Buenos Aires Becomes the First City in Latin America to Launch Blockchain-Based Digital ID

Introduction

Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, is taking a significant step forward in incorporating blockchain technology into its bureaucracy. Beginning in October, the city's 15 million residents will have access to their identity documents through a digital wallet, according to an announcement made on September 28th.

A New Era of Digital Identity

The initial set of documents that will be available on the blockchain include birth and marriage certificates, as well as proof of income and academic verification. The announcement also mentions that health data and payment management will be integrated in the future. Additionally, a plan to roll out this blockchain-based solution across the country will be established by the end of 2023.

QuarkID: Securing the Future

QuarkID, a digital identity protocol developed by Web3 firm Extrimian, is the backbone of this project's infrastructure. QuarkID wallets are powered by zkSync Era, an Ethereum scaling protocol that utilizes zero-knowledge rollups. This technology allows one party to prove the truth of a statement without revealing specific information about the statement itself.

Guillermo Villanueva, CEO of Extrimian, stated, "This is a monumental step towards a safer and more efficient future for government services in Latin America."

Self-Sovereign Data Management

The data stored within the QuarkID wallets will be self-sovereign, which means citizens have control over the delivery of their credentials when interacting with government agencies, businesses, and individuals. The zkSync Era serves as the settlement layer for QuarkID, ensuring the accuracy of each citizen's credentials.

A Milestone for Latin America

The Argentine government and the City of Buenos Aires view their digital identity framework as a public good. Diego Fernandez, Buenos Aires' secretary of innovation, stated, "With this development, Buenos Aires becomes the first city in Latin America, and one of the first in the world, to integrate and promote this new technology and set the standard for how other countries in the region should use blockchain technology for the benefit of their people."

Other Blockchain-Based Initiatives

Argentine officials are also looking into another digital ID project, Worldcoin. In August, concerns were raised about Worldcoin's collection, storage, and use of customer data, prompting an investigation by local authorities. The project, founded by Sam Altman, co-founder of OpenAI, uses retinal scans to verify users and has faced scrutiny since its global launch in July, not just in Argentina, but also in Europe and Africa.