A study states that there are advances in Latin America, but there are still limitations to its development. The region in general lags behind compared to countries in Europe and North America.
According to the second edition of the report “The Decentralized Digital Identity Ecosystem in the Latin American World 2020,” four elements are slowing the development and implementation of projects of this type in the region. The researchers indicate that some global, economic and understanding aspects of technology must be addressed.
The report states that the challenges that must be faced by Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) projects first pass through the existing disconnection between the blockchain world and the SSI world, the rigid vision of the status quo (governments, institutions), technological innovation such as marketing, and the lack of network provides support for the financing of SSI ventures.
The first two aspects not only cover Latin American countries but also have implications throughout the world, while the use of innovation-based marketing and the lack of economic support are regional challenges.
One of the authors of the research, Alex Preukschat, said that traditional organizations have a hard time trying to assimilate this kind of ideas how to monetize them and how to control them in some cases. The entrepreneur believes that blockchain communities, as well as companies and governments, do not participate very actively with the community of digital self-sovereign identity because that knowledge is still lacking.
Preukschat believes that there are interesting proposals in the region such as the DIDI project of the Bitcoin Foundation Argentina and the LACChain ID initiative of the Inter-American Development Bank. According to the report, this blockchain seeks to offer identification and authentication at all levels, following international standards for sovereign digital identity.
Establishing Structures
To change the picture in Latin America, it is necessary to establish structures that encourage the development of proposals among enthusiasts of this technology. The lack of chains that provide financing has reduced the mass of entrepreneurs that might contribute ideas to design alternatives for decentralized digital identity management.
Besides, a second transformation that must occur is that of large corporations and governments. The report notes that they tend to look at problems through the prism of centralization, which can often be “too rigid for transformative technology.”
According to the researchers, it can be concluded that SSI represents a global technological opportunity. However, they say that its ecosystem is still immature throughout the world, which could open the door to future opportunities.
Sovereign identity can be defined as a form of digital identity in which the user is the one who has control of his or her information. In other words, the person has the power to decide who can have access to those data and under what conditions. It should be noted that it is a decentralized service in which blockchains appear as potential drivers of this type of platform.
In the first edition of the report, up to 20 decentralized digital identity projects were submitted in Latin America, with development plans in Spain, Portugal, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Uruguay, and Costa Rica.
By Alexander Salazar
