires.
He added: “By giving residents control over their identities, we are not only improving privacy and security, but we are also laying the foundation for a future where ownership of personal data is a basic right, protected by advanced cryptographic proofs based on zero knowledge.”
QuarkID: present and future
Since the initial announcement of QuarkID in September 2023, Buenos Aires has worked closely with partners such as They extriminate to transition from miBA’s centralized system to a decentralized one. QuarkID allows residents to view, download and share documents, while serving as an access portal to all government systems to schedule appointments, complete paperwork or submit applications. Citizens can now access any of the City’s systems (previously miBA login) simply by scanning a QR code, without the need for a password.
With the QuarkID integration, miBA users will have access to more than 60 digital documents and certificates, including:
- Birth, marriage and death certificates
- Student certificates
- Vaccination certificates
- Gross income tax certificates
- Citizen credentials
In the coming months, other documents will be added, such as driving licenses, permits for public spaces and high school diplomas. This innovation will also allow users to add credentials from other organizations that adopt the QuarkID protocol, improving the versatility and usability of the platform.
In addition to its use in Buenos Aires, QuarkID has successfully carried out pilot programs in Mexico, Colombia and Peru, and its future adoption is planned in other Argentine provinces, such as Tucumán, Salta and Jujuy.
Diego Fernández, Secretary of Innovation and Digital Transformation of the Government of the City of Buenos Aires commented:
How to participate?
As an open source digital public good, QuarkID invites developers, companies and institutions to contribute to its continued growth. The framework offers a secure, decentralized infrastructure that can be tailored for logins, insurance, identity verification, and even loyalty programs across various sectors.
- Developers: Contribute to the core QuarkID protocol to help expand secure login capabilities for citizens. Learn more and participate through the open source database at [enlace GitHub].
- Private companies: Banks, sports teams and businesses are encouraged to enable secure logins and offer exclusive benefits to verified citizens, helping to build a safer and more attractive ecosystem for everyone.
Source: Ambito
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