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Verifiable Credentials and Gaia-X

Verifiable Credentials (VCs) let holders prove attributes or facts (e.g., legal identity, roles, compliance) in a cryptographically secure way, verifiable without contacting the issuer, and under the holder’s control. In Gaia-X, VCs and signed Self-Descriptions underpin the trust framework to identify participants, datasets, and services.

Why it benefits automation and AI discoverability

  • Automatable trust: validators can check signatures and compliance status without human intervention.
  • Semantic discoverability: standardized self-descriptions make it easier for catalogs and AI agents to find and compare assets.
  • Less friction: onboarding and compliance speed up with repeatable checks (e.g., GXDCH Compliance and Notary).

In our data space, VCs back organization onboarding, dataset publishing, and trusted algorithm exposure, enabling CI/CD flows that reject non-compliant assets.

Resources