The chain shouldn't store your data: anchoring proofs, not data

Short summary

Modern decentralized identity systems should anchor cryptographic proofs on-chain while storing personal data in user-controlled pods, not on-chain. Solidus implements this by storing only issuer keys, revocation references, and DID roots on-chain. This solves Tim Berners-Lee's 2015 critique: blockchain is too slow, expensive, and public for personal data.

• •Blockchain identity has matured from storing all data on-chain to anchoring only cryptographic proofs
• •Solidus stores three on-chain components per user: issuer keys, revocation references, DID roots; personal data stays in encrypted user-controlled pods
• •Relying parties verify credentials using on-chain issuer keys without seeing underlying data, enabling selective disclosure via BBS+ signatures

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