Identity Overview

Identities are a low-level construct that provide the foundation for user-facing functionality on the platform. An identity is a public key (or set of public keys) recorded on the platform chain that can be used to prove ownership of data. Please see the Identity DIP for additional information.

Identities consist of three components that are described in further detail in the following sections:

Field	Type	Description
protocolVersion	integer	The protocol version
id	array of bytes	The identity id (32 bytes)
publicKeys	array of keys	Public key(s) associated with the identity
balance	integer	Credit balance associated with the identity
revision	integer	Identity update revision

Each identity must comply with this JSON-Schema definition established in js-dpp:

{
  "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "protocolVersion": {
      "type": "integer",
      "$comment": "Maximum is the latest protocol version"
    },
    "id": {
      "type": "array",
      "byteArray": true,
      "minItems": 32,
      "maxItems": 32,
      "contentMediaType": "application/x.dash.dpp.identifier"
    },
    "publicKeys": {
      "type": "array",
      "minItems": 1,
      "maxItems": 32,
      "uniqueItems": true
    },
    "balance": {
      "type": "integer",
      "minimum": 0
    },
    "revision": {
      "type": "integer",
      "minimum": 0,
      "description": "Identity update revision"
  }
},
  "required": [
    "protocolVersion",
    "id",
    "publicKeys",
    "balance",
    "revision"
  ]
}

Example Identity

{
  "protocolVersion":1,
  "id":"6YfP6tT9AK8HPVXMK7CQrhpc8VMg7frjEnXinSPvUmZC",
  "publicKeys":[
    {
      "id":0,
      "type":0,
      "purpose":0,
      "securityLevel":0,
      "data":"AkWRfl3DJiyyy6YPUDQnNx5KERRnR8CoTiFUvfdaYSDS",
      "readOnly":false
    }
  ],
  "balance":0,
  "revision":0
}

Identity id

The identity id is calculated by Base58 encoding the double sha256 hash of the outpoint used to fund the identity creation.

id = base58(sha256(sha256(<identity create funding output>)))

Note: The identity id uses the Dash Platform specific application/x.dash.dpp.identifier content media type. For additional information, please refer to the js-dpp PR 252 that introduced it and Identifier.js.

Identity publicKeys

The identity publicKeys array stores information regarding each public key associated with the identity.

Note: Since v0.23, each identity must have at least two public keys: a primary key (security level 0) that is only used when updating the identity and an additional one (security level 2) used to sign state transitions.

Note: Since v0.22, the same public key can be used for multiple identities. In previous versions any public key(s) assigned to an identity had to be unique (not already used by any identity).

Each item in the publicKeys array consists of an object containing:

Field	Type	Description
id	integer	The key id (all public keys must be unique)
type	integer	Type of key (default: 0 - ECDSA)
data	array of bytes	Public key (0 - ECDSA: 33 bytes, 1 - BLS: 48 bytes, 2 - ECDSA Hash160: 20 bytes, 3 - BIP13 Hash160: 20 bytes)
purpose	integer	Public key purpose (0 - Authentication, 1 - Encryption, 2 - Decryption, 3 - Withdraw)
securityLevel	integer	Public key security level (0 - Master, 1 - Critical, 2 - High, 3 - Medium)
readonly	boolean	Identity public key can't be modified with `readOnly` set to `true`. This can’t be changed after adding a key.
disabledAt	integer	Timestamp indicating that the key was disabled at a specified time

Keys for some purposes must meet certain security level criteria as detailed below:

Key Purpose	Allowed Security Level(s)
Authentication	Any security level
Encryption	Medium
Decryption	Medium
Withdraw	Critical

Each identity public key must comply with this JSON-Schema definition established in js-dpp:

{
  "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "id": {
      "type": "integer",
      "minimum": 0,
      "description": "Public key ID",
      "$comment": "Must be unique for the identity. It can’t be changed after adding a key. Included when signing state transitions to indicate which identity key was used to sign."
    },
    "type": {
      "type": "integer",
      "enum": [
        0,
        1,
        2,
        3
      ],
      "description": "Public key type. 0 - ECDSA Secp256k1, 1 - BLS 12-381, 2 - ECDSA Secp256k1 Hash160, 3 - BIP 13 Hash160",
      "$comment": "It can't be changed after adding a key"
    },
    "purpose": {
      "type": "integer",
      "enum": [
        0,
        1,
        2,
        3
      ],
      "description": "Public key purpose. 0 - Authentication, 1 - Encryption, 2 - Decryption, 3 - Withdraw",
      "$comment": "It can't be changed after adding a key"
    },
    "securityLevel": {
      "type": "integer",
      "enum": [
        0,
        1,
        2,
        3
      ],
      "description": "Public key security level. 0 - Master, 1 - Critical, 2 - High, 3 - Medium",
      "$comment": "It can't be changed after adding a key"
    },
    "data": true,
    "readOnly": {
      "type": "boolean",
      "description": "Read only",
      "$comment": "Identity public key can't be modified with readOnly set to true. It can’t be changed after adding a key"
    },
    "disabledAt": {
      "type": "integer",
      "description": "Timestamp indicating that the key was disabled at a specified time",
      "minimum": 0
    }
  },
  "allOf": [
    {
      "if": {
        "properties": {
          "type": {
            "const": 0
          }
        }
      },
      "then": {
        "properties": {
          "data": {
            "type": "array",
            "byteArray": true,
            "minItems": 33,
            "maxItems": 33,
            "description": "Raw ECDSA public key",
            "$comment": "It must be a valid key of the specified type and unique for the identity. It can’t be changed after adding a key"
          }
        }
      }
    },
    {
      "if": {
        "properties": {
          "type": {
            "const": 1
          }
        }
      },
      "then": {
        "properties": {
          "data": {
            "type": "array",
            "byteArray": true,
            "minItems": 48,
            "maxItems": 48,
            "description": "Raw BLS public key",
            "$comment": "It must be a valid key of the specified type and unique for the identity. It can’t be changed after adding a key"
          }
        }
      }
    },
    {
      "if": {
        "properties": {
          "type": {
            "const": 2
          }
        }
      },
      "then": {
        "properties": {
          "data": {
            "type": "array",
            "byteArray": true,
            "minItems": 20,
            "maxItems": 20,
            "description": "ECDSA Secp256k1 public key Hash160",
            "$comment": "It must be a valid key hash of the specified type and unique for the identity. It can’t be changed after adding a key"
          }
        }
      }
    },
    {
      "if": {
        "properties": {
          "type": {
            "const": 3
          }
        }
      },
      "then": {
        "properties": {
          "data": {
            "type": "array",
            "byteArray": true,
            "minItems": 20,
            "maxItems": 20,
            "description": "BIP13 script public key",
            "$comment": "It must be a valid script hash of the specified type and unique for the identity"
          }
        }
      }
    }
  ],
  "required": [
    "id",
    "type",
    "data",
    "purpose",
    "securityLevel"
  ],
  "additionalProperties": false
}

Public Key `id`

Each public key in an identity's publicKeys array must be assigned a unique index number (id).

Public Key `type`

The type field indicates the algorithm used to derive the key.

Type	Description
0	ECDSA Secp256k1 (default)
1	BLS 12-381
2	ECDSA Secp256k1 Hash160
3	BIP13 pay-to-script-hash public key

Public Key `data`

The data field contains the compressed public key.

Example data encode/decode

Encode

// From the JavaScript reference implementation (js-dpp)
// AbstractStateTransitionIdentitySigned.js
pubKeyBase = new PublicKey({
  ...privateKeyModel.toPublicKey().toObject(),
  compressed: true,
})
  .toBuffer();

Decode

// From the JavaScript reference implementation (js-dpp)
// validatePublicKeysFactory.js
const dataHex = rawPublicKey.data.toString('hex');

Public Key `purpose`

The purpose field describes which operations are supported by the key. Please refer to DIP11 - Identities for additional information regarding this.

Type	Description
0	Authentication
1	Encryption
2	Decryption
3	Withdraw

Public Key `securityLevel`

The securityLevel field indicates how securely the key should be stored by clients. Please refer to DIP11 - Identities for additional information regarding this.

Level	Description	Security Practice
0	Master	Should always require a user to authenticate when signing a transition. Can only be used to update an identity.
1	Critical	Should always require a user to authenticate when signing a transition
2	High	Should be available as long as the user has authenticated at least once during a session. Typically used to sign state transitions, but cannot be used for identity update transitions.
3	Medium	Should not require user authentication but must require access to the client device

Public Key `readOnly`

The readOnly field indicates that the public key can't be modified if it is set to true. The
value of this field cannot be changed after adding the key.

Public Key `disabledAt`

The disabledAt field indicates that the key has been disabled. Its value equals the timestamp when the key was disabled.

Identity balance

Each identity has a balance of credits established by value locked via a layer 1 lock transaction. This credit balance is used to pay the fees associated with state transitions.

Identity State Transition Details

There are three identity-related state transitions: identity create, identity topup, and identity update. Details are provided in this section including information about asset locking and signing required for these state transitions.

Identity Creation

Identities are created on the platform by submitting the identity information in an identity create state transition.

Field	Type	Description
protocolVersion	integer	The protocol version (currently `1`)
type	integer	State transition type (`2` for identity create)
assetLockProof	object	Asset lock proof object proving the layer 1 locking transaction exists and is locked
publicKeys	array of keys	Public key(s) associated with the identity
signature	array of bytes	Signature of state transition data by the single-use key from the asset lock (65 bytes)

Each identity must comply with this JSON-Schema definition established in js-dpp:

{
  "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "protocolVersion": {
      "type": "integer",
      "$comment": "Maximum is the latest protocol version"
    },
    "type": {
      "type": "integer",
      "const": 2
    },
    "assetLockProof": {
      "type": "object"
    },
    "publicKeys": {
      "type": "array",
      "minItems": 1,
      "maxItems": 10,
      "uniqueItems": true
    },
    "signature": {
      "type": "array",
      "byteArray": true,
      "minItems": 65,
      "maxItems": 65,
      "description": "Signature made by AssetLock one time ECDSA key"
    }
  },
  "additionalProperties": false,
  "required": [
    "protocolVersion",
    "type",
    "assetLockProof",
    "publicKeys",
    "signature"
  ]
}

Example State Transition

{
  "protocolVersion":1,
  "type":2,
  "signature":"IBTTgge+/VDa/9+n2q3pb4tAqZYI48AX8X3H/uedRLH5dN8Ekh/sxRRQQS9LaOPwZSCVED6XIYD+vravF2dhYOE=",
  "assetLockProof":{
    "type":0,
    "instantLock":"AQHDHQdekbFZJOQFEe1FnRjoDemL/oPF/v9IME/qphjt5gEAAAB/OlZB9p8vPzPE55MlegR7nwhXRpZC4d5sYnOIypNgzfdDRsW01v8UtlRoORokjoDJ9hA/XFMK65iYTrQ8AAAAGI4q8GxtK9LHOT1JipnIfwiiv8zW+C/sbokbMhi/BsEl51dpoeBQEUAYWT7KRiJ4Atx49zIrqsKvmU1mJQza0Y1YbBSS/b/IPO8StX04bItPpDuTp6zlh/G7YOGzlEoe",
    "transaction":"0300000001c31d075e91b15924e40511ed459d18e80de98bfe83c5feff48304feaa618ede6010000006b483045022100dd0e4a6c25b1c7ed9aec2c93133f6de27b4c695a062f21f0aed1a2999fccf01c0220384aaf84cd5fd1c741fd1739f5c026a492abbfc18cfde296c6d90e98304f2f76012102fb9e87840f7e0a9b01f955d8eb4d1d2a52b32c9c43c751d7a348482c514ad222ffffffff021027000000000000166a14ea15af58c614b050a3b2e6bcc131fe0e7de37b9801710815000000001976a9140ccc680f945e964f7665f57c0108cba5ca77ed1388ac00000000",
    "outputIndex":0
  },
  "publicKeys":[
    {
      "id":0,
      "type":0,
      "purpose":0,
      "securityLevel":0,
      "data":"AkWRfl3DJiyyy6YPUDQnNx5KERRnR8CoTiFUvfdaYSDS",
      "readOnly":false
    }
  ]
}

Identity TopUp

Identity credit balances are increased by submitting the topup information in an identity topup state transition.

Field	Type	Description
protocolVersion	integer	The protocol version (currently `1`)
type	integer	State transition type (`3` for identity topup)
assetLockProof	object	Asset lock proof object proving the layer 1 locking transaction exists and is locked
identityId	array of bytes	An Identity ID for the identity receiving the topup (can be any identity) (32 bytes)
signature	array of bytes	Signature of state transition data by the single-use key from the asset lock (65 bytes)

Each identity must comply with this JSON-Schema definition established in js-dpp:

{
  "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "protocolVersion": {
      "type": "integer",
      "$comment": "Maximum is the latest protocol version"
    },
    "type": {
      "type": "integer",
      "const": 3
    },
    "assetLockProof": {
      "type": "object"
    },
    "identityId": {
      "type": "array",
      "byteArray": true,
      "minItems": 32,
      "maxItems": 32,
      "contentMediaType": "application/x.dash.dpp.identifier"
    },
    "signature": {
      "type": "array",
      "byteArray": true,
      "minItems": 65,
      "maxItems": 65,
      "description": "Signature made by AssetLock one time ECDSA key"
    }
  },
  "additionalProperties": false,
  "required": [
    "protocolVersion",
    "type",
    "assetLockProof",
    "identityId",
    "signature"
  ]
}

Example State Transition

{
  "protocolVersion":1,
  "type":3,
  "signature":"IEqOV4DsbVa+nPipva0UrT0z0ZwubwgP9UdlpwBwXbFSWb7Mxkwqzv1HoEDICJ8GtmUSVjp4Hr2x0cVWe7+yUGc=",
  "identityId":"6YfP6tT9AK8HPVXMK7CQrhpc8VMg7frjEnXinSPvUmZC",
  "assetLockProof":{
    "type":0,
    "instantLock":"AQF/OlZB9p8vPzPE55MlegR7nwhXRpZC4d5sYnOIypNgzQEAAAAm8edm9p8URNEE9PBo0lEzZ2s9nf4u1SV0MaZyB0JTRasiXu8QtTmfqZWjI3qVtOpUhGPu6r/2fV+0Ffi3AAAAhA77E0aScf+5PTYzgV5WR6VJ/EnjvXyAMmAcu222JyvA7M+5OoCzVF/IQs2IWaPOFsRl1n5C+dMxdvrxhpVLT8QfZJSl19wzybWrHbGRaHDw4iWHvfYdwyXN+vP8UwDz",
    "transaction":"03000000017f3a5641f69f2f3f33c4e793257a047b9f0857469642e1de6c627388ca9360cd010000006b483045022100d8c383b15a3738d13b029605d242f041bea874cb4d0def1303ca7cdf76092bf102201b1d401ae9e8cdc5efc061249d2a967960dadce53c66e34d249c42049b48b26701210335b684aa510a9b54a3a4f79283e64482a323190045c239fae5ecb0450c78f965ffffffff02e803000000000000166a14f5383f51784bc4a27e2040bdd6cd9aae7fe6814d31690815000000001976a9144a0511ec3362b35983d0a101f0572dd26abce2ee88ac00000000",
    "outputIndex":0
  }
}

Identity Update

Identities are updated on the platform by submitting the identity information in an identity update state transition. This state transition requires either a set of one or more new public keys to add to the identity or a list of existing keys to disable.

Field	Type	Description
protocolVersion	integer	The protocol version (currently `1`)
type	integer	State transition type (`5` for identity update)
identityId	array of bytes	The identity id (32 bytes)
signature	array of bytes	Signature of state transition data (65 bytes)
revision	integer	Identity update revision
publicKeysDisabledAt	integer	(Optional) Timestamp when keys were disabled. Required if `disablePublicKeys` is present.
addPublicKeys	array of public keys	(Optional) Array of up to 10 new public keys to add to the identity. Required if adding keys.
disablePublicKeys	array of integers	(Optional) Array of up to 10 existing identity public key ID(s) to disable for the identity. Required if disabling keys.
signaturePublicKeyId	integer	The ID of public key used to sign the state transition

Each identity must comply with this JSON-Schema definition established in js-dpp:

{
  "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "protocolVersion": {
      "type": "integer",
      "$comment": "Maximum is the latest protocol version"
    },
    "type": {
      "type": "integer",
      "const": 5
    },
    "identityId": {
      "type": "array",
      "byteArray": true,
      "minItems": 32,
      "maxItems": 32,
      "contentMediaType": "application/x.dash.dpp.identifier"
    },
    "signature": {
      "type": "array",
      "byteArray": true,
      "minItems": 65,
      "maxItems": 96
    },
    "revision": {
      "type": "integer",
      "minimum": 0,
      "description": "Identity update revision"
    },
    "publicKeysDisabledAt": {
      "type": "integer",
      "minimum": 0
    },
    "addPublicKeys": {
      "type": "array",
      "minItems": 1,
      "maxItems": 10,
      "uniqueItems": true
    },
    "disablePublicKeys": {
      "type": "array",
      "minItems": 1,
      "maxItems": 10,
      "uniqueItems": true,
      "items": {
        "type": "integer",
        "minimum": 0
      }
    },
    "signaturePublicKeyId": {
      "type": "integer",
      "minimum": 0
    }
  },
  "dependentRequired" : {
    "disablePublicKeys": ["publicKeysDisabledAt"],
    "publicKeysDisabledAt": ["disablePublicKeys"]
  },
  "anyOf": [
    {
      "type": "object",
      "required": ["addPublicKeys"],
      "properties": {
        "addPublicKeys": true
      }
    },
    {
      "type": "object",
      "required": ["disablePublicKeys"],
      "properties": {
        "disablePublicKeys": true
      }
    }
  ],
  "additionalProperties": false,
  "required": [
    "protocolVersion",
    "type",
    "identityId",
    "signature",
    "revision",
    "signaturePublicKeyId"
  ]
}

Asset Lock

The identity create and identity topup state transitions both include an asset lock proof object. This object references the layer 1 lock transaction and includes proof that the transaction is locked.

Currently there are two types of asset lock proofs: InstantSend and ChainLock. Transactions almost always receive InstantSend locks, so the InstantSend asset lock proof is the predominate type.

InstantSend Asset Lock Proof

The InstantSend asset lock proof is used for transactions that have received an InstantSend lock.

Field	Type	Description
type	integer	The asset lock proof type (`0` for InstantSend locks)
instantLock	array of bytes	The InstantSend lock (`islock`)
transaction	array of bytes	The asset lock transaction
outputIndex	integer	Index of the transaction output to be used

Asset locks using an InstantSend lock as proof must comply with this JSON-Schema definition established in js-dpp:

{
  "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "type": {
      "type": "integer",
      "const": 0
    },
    "instantLock": {
      "type": "array",
      "byteArray": true,
      "minItems": 165,
      "maxItems": 100000
    },
    "transaction": {
      "type": "array",
      "byteArray": true,
      "minItems": 1,
      "maxItems": 100000
    },
    "outputIndex": {
      "type": "integer",
      "minimum": 0
    }
  },
  "additionalProperties": false,
  "required": [
    "type",
    "instantLock",
    "transaction",
    "outputIndex"
  ]
}

ChainLock Asset Lock Proof

The ChainLock asset lock proof is used for transactions that have note received an InstantSend lock, but have been included in a block that has received a ChainLock.

Field	Type	Description
type	array of bytes	The type of asset lock proof (`1` for ChainLocks)
coreChainLockedHeight	integer	Height of the ChainLocked Core block containing the transaction
outPoint	object	The outpoint being used as the asset lock

Asset locks using a ChainLock as proof must comply with this JSON-Schema definition established in js-dpp:

{
  "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "type": {
      "type": "integer",
      "const": 1
    },
    "coreChainLockedHeight":  {
      "type": "integer",
      "minimum": 1,
      "maximum": 4294967295
    },
    "outPoint": {
      "type": "array",
      "byteArray": true,
      "minItems": 36,
      "maxItems": 36
    }
  },
  "additionalProperties": false,
  "required": [
    "type",
    "coreChainLockedHeight",
    "outPoint"
  ]
}

Identity State Transition Signing

Note: The identity create and topup state transition signatures are unique in that they must be signed by the private key used in the layer 1 locking transaction. All other state transitions will be signed by a private key of the identity submitting them.

The process to sign an identity create state transition consists of the following steps:

Canonical CBOR encode the state transition data - this include all ST fields except the signature
Sign the encoded data with private key associated with a lock transaction public key
Set the state transition signature to the value of the signature created in the previous step

Code snipits related to signing

// From js-dpp
// AbstractStateTransition.js
// toBuffer encodes the object (excluding the signature-related fields) with canonical CBOR
const data = this.toBuffer({ skipSignature: true });
const privateKeyModel = new PrivateKey(privateKey);

this.setSignature(sign(data, privateKeyModel));

// From dashcore-lib
// signer.js
/**
* @param {Buffer} data
* @param {string|PrivateKey} privateKey
* @return {Buffer}
*/
function sign(data, privateKey) {
	var hash = doubleSha(data);
	return signHash(hash, privateKey);
}

/**
* Sign hash.
* @param {Buffer} hash
* @param {string|PrivateKey} privateKey
* @return {Buffer} - 65-bit compact signature
*/
function signHash(hash, privateKey) {
	if (typeof privateKey === 'string') {
		privateKey = new PrivateKey(privateKey);
	}

	var ecdsa = new ECDSA();
	ecdsa.hashbuf = hash;
	ecdsa.privkey = privateKey;
	ecdsa.pubkey = privateKey.toPublicKey();
	ecdsa.signRandomK();
	ecdsa.calci();
	return ecdsa.sig.toCompact();
}

Identity Overview

Identity id

Identity publicKeys

Public Key id

Public Key type

Public Key data

Example data encode/decode

Public Key purpose

Public Key securityLevel

Public Key readOnly

Public Key disabledAt

Identity balance

Identity State Transition Details

Identity Creation

Identity TopUp

Identity Update

Asset Lock

InstantSend Asset Lock Proof

ChainLock Asset Lock Proof

Identity State Transition Signing

Code snipits related to signing

Public Key `id`

Public Key `type`

Public Key `data`

Public Key `purpose`

Public Key `securityLevel`

Public Key `readOnly`

Public Key `disabledAt`