Sovereign Digital Infrastructure Series (SDIS) — SDIS 04: Sovereign Digital Identity

SDIS-04 — Sovereign Digital Identity: Architectures for National eID, Wallets, and Trust Frameworks

National digital identity systems sit at the intersection of every other layer in this series: they are the trust anchor for CBDC payment rails (SDIS-09), the authentication layer for sovereign cloud administration (SDIS-02), and one of the highest-value targets for the threat models discussed in SDIS-07 and SDIS-08. This paper surveys the architectural choices facing a national eID or digital wallet program — centralized versus federated versus decentralized (self-sovereign) identity models.

The paper traces the historical evolution of digital identity architecture, uses the EU's eIDAS 2.0 and its Digital Identity Wallet as a detailed case study alongside eleven further case studies, and specifies a reference architecture for verifiable credential issuance, presentation, and revocation that balances user privacy against the state's need for fraud prevention and auditability. It addresses common objections to the decentralized model, examines economic and organizational considerations, and closes with an implementation roadmap, a glossary, and a self-assessment checklist.

Keywords: digital identity, eIDAS 2.0, verifiable credentials, decentralized identity, digital wallet

This is Paper 4 of 12 in the Sovereign Digital Infrastructure Series (D-AI), connecting the identity layer to the sovereign cloud patterns in SDIS-02, the cybersecurity controls in SDIS-08, and the CBDC infrastructure in SDIS-09. A companion series guide (SDIS-00) provides a full cross-citation map, publication registry, and licensing terms for all papers.

Series: Sovereign Digital Infrastructure Series (SDIS) · Publication: SDIS-04 · Author: Bijan Burnard · Affiliation: D-AI Research · Version: 1.0 · Publication Date: 23 August 2026 · ISBN: 978-969-9597-32-9 · DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.22083819 · License: CC BY 4.0