“Login with IOTA” is the name of a new package of software solutions developed together with walt.id and compatible with the already established OpenID standard. Now IOTA is hoping for users.
The IOTA Foundation has been working on the topics of digital identities and self-management of personal data for quite some time. About a year ago, a call for tenders was launched to find a partner who would merge and optimize existing IOTA modules in such a way that a project called “Login with IOTA” would be ready for use. This has now been finalized with walt.id, a crypto development company based in Austria, and “Login with IOTA” has been unveiled for real-world use via a blog post.
IOTA writes that at its core are two solutions. One is “Identity and Access Management (IAM)”, which allows users to create digital identities and assign rights and additional information to them depending on the use case. This is done in conjunction with “Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI)”, whereby users determine precisely which information is shared when “Login with IOTA”. In general, it has been ensured that this universal solution is compatible with OpenID. OpenID has established itself as an alternative open-source standard in the area of digital identities and wants to compete with the offerings of Google, Facebook, Apple and Co.
The IOTA Foundation sees the great advantage that data is not stored centrally, as is the case with providers from the USA. “Login with IOTA” should become useful for managing crypto wallets, for example, but also come into play in the EU project EBSI, where IOTA took care of recycling cycles and international copyrights of the creative scene. “Login with IOTA” can already work with NFTs as well and is prepared for Web3, according to its self-presentation.
A similar project “Sign-in-With Ethereum” has already been live since late 2021 and relies on the Ethereum (ETH) ecosystem to guarantee decentralized structure. Cardano (ADA) also has digital identities identified as a use case and is expected to gain large-scale traction in Africa.
Conclusion: “Login with IOTA” more than a niche product?
The basic idea of gaining access to Internet services of all kinds via a self-managed digital identity is compelling. This is one reason why more than half a dozen providers are fighting for market share, and no solution has yet prevailed. The non-commercial OpenID as a connecting point for “Login with IOTA” was chosen carefully and could open doors towards civil society. First, however, users and online projects must be interested in “Login with IOTA” to enable a successful launch.
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