Verifiable Credentials Data Model v2.0

Source: W3C Author: W3C Date: 2025

Core idea

Verifiable credentials provide a standard way to express claims in a cryptographically secure, machine-verifiable, and privacy-respecting form, including selective presentation and portable verification.

Key claims

• Claims about a subject can be carried and verified without requiring one central account system.
• Presentations can disclose only the claims needed for a particular interaction.
• Credentials and presentations form a portable attestation layer across organizations and software systems.

Harness takeaway

A sovereignty-preserving harness should represent roles, approvals, memberships, and bounded capabilities as portable attestations rather than as one global reputation field on an identity.