What You’ll Learn

• What it means to hold your digital identity
• Who gives out digital credentials, and who checks them
• What it means to have consent and control

You Grow Your Own Branch

Before, identity data was stored in one place (like a government database). If someone wanted to verify something about you, they had to ask that source.

With decentralized identity, that changes. When a trusted organization (like your school or DMV) gives you a digital credential, it becomes a leaf you store on your own branch. You carry it in your digital wallet and share it yourself.

It’s like planting a tree where you own and manage all your identity leaves.

Who Grows and Checks the Leaves?

• “Issuers” are the trees that give you (the “holder”) leaves:
  
  • Your university gives you a diploma leaf
  • The DMV gives you a mobile ID leaf
  • Your employer gives you a work badge leaf
• “Verifiers” are the ones who inspect your leaves:
  
  • A bartender might check your age leaf
  • A hiring manager might check your education leaf
  • An airport might scan your ID leaf

Instead of asking the issuing tree for confirmation, they just check the glowing signature on the leaf itself, no calls, no paperwork, no delays.

Consent & Selective Sharing

You control your branch, so you control:

• Which leaf you show
• How much of it is shown
• Who gets to see it, and for how long

This is called selective disclosure. You reveal only the details needed, not everything.

For example: you can prove you’re over 21 without showing your name, address, or birthday.

You're not just a visitor in the digital forest anymore, you’re a full-grown tree.

‍