Effectiveness of Bluesky’s hybrid identity approach for mass onboarding and later decentralization

Determine whether Bluesky’s flexible identity management approach—default custodial key management with bsky.social subdomain handles and an option for self‑managed DIDs and domain‑based handles—can both enable onboarding of a large number of users initially and subsequently allow those users to assume greater control over their identities as decentralized identity solutions mature and user‑friendly interfaces become available.

Background

Bluesky’s default identity path prioritizes ease of use by automatically managing keys and providing bsky.social subdomain handles, while advanced users may opt for self‑managed domains and DIDs. Currently, most users choose the custodial option.

The authors note emerging ecosystem support (e.g., Namecheap) that may lower barriers to self‑managed identities, but explicitly state uncertainty about whether this flexible model will accomplish both mass onboarding and eventual migration to decentralized identity control.