Self-Sovereign Digital Identity System for Smart Cities: A Pilot Project with Trustchain and Hyperledger Indy in the Municipality of Santa Rosa
Abstract
In a smart city context increasingly dependent on big tech platforms, this paper presents the implementation and validation of a system integrating Trustchain and Hyperledger Indy for decentralised citizen identification in accessing environmental data in Santa Rosa (RS), Brazil, addressing the need to mitigate centralised data vulnerability while preserving privacy and self-sovereignty. Through a mobile application that requires verifiable credentials, the proposed solution demonstrates the feasibility of the hybrid architecture, consistent performance in digital identity creation and verification metrics, and a stable registration and query workflow, positioning itself as an effective identity management mechanism for smart cities.
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Albugmi, A. (2025). Hybrid smart iot detection and prevention framework for smart cities using blockchain technology. International Journal of Advanced and Applied Sciences, 12(4):107–115.
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Castanho, C., Frantz, R., Chequin, M., Sawicki, S., Roos-Frantz, F., Molina-Jimenez, C., Crowcroft, J., and Hobson, T. (2025). Unlocking the potential of decentralised digital identification systems for smart cities. In Anais do III Colóquio em Blockchain e Web Descentralizada, pages 7–12, Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil. SBC.
Hobson, T., France, L., Greenbury, S., Hare, L., and Wochner, P. (2023). Trustchain – trustworthy decentralised public key infrastructure for digital credentials. IET Conference Proceedings, 2023(14):31–40.
Mühle, A., Grüner, A., Gayvoronskaya, T., and Meinel, C. (2018). A survey on essential components of a self-sovereign identity. Computer Science Review, 30:80–86.
Preukschat, A. and Reed, D. (2021). Self-sovereign identity - decentralized digital identity and verifiable credentials. In Co., M. P., editor, Self-Sovereign Identity livebook, chapter Why the internet is missing an identity layer—and why SSI can finally provide one, page 504. Manning Publications Co.
Quy, V. K., Hau, N. V., Anh, D. V., Quy, N. M., Ban, N. T., Lanza, S., Randazzo, G., and Muzirafuti, A. (2022). Iot-enabled smart agriculture: Architecture, applications, and challenges. Applied Sciences, 12(7).
Rellington, J. (2025). Self-Sovereign and Decentralized Identity: The Future of Identity Management. Independently Published.
Schardong, F. and Custódio, R. (2022). Self-sovereign identity: A systematic review, mapping and taxonomy.
Sedlmeir, J., Smethurst, R., Rieger, A., and Fridgen, G. (2021). Digital identities and verifiable credentials. Business & Information Systems Engineering, 63(5):603–613.
Toth, K. C. and Anderson-Priddy, A. (2019). Self-sovereign digital identity: A paradigm shift for identity. IEEE Security Privacy, 17(3):17–27.
Zhao, X., Zhong, B., and Cui, Z. (2023). Design of a decentralized identifier-based authentication and access control model for smart homes. Electronics, 12(15):3334.
Published
2026-07-19
How to Cite
CASTANHO, Carla O.; CHEQUIN, Marcelo P.; SAWICKI, Sandro; FRANTZ, Rafael Z..
Self-Sovereign Digital Identity System for Smart Cities: A Pilot Project with Trustchain and Hyperledger Indy in the Municipality of Santa Rosa. In: COLLOQUIUM ON BLOCKCHAIN AND DECENTRALIZED WEB (CBLOCKCHAIN), 4. , 2026, Gramado/RS.
Anais [...].
Porto Alegre: Sociedade Brasileira de Computação,
2026
.
p. 41-46.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5753/cblockchain.2026.23616.