Tencent Cloud joins forces with ShareRing to launch blockchain digital ID platform

Published at: Nov. 17, 2020

Tencent Cloud is joining forces with blockchain company ShareRing to launch a new digital identification system to streamline international travel amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 

As the South China Morning Post reported Tuesday, ShareRing will combine its distributed ledger technology with Tencent Cloud's services to create a blockchain-based digital identity management platform.

Specifically, ShareRing will use Tencent Cloud’s optical character recognition and facial recognition technology to help improve its “self-sovereign identity app.” In its current form, the app can be used to book flights, hotel reservations, car rentals and a variety of other services.

In a joint statement, Tencent Cloud and ShareRing said the aim of this partnership is to help Southeast Asian countries “reopen their borders to tourism and recover from the economic blow” of COVID-19.

The travel and tourism industry has been ravaged by global lockdowns, with S&P Global Ratings forecasting a 60% to 70% drop in global air traffic this year. 

The companies indicated that the platform has already received interest from various government agencies in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which includes 10 member states.

Blockchain technology has long been touted as a potential value-driver of digital recognition systems. Blockchain is said to provide more secure management and storage of digital identities, which may enable seamless travel, background checks, health record collection and streamlined Know Your Customer protocols.

This isn’t the first time Tencent Cloud has been linked to blockchain product development. As Cointelegraph previously reported, the tech conglomerate previously built a wine traceability platform for China’s oldest wine producer. Tencent is also backing a blockchain consortium called FISCO BCOS through its WeBank entity. 

ShareRing did not immediately respond to a request for comment

Update 20:35pm ET 12/1/20: An earlier version of this story referred to Tencent. It has been updated to note that Tencent Cloud is working with ShareRing.

Tags
Blockchain
Identity
Identification
Tencent
Related Posts
Blockchain identity market to grow $3.58B by 2025, report claims
A new report on the potential for blockchain identity management solutions to become integrated across sectors has forecast strong growth for its global market, at a compound annual rate of close to 71%. The report grounds its predictions on a study broken down into segments by sector — e.g., government, healthcare, banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI), geography, and applications. It was published by the Lyon-headquartered market research solution provider ReportLinker. Drawing on an analysis of several existing blockchain identity management market vendors — Accenture, Amazon, Bitfury Group, Civic Technologies and others — the report expects the total global market …
Adoption / Aug. 2, 2021
Credential-focused blockchain is moving mainnet to proof-of-stake
A blockchain platform that allows businesses and developers to issue and manage verifiable credentials has announced that it is transitioning to a proof-of-stake algorithm. Dock says the switch to PoS will further decentralize its network — increasing the number of validators involved in securing its infrastructure, and enhancing governance measures. Until now, the project’s blockchain has been based on a proof-of-authority algorithm, where validators were selected by the Dock Association, a nonprofit organization. The move to PoS means that validators will now be chosen by the network based on how many Dock tokens have been locked up to back their …
Technology / July 5, 2021
Japanese payments firm JCB and Mizuho Bank test blockchain-based ID
Major financial institutions in Japan are moving into blockchain to streamline digital identity systems. Japan’s third-largest bank, Mizuho Bank, and local payment giant JCB are preparing to pilot a digital identity interoperability system based on blockchain technology. The new system will utilize a blockchain solution developed by Fujitsu Laboratories, Fujitsu announced on Thursday. The new joint initiative will allow the companies to verify mechanisms to securely transfer and link member ID information by multiple business operators. This data includes names, addresses and employers stored on a cloud platform built by Fujitsu. The pilot will also involve 100 Fujitsu Group employees. …
Technology / Oct. 19, 2020
Five Canadian Banks Employ SecureKey Blockchain System to Identify Users
Five Canadian banks will be employing a blockchain-based user identification system developed by tech startup SecureKey Technologies, Bloomberg reports on May 1. Per the report, the Verified.Me digital identity system is now available to clients of the Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto-Dominion Bank, Bank of Nova Scotia, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and Desjardins Group. The service will soon be available to users of the services provided by the Bank of Montreal and National Bank of Canada as well, while Sun Life Financial will reportedly be the first North American insurer to use the system. Bloomberg quotes SecureKey CEO Greg …
Blockchain / May 1, 2019
IEEE Blockchain Identity of Things standardization working group kicks off
Six worldwide corporations have banded together to start the IEEE blockchain Identity of Things standardization. According to IEEE Chair of the Identity of Things Working Group Dr. Xinxin Fan, researchers from Lockheed Martin, Ericsson, Lenovo, Huawei, Bosch, IoTeX and China Academy of Information and Communications Technology are developing the global standards for blockchain-based decentralized identities in an effort that commenced two years ago. Related: Decentralized identity can bring the analog world into the digital one After two years of research, the six major global businesses have provided the proof of concept for blockchain-based decentralized identification (DID) for IoT devices, which …
Adoption / Dec. 14, 2021