Design-Pattern-as-a-Service for Blockchain-based Self-Sovereign Identity

Abstract: Self-sovereign identity (SSI) is considered to be a "killer application" of blockchain. However, there is a lack of systematic architecture designs for blockchain-based SSI systems to support methodical development. An aspect of such gap is demonstrated in current solutions, which are considered coarse grained and may increase data security risks. In this paper, we first identify the lifecycles of three major SSI objects (i.e., key, identifier, and credential) and present fine-grained design patterns critical for application development. These patterns are associated with particular state transitions, providing a systematic view of system interactions and serving as a guidance for effective use of these patterns. Further, we present an SSI platform architecture, which advocates the notion of Design-Pattern-as-a-Service. Each design pattern serves as an API by wrapping the respective pattern code to ease application development and improve scalability and security. We implement a prototype and evaluate it on feasibility and scalability.