Advances and Challenges in Self-Sovereign Identity: Blockchain, Verifiable Credentials and Post-Quantum Security

Defining a digital identity system is relevant today due to the need for secure authentication and privacy protection in the digital environment. One of the relevant digital identity systems today is self-sovereign identity (SSI). Self-sovereign identity represents a model of distributed identity where the user is in complete control, owning, controlling and sharing their identity without relying on centralised authorities. Built on decentralised technologies such as blockchain and supported by standards like verifiable credentials and verifiable presentations, SSI enhances privacy, interoperability, and user autonomy. However, several challenges remain in terms of implementation and scalability, including the development of efficient selective disclosure and revocation mechanisms, the use of distributed ledger technologies (DLTs), the overall management and trust within SSI ecosystems and compliance with legal standards. Furthermore, most current SSI implementations, from credentials to DLT, rely on classical cryptographic primitives such as elliptic curve cryptography, which are vulnerable to emerging threats from quantum computing. With advancements in quantum technologies, there is an urgent need to rethink the cryptographic foundations of SSI systems.

This Research Topic aims to explore the implementation challenges and potential future evolution of self-sovereign identity systems. Key challenges include implementing efficient selective disclosure mechanisms, enabling secure and scalable revocation, and ensuring interoperability with existing standards. Additionally, it is necessary to investigate how SSI infrastructures—particularly those leveraging blockchain, standard verifiable credentials and presentations—can transition toward quantum-resistant security models. Additionally, the Research Topic seeks to address performance trade-offs, system complexity, and real-world deployment constraints. By fostering contributions that propose new protocols, architectures, and hybrid solutions, this topic aims to support the development of secure, privacy-preserving, and future-proof SSI systems that are practical for widespread adoption.

This Research Topic welcomes original research articles, comprehensive reviews, case studies, and perspective pieces that address the challenges and future directions of self-sovereign identity (SSI) systems, particularly in the context of post-quantum security. Key areas of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

- Blockchain-based identity infrastructures and decentralized identity (SSI) architectures

- Digital credentials, verifiable credentials, and verifiable presentations

- Selective disclosure mechanisms and privacy-preserving identity protocols

- Credential revocation models and lifecycle management in SSI systems

- Integration of post-quantum cryptography into SSI (e.g., lattice-based, hash-based, and hybrid approaches)

- Zero-knowledge proof systems (including zk-STARKs)

- Performance, scalability, and usability challenges in real-world SSI deployments

- Interoperability with existing standards and identity frameworks (e.g., W3C ecosystem)

- Security analysis, threat models, and quantum-resilience strategies for digital identity systems

- Real-world implementations, pilot studies, and benchmarking of SSI solutions

- Governance, trust models, and regulatory considerations in decentralized identity ecosystems

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Community Case Study
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Community Case Study
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Policy Brief
• Review
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Blockchain, self-sovereign identity, digital credentials, verifiable credentials, selective disclosure, credential revocation, verifiable presentations, post-quantum cryptography, zero-knowledge proofs, decentralized identity

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.