In a groundbreaking move, Brazil is spearheading a transformative era in digital identity verification by harnessing the power of blockchain technology. This strategic initiative aims to enhance safety, efficiency, and streamline processes for its citizens.
The Brazilian government has unveiled ambitious plans to incorporate blockchain technology into its national identity program. Leading the charge in this pioneering endeavor are the states of Rio de Janeiro, Goiás, and Paraná.
Serpro, Brazil’s national data processing service, is taking the lead in developing a private blockchain platform to support the revenue service’s joint registry known as b-Cadastros. This blockchain network will revolutionize the search, issuance, and modification of new ID cards and tax numbers.
Alexandre Amorim, President of Serpro, underscores the pivotal role of blockchain technology in Brazil’s digital identification project, emphasizing its immutability and decentralization as core attributes.
At the heart of this initiative is the National Citizen Identity Card (ICN), a cutting-edge replacement for Brazil’s traditional paper identity cards. This project aims to centralize the national civil identification system and utilize the ICN database for authenticating users when accessing online public services. The new ICN card is a plastic card that enables users to generate a secure digital version, complete with a printed QR code for validation.
Beyond individual security and convenience, Brazil’s national ID project holds strategic significance in the battle against organized crime, fostering intergovernmental cooperation, simplifying service access, and streamlining administrative records. Additionally, the adoption of blockchain technology facilitates data exchange among government departments, particularly the Federal Revenue, a significant step towards consolidating identity issuance across Brazil’s diverse landscape of nearly 30 federal states.
Meanwhile, a parallel initiative has been unveiled in Buenos Aires, Argentina, allowing residents to access basic identification documents such as birth certificates, marriage certificates, and academic certificates through a digital wallet. This project relies on QuarkID, a solution developed by Web3 company Extrimian, and utilizes zkSync Era, an Ethereum scaling protocol based on zero-knowledge rollups.
Guillermo Villanueva, CEO of Extrimiano, highlights the monumental significance of this development for Latin America’s governance. He underscores that this initiative has the potential to set the benchmark for the integration of blockchain technology for the public good.
