The government of Catalonia has launched a new project, ‘IdentiCAT’ based on distributed ledger technology (DLT). It will create a decentralized and self-sovereign digital identity for the citizens of Catalonia.

The Minister of Digital Policy and Public Administration, Jordi Puigneró, has made the announcement of the project. It is a part of the government’s blockchain strategy which aims at boosting its use within public authorities and society. According to the government, the application of DLT is ideal for the development of Self-Sovereign Digital Identity. This is because it provides a secure, immutable, resilient and unchangeable layer. With this project, citizens can create and manage their own identities via mobile apps or computer devices. They can do it with full legal effectiveness and privacy. Thus, the government will act as a validator of the Self-Sovereign Digital Identity and will not have custody of the data.

IdentiCAT is in line with the elDAS regulations, which aim at guaranteeing mutual recognition and acceptance of electronic IDs between EU countries. Also, elDAS is working towards providing a legal framework for their use in other member states. This thus implies that citizens can use IdentiCAT to have access to online services and process electronic transactions in any EU Member State as per the source.