Identity — AETHER

The core primitive

AETHER Identity is the trust anchor for every transaction on the network. Each account is bound to a decentralized identifier (DID) that holds verifiable credentials issued by accredited KYC providers, banks and government registries. The raw documents stay with the issuer.

A counterparty that needs to confirm one fact about a user (age, jurisdiction, sanctions status, accredited investor status) requests a zero-knowledge proof. The proof confirms that fact without disclosing the data behind it, and a fresh biometric challenge binds it, so nobody can replay it.

What it replaces

Re-KYC per provider. One verified credential works across every regulated party on the network, subject to issuer policy.
Document re-upload. Source documents stay with the original issuer. Counterparties verify proofs against the issuer.
Password and OTP flows. A biometric challenge against a sealed HSM template replaces the password layer.
Custom SSO per partner. AETHER acts as the identity provider for every service that integrates with the rail.

How it works

STEP 01

Enrol

The user enrols at any accredited issuer. The issuer seals the biometric template inside an HSM-backed enclave; raw biometrics never leave the device.

STEP 02

Bind

AETHER creates a DID, binds it to the sealed template, then issues verifiable credentials against it: KYC tier, jurisdiction, sanctions clear.

STEP 03

Prove

On each transaction the user signs a fresh challenge biometrically. The rail delivers a ZK proof of the required attribute to the counterparty.

What you get

Compliance posture: FATF Travel Rule, MiCA Title II, eIDAS 2.0 wallet-ready, FIDO2 / WebAuthn at the transport layer. Attested on every transaction, never point-in-time.
Privacy guarantee: Selective disclosure via BBS+ signatures. Counterparties learn the answer and nothing else. Audit trails store proofs instead of personal information.
Recovery: Threshold-based social recovery using MPC. No single party, AETHER included, can resurrect a lost identity alone.
Onboarding time: Median issuer flow: under 4 minutes for retail tiers. Institutional onboarding integrates with existing CDD providers via standard webhooks.

Verifying an attribute

aether-cli — identity verify

# Request a sanctions-clear proof for a counterparty DID
$ aether identity verify \
    --did did:aether:0xa0f…c12 \
    --claim sanctions.clear \
    --against OFAC,EU,UN,UK_HMT

✓ OK  proof 0xb3e…91d  issuer acme-kyc
       claim sanctions.clear = true
       freshness 42 ms  · biometric bound
       audit log → attest://aether/2026-06-03/0xb3e…91d

Integrate AETHER Identity

Pilot credentials, sandbox DIDs and a deployment architect, in under 48 hours.

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