November 2025
DIF Website | DIF Mailing Lists | Meeting Recording Archive
Table of contents
- Decentralized Identity Foundation News; 2. Working Group Updates; 3. Special Interest Group Updates; 4. User Group Updates; 5. Announcements; 6. Community Events; 7. Get involved! Join DIF
🚀 Decentralized Identity Foundation News
DIF Steering Committee Election Results
We're pleased to announce the results of our Steering Committee elections, welcoming three new members who bring diverse expertise and perspectives to DIF's leadership:
- JC Ebersbach (identinet)
- Matt McKinney (ArcBlock, AIGNE)
- Eric Scouten (Adobe)
We welcome re-elected DIF Steering Committee members, including:
- Sam Curren (Indicio)
- Rouven Heck (Fidenexum)
- Markus Sabadello (DanubeTech)
These members will guide DIF's strategic direction, oversee working group activities, and strengthen connections across the growing decentralized identity ecosystem. Their combined experience in standards development, enterprise implementations, and emerging technology governance will be invaluable as DIF enters its next phase of growth.
🛠️ Working Group Updates
Browse our active working groups here
Trusted AI Agents Working Group
The Trusted AI Agents Working Group has made substantial process on its inaugural Agentic Authority Use Cases work item by creating use case clusters and architectural component mappings. Use cases span enterprise workflows, travel booking, calendar management, and supply chain scenarios. The group established a governance process for evaluating and advancing use cases, with emphasis on identifying stakeholders willing to drive implementation. Key discussions have focused on agent discovery mechanisms, trust registries, and the balance between decentralized identity approaches and traditional federation models.
The working group is exploring how existing DID and verifiable credential standards can be adapted for AI agents while considering unique requirements like delegation chains, authorization boundaries, and human oversight mechanisms. With strong participation from across the DIF community, the group aims to deliver concrete specifications and reference implementations by early 2026.
Hospitality & Travel Working Group
The HAT Pro specification advanced with Neil Thomson's automated schema generation tools using PlantUML and JSON Schema. The team developed comprehensive data models for travel profiles including identity, preferences, accessibility requirements, and relationships. Key architectural decisions established distinct branches for parallel development. Marketing expanded with outreach to Oracle, Marriott, and Hospitality Solutions. The group is developing use cases for AI-driven travel agents that maintain traveler control over personal information.
Creator Assertions Working Group
Finalized an interim trust model valid through March 2027, leveraging existing S/MIME governance programs. Integrated with IPTC Verified Publishers lists and Mozilla root stores with email trust bits enabled. Developed best practices for media identifier standards using EIDR and DDEX. Beginning work on agentic identity and AI-generated content provenance.
Applied Crypto Working Group
BBS+ work item reviewed recent academic security analyses, confirming robustness for practical applications. Advanced integration with device-bound credentials combining BBS with ECDSA for hardware security modules. Evaluating approaches for pseudonym systems and blind signatures. Examining post-quantum combinations for "everlasting privacy" guarantees and coordinating with IETF standardization efforts.
DID Methods Working Group
Conducted deep dives into did:webs (DID:web with KERI) and MDIP (Multidimensional Identity Protocol). MDIP uses IPFS for content addressing, supports multiple blockchains including Bitcoin and Litecoin testnets, with ~18,000 active DIDs. Refined the DIF recommendation process with updates to coordinated release strategy and formal review requirements.
Identifiers and Discovery Working Group
Finalized DID Traits v1.1 updates including well-known resource specifications and IANA registration processes. Patrick St-Louis showcased comprehensive DID:webvh server implementation with Explorer UI, GraphQL APIs, and BC digital trust integration. Addressed DID URL path resolution and service endpoint handling with proposed cascading fallback algorithm.
DIDComm Working Group
Explored post-quantum encryption approaches for DIDComm V3, focusing on key encapsulation mechanisms (FIPS 203) and hybrid encryption schemes. Reviewed new protocol proposals for workflow management, payment processing, vault coordination, and multi-signature documents. Evaluating CBOR encoding implementation and session management for ephemeral key exchange.
Claims & Credentials Working Group
Following the Credential Schema Specification 1.0 release, expanded work on business employment credentials and verified person credentials. Explored assurance levels for identity verification strength across different use cases. Began developing DIF membership credentials to demonstrate practical schema applications.
🌎 DIF Special Interest Group Updates
Browse our special interest groups here
DIF Hospitality & Travel SIG
The SIG hosted two key presentations this month. Google Wallet's team demonstrated their comprehensive digital identity vision for travel, including TSA integration, mobile driver's licenses, and privacy-forward data sharing through zero-knowledge proofs. The presentation drew over 100 participants and sparked discussions on wallet interoperability and EIDAS compliance.
Passive Bolt showcased frictionless hotel check-in using NFC technology, addressing the industry's low mobile key adoption rates. Their solution works with both existing infrastructure and future state-issued digital IDs, with deployment costs as low as $2,000 annually for a 200-room property.
APAC/ASEAN SIG
Terminal 3's Gary Liu presented on decentralized identity and privacy-enhancing technologies for AI agents, addressing trust and authorization challenges in agentic AI systems. The group explored Terminal 3's integration with Hedera blockchain and Open Campus ID, discussing regulatory compliance across APAC jurisdictions and data sovereignty requirements.
DIF Africa SIG
Focused on mobile-first credential management and offline verification capabilities for limited connectivity environments. Participants shared insights on regulatory frameworks across African nations and mechanisms for establishing trust without consistent internet access.
📢 Announcements
Ethereum Foundation PSE Grants Available for did:ethr Development
The Ethereum Foundation's Privacy and Scaling Explorations team has announced grant opportunities for advancing the did:ethr method specification. This funding opportunity aims to support development and standardization efforts for Ethereum-based DIDs, strengthening the intersection of blockchain technology and decentralized identity. Interested parties can learn more and apply at https://esp.ethereum.foundation/applicants/rfp/did_ethr_method_spec.
DIF Collaborates with Decentralization Research Center on Treasury Response
The Decentralized Identity Foundation collaborated with the Decentralization Research Center in responding to the US Treasury's Request for Comments, emphasizing the critical importance of self-sovereignty and fit-for-purpose design in systems handling people's identity data. The response highlighted how decentralized identity architectures can address regulatory concerns while maintaining user privacy and control. Read more about the collaborative response here.
🎉 Community Events
DevConnect and ZKID Day Coming Soon
Mark your calendars for DevConnect, featuring the dedicated ZKID Day focused on zero-knowledge identity solutions and privacy-preserving technologies. This event, starting November 17th, brings together developers, researchers, and implementers working at the intersection of zero-knowledge proofs and decentralized identity. Learn more about DevConnect at https://devconnect.org/ and register for ZKID Day at https://devconnect.org/calendar?event=zkid-day.
TRUSTECH 2025
DIF is partnering with TRUSTECH for their upcoming international event dedicated to innovative payment and identification solutions. TRUSTECH has provided the following information about their December 2-4 event at the Paris Porte de Versailles Exhibition Centre:
TRUSTECH offers a complete programme featuring conferences, keynotes, and pitch sessions, allowing participants to discover major innovations in key sectors such as: Biometrics, Innovative Payments, Cryptocurrencies, Smart Cards or Digital Identity.
TRUSTECH offers a complete programme featuring conferences, keynotes, and pitch sessions, allowing participants to discover major innovations in key sectors such as: Biometrics, Innovative Payments, Cryptocurrencies, Smart Cards or Digital Identity.
The event welcomes upstream technology providers in the payment sector offering solutions like smartcard manufacturing, secured frameworks and transaction processing infrastructures, as well as identification solutions providers for both private and public sectors, offering Civil ID documents, authentication systems and Identity Access Management solutions.
TRUSTECH promises three intense days of networking to exchange ideas and insights, discuss trends, discover the latest innovations and solutions, while connecting with an international audience from Europe, Africa, North and South America, and Asia.
👉 Learn more about the event program
👉 Register using DIF's partner code
Browse the DIF Calendar:
🆔 Join DIF!
If you would like to get in touch with us or become a member of the DIF community, please visit our website or follow our channels:
New Member Orientations
If you are new to DIF join us for our upcoming new member orientations. Find more information on DIF’s slack or contact us at community@identity.foundation if you need more information.
