Linux Foundation Announces Open-Source Digital Wallet Initiative, May Include Crypto

The Linux Foundation today announced plans to form the OpenWallet Foundation (OWF), described as “a new collaborative effort to develop open source software to support interoperability for a wide range of wallet uses.”

The initiative has already received support from several technology companies, including Accenture, Avast and Open Identity Exchange, as well as standards organizations and public sector representatives, the Linux Foundation said in a press release on Tuesday.

The effort will focus on building an open source software engine that other organizations and companies can leverage to develop their own digital wallets instead. The idea is that the wallets created under the OWF umbrella will support a wide range of use cases, such as identity verification, payments and digital key management.

Possible use cases also include crypto wallets which today represent part of a wider digital economy.

“OWF intends to enable many use cases where digital credentials and digital assets can be stored and easily accessed by users. One potential use case could include a cryptocurrency, but it will not be the only use case that can be solved by OWF’s open source engine,” said Dan Whiting, director of media relations and communications at the Linux Foundation. Decrypt.

Founded in 2000, the Linux Foundation is the world’s leading project for collaboration on open source software, hardware, standards and data. Some of the projects supported by the Foundation include Linux, Kubernetes, Node.js and the enterprise-focused blockchain initiative Hyperledger.

“With the OpenWallet Foundation, we’re pushing for a series of wallets based on a common core. I couldn’t be happier with the support this initiative has already received and the home it found at the Linux Foundation,” said Daniel Goldscheider, CEO of the open banking startup Yes.com which started the initiative, in a statement.

The Linux Foundation noted that OWF will not release its own wallet, nor will it offer credentials or create any new standards.

Wallets are evolving beyond payments

Some of the most popular digital wallets in existence today include PayPal, Apple Wallet, Google Wallet, and Block’s Bitcoin-friendly Cash app.

However, the sector has already evolved beyond payments, often offering substitutes for things people might carry in their physical wallets.

One such example is Diia, an online portal and mobile app that allows Ukrainian citizens to use digital documents on their smartphones instead of physical ones for identification and sharing. Diia also provides access to over 50 government services, and the government eventually plans to make all kinds of interactions between the state and the individual available through the app.

In the US, Apple allows drivers to store their licenses in digital form on iPhones.

According to David Treat, who leads metaverse and blockchain projects at Accenture, “universal digital wallet infrastructure will create the ability to transport tokenized identity, money and objects from place to place in the digital world.”

“A massive shift in business models is coming, and the winning digital business will be the one that earns the trust to directly access the real data in our wallets to create much better digital experiences,” Treat added.