How DIDs and Verifiable Credentials Are Used in ObjectID

ObjectID uses Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) and Verifiable Credentials (VCs) as the foundation of its trust, authenticity, and interoperability model. These technologies make it possible to identify entities, prove ownership, and verify authenticity—all without relying on centralized authorities.

This article explains how ObjectID implements DIDs and VCs to secure digital objects and link them to verified issuers.

What Is a DID in ObjectID?

In ObjectID, a DID uniquely identifies the entity that creates or owns a digital object. This can be:

A company (e.g., manufacturer, brand owner)
A person (e.g., artist, author)
A system (e.g., IoT device or certification engine)

When an object is published on the platform, the issuer signs it using their DID’s private key. This cryptographic proof ensures the object’s origin is authentic and traceable.

DID Types Supported

ObjectID currently supports:

did:iota – Native DID method for use within the IOTA ecosystem

Each DID is associated with a DID Document that contains:

Public keys
Service endpoints (optional)
Verification methods

What Is a Verifiable Credential in ObjectID?

A Verifiable Credential in ObjectID is used to represent structured claims about digital objects. For example:

“This product was manufactured by Company X”
“This work is an original piece by Artist Y”
“This document has been certified by Authority Z”

VCs are signed using the issuer’s DID, and they are:

Tamper-proof
Verifiable by third parties
Publicly accessible, if desired

How They’re Used Together

Here’s a simplified flow of how ObjectID uses DIDs and VCs:

Issuer Setup: An entity create a DID providing a seed to ObjectID.
A DID Document is created and published on IOTA distributed ledger.
A service endpoint is added to the DID Document, linking the DID to a user provided domain name.
a did-configuration.json file inclusing the signed Verifiable Credential is provided to the user. This file must be accessible by the domain provided.
Verification: Anyone can query the object and verify the VC:
- Is the signature valid?
- Is the issuer’s DID linked to a domain (via DLVC)?
- Is the object data unchanged?

Domain Verification (DLVC)

To reinforce trust, ObjectID supports Domain Linked Verifiable Credentials (DLVC). This means:

A domain (e.g., brand.com) publishes a signed credential proving ownership of the DID
Users and applications can verify that did:web:brand.com is really controlled by the website https://brand.com

Why This Matters

By using DIDs and VCs, ObjectID ensures that:

Identities cannot be forged or impersonated
Every digital object has a traceable, verifiable history
Trust is based on open cryptographic standards—not centralized platforms

This makes ObjectID ideal for anti-counterfeiting, supply chain traceability, authenticity verification, and certification systems.