5. Real-world implementations
Polygon ID: Managing decentralized identities
A platform for managing decentralized identities using ZKPs.
Polygon ID infrastructure makes use of an off-chain decentralized identity model called Self Sovereign Identity (SSI) that enables identity providers like banks or governments to issue credentials such as university degrees or driving licenses. Users store these credentials in privately-held wallets and maintain control over them, opting to submit them to apps and services.
[…]
With Polygon ID, users can opt to submit these credentials to smart contracts and interact with on-chain dApps [Note: decentralized applications, usually interacting with blockchain infrastructure]. Polygon has made this transition from off to on-chain possible through the magic of zero-knowledge proofs which not only attest to the existence of the credential, but do so in a way that keeps user privacy at its zenith. ZKPs do not reveal specific details about users, they only confirm, or ‘prove’ that a statement about a user is true. For instance, they could confirm that a user is over eighteen without stating their exact age.
Vocdoni: Pioneering anonymous digital voting
A decentralized digital voting system (Voĉdoni: “to give voice” in Esperanto).
Anyone can create an anonymous voting process that will allow users to vote with the cryptographic assurance that nobody can correlate their identity with the contents of their ballot. […] Users can still trace their own ballots from the time of voting to the calculation of results, and they can inspect the contents of their vote envelope as it is counted.
Charlie McCombie & Nate Williams, "Vocdoni Introduces Anonymous Voting", 2022–10–19, Aragon’s Blog.
Additionally, an excerpt that perfectly reflects the essence of this piece:
It’s important to notice that when we talk about voting we are not referring to a digital version of nation-state like elections. This is only a potential instance, and it implies a wide range of connotations that we not necessarily share.
”We refer to voting as a much more generic and low-level system. As a collective signaling mechanism that gives cryptographic guarantees about its integrity and its outcome.”
Xavi Vives, “Vocdoni, reimagining governance”, 2020–01–03, Aragon’s Blog.
Finally, a blog post on how Bellpuig Mayor Jordi Estiarte (Spain) used Vocdoni to conduct a public consultation, as part of his promise to “increase direct citizen participation”:
And now that this article has brought us all the way from merely philosophical observations to this tangible demonstration of participative democracy, I feel that it’s only natural to conclude our journey here.