Project Proposal: hiero-identity-standards

[Reccetech]

This proposal is to create the new project hiero-identity-standards at Hiero.

Suggested name under Hiero
hiero-identity-standards

Supporters of the project
keith-kowal
dianemueller

Project Description
The hiero-identity-standards project will provide a dedicated home for identity-related standards under Hiero governance. Its purpose is to host, version, and maintain specifications that define how decentralized identity standards are implemented on Hiero networks.

The initial scope of the repository will include:

1. Hedera AnonCreds v1.0 Method
   Anoncreds method hosted at DSRCorporation/hedera-anoncreds-method
2. DID:Hedera v1.0 Method
   DID method hosted at [hashgraph/did-method](https://github.com/hashgraph/did-method).
3. DID:Hedera v2.0 Method
   DID method currently hosted at [Swiss-Digital-Assets-Institute/did-method](https://github.com/Swiss-Digital-Assets-Institute/did-method).

All standards in this repository will be created, evolved, and maintained through the Hiero HIP process. This ensures consistency, community participation, and structured governance for every change or addition.

Background
Identity standards play a foundational role in decentralized ecosystems. By publishing clear, versioned specifications for identity methods on Hiero networks, we ensure:

• Implementer Clarity: Anyone can build compatible SDKs, wallets, and agents that adhere to these standards.
• Ecosystem Interoperability: Anyone interfacing with implementations can reliably understand their behavior and operation.
• Community Inclusivity: Both Hiero contributors and third-party developers can build against these standards without ambiguity.
• Governance and Evolution: The repo provides a transparent home for iterative updates, discussions, and governance over identity-related standards.
• Accessibility: Hosted documentation sites (e.g., similar to [DSR’s AnonCreds Method docs](https://dsrcorporation.github.io/hedera-anoncreds-method/)) make the standards easier to consume, ensuring faster adoption by developers and integrators.

The Hiero HIP process guarantees that proposals for new standards, or modifications to existing ones, undergo open review and approval before adoption, aligning Hiero identity methods with W3C DID standards, Hyperledger AnonCreds, and other industry-wide specifications.

Repo Summary
The hiero-identity-standards repository will:

• Contain multiple specifications as Markdown documents, each defining a standard identity method.
• Maintain version history and changelogs for each method.
• Provide references to existing implementations (e.g., Python/JS SDKs, ACA-Py plugins).
• Act as the canonical reference for ecosystem participants implementing or integrating Hiero identity standards.
• Support automatic generation of hosted documentation sites (e.g., via GitHub Pages or equivalent tooling) so each standard can be easily navigated and referenced online.

Initial documents to be migrated into the repo:

• DSRCorporation/hedera-anoncreds-method
• hashgraph/did-method
• Swiss-Digital-Assets-Institute/did-method

State of the project
We will start the project from scratch in Hiero. Existing specifications will be migrated into the new repository as the initial commits.

Initial Maintainers
keith-kowal
dianemueller
Harasz
ChangoBuitrago

Initial Committers
keith-kowal
AlexanderShenshin
ChangoBuitrago

Vision of the project
The project should serve as the canonical home for decentralized identity standards on Hiero networks. By doing so, it will:

• Provide clarity for developers implementing identity methods.
• Ensure that verifiers, issuers, and wallets have a common reference point for integration.
• Align Hiero with broader identity ecosystems by formally publishing its standards.
• Enable community review, transparency, and long-term governance of identity methods.
• Guarantee that all standards are developed and maintained through the Hiero HIP process, ensuring open participation and consistent quality.

Over time, the repository may expand to include additional identity-related standards (e.g., ZKP Identity standards methods, interoperability guidelines with other VCs/DID methods, and future Hiero identity extensions).

[ChangoBuitrago]

Hi @Reccetech,
This is an excellent and much-needed proposal.

Centralizing our identity standards into a single, canonical repository is the right move to eliminate fragmentation and provide clarity for all developers. Placing it under the governance of the HIP process ensures stability and a transparent path for future evolution.

This is a foundational step toward maturing the Hiero identity ecosystem, and it has our full support.

@Harasz and I would be delighted to contribute as maintainers.

[ChangoBuitrago]

There is a minor mistake in the list of documents. The markdown formatting should be corrected and the duplicate link should be replaced. It should be changed to:

Initial documents to be migrated into the repo:

• DSRCorporation/hedera-anoncreds-method
• hashgraph/did-method
• Swiss-Digital-Assets-Institute/did-method

[Reccetech]

Thanks @ChangoBuitrago . Changes made.

[Reccetech]

@jwagantall What are the next steps to get this repo created? What additional info is needed?
Thanks!

[Reccetech]

@jwagantall Per our last conversation in TSC - can we move forward and create this repo - or let me know what PRs need to be create with what changes in the governance repo.
Thanks!
@hendrikebbers @dmueller2001

[jwagantall]

Approval in https://zoom.us/rec/share/_HPjdt_34eFMrQRafKkCmikBwNc2upAT7qLQA5uhXESTO2PRv3wEWh-hZsLeqgIG.sX0FXocC4VGiNK95

Thank you @Reccetech let me create the PR

[jwagantall]

@Reccetech Can you please review this PR? I'll get more people added to review it
hiero-ledger/governance#421