Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, launches blockchain-based digital identity services.

The government of Buenos Aires, the capital city of Argentina, is launching a blockchain-based digital identity service called QuarkID, developed by Matter Labs using the zkSync Era technology. Residents can use QuarkID to obtain personal identification documents such as birth certificates and marriage certificates.

What is zkSync? zkSync has released its mainnet "zkSync Era" ahead of schedule, with developers emphasizing that tokens are not required at this stage.

Storing Official Certificates Related to Identity Using Blockchain Technology

According to a report by The Block, the city government of Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, is launching a digital identity service based on blockchain technology to store official certificates related to identity.

Buenos Aires has introduced the QuarkID wallet application, an application developed using blockchain technology by Matter Labs' zkSync Era rollup and technology provided by the Argentinian startup Extrimian.

Starting from October, residents of Buenos Aires can download the QuarkID wallet and obtain personal identity documents such as birth certificates and marriage certificates. In the coming months, more official certificates related to identity, such as income certificates, academic certificates, and welfare claim documents, will be available for download and storage in the QuarkID wallet.

Diego Fernandez, the Secretary of Innovation for the Buenos Aires city government, stated:

Buenos Aires is driving this new digital trust framework that returns data control to the individual, enabling more flexible and secure digital interactions between the government, companies, and people.

Equivalency Between Physical and Digital Documents

Pablo Mosquella, Chief Operating Officer of Extrimian, which is responsible for some technical support, stated that these certificates are issued from government platforms to individual ID wallets as "verified certificates."These certificates are stored on the user's device and can only be accessed by authorized individuals.

Initially, these documents will serve as replacements for the original paper documents, with the ultimate goal of transitioning everything to digital.

Mosquella mentioned that the local government has initiated necessary legislative reforms to give digital certificates the same legal effect as physical signature certificates. The relevant legislation is currently being drafted and is expected to be discussed in the next term.

Is Digital ID the Future Trend?

In 2021, South Korea began its digital ID initiative, aiming to provide blockchain-protected digital identities to citizens with smartphones by 2024, with a goal of having 45 million citizens adopt it within two years. The Director of the Korean Digital Management Agency estimated that this initiative could generate at least around $42 billion in economic value over ten years, equivalent to 3% of its GDP.

In Estonia, which started e-governance as early as 2002, the eID can be used across government and private enterprises, storing data such as health records, tax filing information, and telecommunication data on the blockchain.

While Taiwan has discussed digital ID cards, consensus has not been reached after multiple negotiations on special legislation, due to concerns about foreign infiltration, frequent cyber attacks, and surveillance of digital footprints.

For more information, please see: South Korea Plans to Introduce Digital ID, While Estonia Pioneered eID 20 Years Ago