DIF Labs Beta Cohort Show & Tell

DIF Labs is committed to advancing impactful, real-world projects that are reshaping industries through decentralized identity. We’re not just building technology; we’re latching onto movements that are pushing the boundaries of human-centric digital trust. Our inaugural Beta Cohort brought together visionary teams dedicated to solving some of the toughest challenges at the intersection of identity, privacy, and digital assets. We couldn’t be prouder of the three standout projects from this first cohort—Veranon, Linked Claims, and Ordinals Plus—each demonstrating groundbreaking approaches to preserving human authenticity and trust in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.

As DIF Labs Co-Chair Daniel Thompson-Yvetot eloquently noted during the event, “It’s rare today to see a community of real humans coming together and thinking about stuff together… As progress marches forward, the work we’re seeing here in Labs today finds ways for us as humans to respect our humanity and enjoy that humanity.”

3 Innovative Projects Pushing The Boundaries Of Decentralized Identity

Veranon: Proving Personhood While Preserving Privacy

Alex Hache presented Veranon, a protocol enabling private, unique use of pre-verified identity with web services. Using zero-knowledge proofs, Veranon allows users to verify their identity once and then anonymously associate that verification with web services—keeping bots out while protecting privacy.

Alex demonstrated a compelling use case with a chat application where users could join only after proving their humanity through Veranon. This approach shows tremendous promise for creating spaces for authentic human interaction without compromising personal data.

“AI is advancing rapidly, and we will have continued need for human-centric web services, and that’s what Veranon is hoping to contribute,” Alex explained.

Linked Claims: Building a Web of Trust

The Linked Claims team, led by Gitonga Miriam and Golda Velez, presented an open pattern of addressable claims designed to establish trust in a world where AI can generate convincing but false credentials.

Their solution enables the creation of verified skill credentials that can be endorsed by peers, mentors, and educational institutions, building a web of trust around digital claims that are signed, portable, and machine-readable.

“In a world where AI has taken over the internet, it’s very hard to differentiate what is true from what is not true,” said Gitonga. “The only way to tell something is true is by somebody who you trust.”

The team demonstrated live applications showing how claims can be visualized in a graph, revealing the relationships between attestations and building confidence in their authenticity.

Ordinals Plus: Authenticating Digital Assets

Brian Richter presented Ordinals Plus, a project connecting Bitcoin ordinals with decentralized identity to create a more robust and trustworthy ecosystem for digital assets.

By adding an identity layer to Bitcoin ordinals, the project allows creators to prove they created specific inscriptions while helping collectors verify authentic collections—addressing a significant trust gap in the growing ordinals ecosystem.

Brian’s demonstration of the Strategic Ordinals Reserve website showed how these technologies can be applied practically, creating a curated collection of verified digital assets.

Looking Ahead

As our Beta Cohort concludes, we’re thrilled to announce that Beta Cohort 2 will kick off on May 20, with submissions opening in late April. We’re looking for projects that demonstrate strong relevance to existing activity in the decentralized identity space—projects that are driven by passionate teams with great ideas. DIF Labs has proven itself to be highly supportive of existing projects, offering mentorship and guidance to help teams refine their concepts and make a real impact.

Andor Kesselman, who has been instrumental in guiding the program, outlined themes for future cohorts, including personhood, credential content authenticity, cryptography, verifiable AI, and industry applications.

“We’ve learned a lot during this process, and we’re going to build onto that for the next round,” Andor shared.

A Thank You To The Involved Community

The success of our Beta Cohort wouldn’t have been possible without the dedicated mentors who volunteered their time and expertise. These industry leaders provided invaluable guidance to our teams, helping them refine their concepts and presentations.

Kim Duffy, reflecting on the broader significance of the projects, noted: “These projects speak to the core mission of decentralized identity – that people can achieve much more when they control their own digital identity. As AI improvements present both challenges and opportunities, it’s increasingly important that we build on solid foundations, enabling secure systems under individual control that protect and enhance our authentic human experience.”

A Call To Action: Please Consider Joining Our Journey

As DIF Labs continues to evolve, we invite you to be part of this exciting journey:

• For potential participants: Watch for announcements about our next cohort, which will likely feature a competitive application process. More info will be available at https://labs.identity.foundation/posts/
• For mentors and partners: Reach out if you’re interested in supporting the next generation of decentralized identity innovations
• For everyone: Explore the projects from our Beta Cohort and consider how these technologies might transform your own digital experiences

Together, we’re building a future where digital trust is possible, privacy is protected, and human connection remains at the center of our technological advances.

DIF Labs is an initiative of the Decentralized Identity Foundation, supporting projects that advance human-centric identity solutions. For more information, visit https://labs.identity.foundation/.