Fractal ID & Polygon ID: A Powerful Duo for Decentralized Identity Adoption

Gaayatree Sneha Sharma

Published in

Fractal ID

7 min readMar 6, 2023

Fractal ID and Polygon ID are collaborating to make decentralized identity adoption a reality in the Web3 blockchain ecosystem.

1. Introduction

Fractal ID has teamed up with Polygon ID — a decentralized, self-sovereign identity infrastructure for Web3 that is powered by Polygon. As part of the collaboration, Fractal ID will work to power Polygon ID’s KYC/AML processes and user onboarding.

Together, Polygon ID and Fractal ID will work to pave the way for a full-fledged solution covering all parts of value creation in Web3 identity verification. The collaboration aims to move decentralized and digital identities beyond the Proof-of-Concept stage into mass adoption.

Let’s dive into the details!

2. Tapping into the massive Polygon Ecosystem

2.1 Polygon Ecosystem

Polygon operates as a cryptocurrency and blockchain scaling platform built on Ethereum and enables different Ethereum compatible blockchain networks to connect, build scalable user-friendly dApps and benefit from additional features.

2.2 Polygon ID

To better empower users Polygon ID was launched in 2022 as an on-chain identity verification system that enables “self-sovereign, decentralized and private” digital identities on the blockchain. Powered by zero-knowledge (ZK) cryptography, Polygon ID leverages the Iden3 protocol and aims to put users firmly in control of their data, by providing scalable and private on-chain identity verification to boost decentralized apps and decentralized finance. Together, Fractal ID and PolygonID’s technical capabilities will be geared towards realizing a human-centered Web3 space powered by SSI benefits with privacy at its core.

“We believe that identity is a crucial building block for the growth of Web3. The integration of Fractal ID’s DID protocol with Polygon ID will create a secure and user-friendly digital identity solution, paving the way for decentralized identity adoption. We are excited to have Fractal IDin the ecosystem to offer users a seamless and privacy-focused identity verification experience.”

- Otto Mora, Polygon ID Team

3. The Fractal ID Vision

3.1 A Multi-Chain Digital Identity Protocol for Web3

Fractal ID is a vertically integrated Web3 identity solution provider, building a decentralized identity stack that works for everyone, everywhere. Founded in 2017 and with nearly 1 Million users, Fractal ID is a digital identity protocol built for a multi-chain world. With Fractal ID, any dApp on any chain can leverage identity verification. Web3 platforms and ecosystems are empowered by Fractal ID technology to meet data and regulatory standards, including GDPR compliance, as well as user verification via KYC/AML checks. Additionally, Fractal ID provides projects with tools to detect and protect against bots, while also verifying human liveliness.

3.2 Fractal ID and Polygon: Expanding an erstwhile collaboration

The two projects already worked together. As part of its multi-chain strategy, Fractal ID’s technological stack was integrated into the Polygon ecosystem in 2022 enabling on-chain identity verification.

“Polygon ID has the potential to become the first widely used decentralized identity application in Web3. The Polygon ecosystem will massively profit from the availability of such a basic — yet mostly missing — piece of infrastructure.”

-Julian Leitloff, Co-Founder at Fractal ID

4. Fractal ID and Polygon ID: An ambitious collaboration to kickstart large-scale DID adoption

Fractal ID’s integration with Polygon ID is focused on developing a comprehensive and user-friendly digital identity solution with easy KYC/AML checks that can be widely adopted in the Web3 ecosystem. There are a number of important benefits that this collaboration brings for the Polygon ecosystem.

4.1 Breaking ground comes with challenges

Polygon will be the first ecosystem to have a full-fledged Web3 identity solution, which is expected to come with all its own set of challenges. From regulatory pressure to the risk of fraudulent activity such as bots and spam, the stakes are high. With Fractal ID’s technology, Polygon is able to ensure minimized risks, creating a more secure and trustworthy identity system for its users.

4.2 Unlocking large-scale applications on Polygon

When it comes to dApps that require trust and security, identity verification of users is crucial. Fractal ID, by enabling a comprehensive and reliable identity verification will help make the Polygon platform more attractive and secure to all types of large-scale user applications like online games, social media and brand applications. This way, users can feel confident that their personal data is protected, and projects can be assured that the user base is authentic and trustworthy.

4.3 Protecting user privacy

Polygon ID enables data scarcity on Polygon which ends the practice of throwing highly personalized KYC information into opaque Web2 funnels and servers which can pose risks to privacy and security. From now on, owing to Fractal ID technology, Polygon ID will enable a more transparent and secure approach to users’ data collection and management. Together, Fractal ID and Polygon ID are empowering user privacy while still ensuring that the necessary level of KYC is achieved.

5. Uncovering the Tech: How will the integration work?

By combining Fractal ID’s and Polygon ID’s expertise, this collaboration brings a paradigm shift in the Web3 identity landscape, putting the power back in the hands of users. Fractal ID will help Polygon ID users with several important aspects of identity verification, such as attestation issuance, distribution, and revocation. Additionally, Fractal ID will provide a simple onboarding process and assist with node operations to make it easier for users to get started with Polygon ID.

This is how it will work:

When users onboard with Fractal ID, they will be able to issue a credential signed by Fractal ID to their Polygon ID wallet (or any ID wallet that supports Polygon ID). They can then present those credentials to dApps in order to gain access to products and services that require authentication. For example, a gaming platform might want to confirm that each of their players are real people or a DeFi platform may want to confirm investors have completed a basic KYC check.

6. Seamless on-boarding and access to dApps — All in one click!

Leveraging Fractal ID’s DID credentials issuance enables users to engage with different Polygon dApps all by undergoing one single verification process. The process is simple for new users. All that needs to happen is for the user to create an account with Fractal ID, upload identity documents like passport, national identity card etc. and submit. A team of identity specialists will verify these documents, run an AML check and upon successful verification, issue verifiable credentials that you can selectively disclose to access different dApps on Polygon.

7. Conclusion

The collaboration between Fractal ID and Polygon ID is a major milestone in the world of decentralized identity verification. Together, these two projects are on a mission to make decentralized identity adoption a reality for everyone, everywhere. By powering Polygon ID’s identity verification processes and user onboarding, Fractal ID is paving the way for a comprehensive and user-friendly digital identity solution that can be widely used in the Web3 ecosystem. The aim is to support users onboard Polygon and its vast dApp ecosystem to generate real-world traction.

With this integration, Polygon is poised to become the first ecosystem to have a holistic Web3 identity solution, and the benefits are enormous. From unlocking large-scale applications on Polygon to protecting user privacy and minimizing the risk of fraudulent activity, this collaboration has the potential to transform the way we interact with decentralized apps (dApps) and decentralized finance (DeFi).

So, get ready for a human-centered Web3 space powered by self-sovereign identity benefits with privacy at its core. The future is looking bright for decentralized identity verification, thanks to the ambitious first step by Fractal ID and Polygon ID to kickstart large-scale DID adoption.

About Polygon ID

Polygon ID is a blockchain-native identity system with programmable privacy that empowers people and enables the creation of trusted interactions with web3 services. Polygon ID is currently under development. The solution will be structured as a set of tools, platform services and examples for developers to learn, test and integrate with their apps or dApps leveraging Polygon ID’s unique on-chain capabilities.

About Fractal ID

Fractal ID is the leading identity solution provider for web3 ecosystems. We are building a vertically integrated identity stack that works for everyone, everywhere. To transform decentralized identity adoption into reality, Fractal ID is currently building the idOS — the identity layer of web3.

If you are interested in exploring how web3-native identity solutions (DIDs) can help your business, book a meeting with our team.