Reusable identity
Also known as: Reusable KYC · Proof of personhood · Decentralized identity · Verifiable credentials
A model in which a person verifies their identity once and reuses that proof across many services, carrying a verifiable credential instead of redoing KYC from scratch at every sign-up.
Legal basis
W3C — Verifiable Credentials Data Model 2.0
Today every service repeats the same verification, and the person resubmits the same documents dozens of times. Reusable identity flips that: verify once and issue a verifiable credential that other services accept without redoing the whole process. The W3C standards — *Verifiable Credentials* and *Decentralized Identifiers* (DIDs) — provide the format for that proof to be checked without calling back the party that issued it.
Two related ideas follow. Proof of personhood aims to guarantee that behind an account there is a single, unique human and not a bot or a duplicate. And decentralized identity gives the holder control over which attributes they share — proving they are over 18 without revealing the date of birth, for example. The gain is less friction and less repeated data scattered around; the challenge is trust: who relies on a verification someone else performed.
Frequently asked questions
What is reusable KYC?
It is verifying identity once and reusing that proof — as a verifiable credential — across other services, without redoing the full KYC at every sign-up. It cuts friction for the person and repeated document collection, relying on verifiable-credential and decentralized-identity standards.