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Microsoft to Use Bitcoin Network for Digital Identity Program

Microsoft Digital Identity

As one of the biggest software companies in the world by revenue and one of the biggest companies on the US stock market with $966.8 billion, Microsoft had shown great interest in the blockchain technology since 2017 and now it seems like a new impressive project will come to life.

At the beginning of May 2019, the company announced its fully managed Azure Blockchain Service, a platform that will allow users to build blockchain-based applications on a preconfigured network, aiming to “simplify the formation, management, and governance of consortium blockchain networks”.

Microsoft’s DID network

The latest information from Microsoft shows that the company wants to develop a vast blockchain plan which aims to build a decentralized identity (DID) network atop of the Bitcoin network, in order to empower users at a global scale to take full control over their personal data.

With regards to Microsoft trading with trade.com, the company had a great future ahead, since it is already paying such strong attention to innovative technology like the blockchain, a factor that could further increase its global dominance in the software industry.

Digital identity is not a new concept and has been discussed by the United Nations as a solution to aid refugees, which form a vast part of the undocumented population. With the latest Microsoft concept labeled Identity Overlay Network (ION), digital identity can be possible on top of the Bitcoin network and it can accommodate tens-of-thousands of operations per second.

What ION does is that it enables people to get control over their data via the management of their Public Key Infrastructure (PKI). With a DID, any user can control personal data like login details or photos, a feature which is not currently available on social platforms like Facebook or Instagram.

According to official information from Coindesk, Facebook had been invited by Microsoft to take part in the DID concept, but the company refused, further fueling concerns that it exploits user personal data.

Even though Microsoft will need to overcome issues like the Bitcoin scalability in order to make an infrastructure for mass usage, the idea of creating digital identity will certainly gain traction with time, and companies using personal data behind closed doors, without their users’ awareness, will need to adapt or lose confidence. Paypal is another important company interested in the DID concept, after recently investing in the Cambridge Blockchain startup.

Image credit: Pixabay

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