Sovereign Identity in a Blockchain World – Solution or Revolution? Global Blockchain Ireland event with Rob Leslie, June 24th

We catch up with Rob Leslie who is one of the featured speakers at the Government Blockchain Association IRELAND event on June 24th. You can see more and get tickets here.

1 min pitch for what you are doing now?

I’m the founder and CEO of Sedicii. For the last number of years I’ve been focused on building a platform which allows organisations to validate information that they hold on people or companies without having to share it. Everything stays private and confidential but you can check if data has gone out of date, contains an error or if something has been deliberately falsified. All of this is done in real-time and is fully compliant with GDPR which then enables the automation of processes that can be used to prevent fraud and other types of criminal activity or to improve business process efficiency generally.

Sovereign Identity in a Blockchain World with Rob Leslie

How was the last year, what worked well, what didn’t move as quickly as you would have liked /  how have you adapted to the current corona times?

Last year was tough but then every year is tough in start-up land! Working from home is something I adapted to really well as many of our staff are in different European countries already. On the plus side, not having to travel as much, eating better, exercising more and being at home was really good but I personally miss the social interaction with customers and other business partners. I look forward to life returning to something closer to the old normal. Although, I don’t think the old ways of working will ever return. Remote meetings and working from home are here to stay as they can contribute to a much better work/life balance.

What are your plans for the future?

I want to continue building and developing Sedicii and the privacy enhancing technology we are creating.  Growth over the last twelve months has been good and I expect that to continue. However, that creates challenges on many levels – staffing, product delivery, cashflow all require close management which puts a lot of pressure on people. If all goes to plan I hope to complete a funding round in the near future to drive the growth. So that will be exciting.

1 min pitch for what you are doing now?

Sedicii has developed some cool cryptography that powers a platform which allows organisations to validate information that they hold on people or companies without having to share it. Everything stays private and confidential but you can check if data has gone out of date, contains an error or if something has been deliberately falsified. All of this is done in real-time and is fully compliant with GDPR which enables the automation of processes that can be used to prevent fraud and other types of criminal activity or to improve business process efficiency generally.

Check out "Sovereign Identity in a Blockchain World – Solution or Revolution?" https://t.co/pXbqM1tglT @EventbriteIE

— Simon Cocking (@SimonCocking) June 16, 2021

What will you be talking about at this event? 

There has been a lot of talk over the last number of years about the potential for digital identity and the efficiencies it can bring to all kinds of business processes. Much of this has been driven by the concept of Self Sovereign Identity (SSI). I, for one, am a bit of a sceptic on Self Sovereign Identity in the sense that I don’t believe people really want to control their identity. SSI contains a paradox.

On the one hand people say they want control of their information but with control comes a ton of responsibility to maintain that information, to manage and keep it secure. That requires time and no small amount of effort which most people just don’t have. What I believe people want is someone else to manage all their data for them but to give them complete transparency on what is happening with it so that they have the maximum utility to do stuff with it whenever they need to.  Utility and control are very different things and I think they have been confused.

What inspired you to attend it?

The event looks great. When Jillian Godsil asked me if I would be interested in speaking I jumped at the chance as Digital Identity is about to enter a whole new era with the recent announcement from the European Commission. For the first time there will be policy and a legal basis underpinning what European citizens will be able to use their digital identity data for. This is exciting as it will create lots of opportunity for every citizen.  The prospect of a digital Euro and other CBDC’s will all require an efficient identity ecosystem to underpin it if proper regulatory controls are to be implemented.

Which influencers and websites do you follow to keep up to date with the latest developments?

I am a regular follower of Simon Taylor and Dave Birch. They both provide lots of valuable commentary on Payments, Digital ID and cryptocurrencies in general.

How can people find out more about what you are working on?

Please feel free to reach out to me on Linkedin, Twitter (@GBRSedicii). Our website is https://www.sedicii.com I should be pretty easy to find and will happily discuss what we are up to with anyone who is interested in learning more.

More about this event

Join us for a fascinating panel discussion with four leading speakers in Blockchain and Digital identities. Blockchain technology can help to protect sensitive information. With the power of blockchain based identity we can transform how our data is used across many industries: finance, banking, travel and healthcare are just a few industries that can use this break through technology.

It can help to map your physical identity to your digital footprint, allowing for reduced checks for proof of identification and enabling easier management of records and certificates.

Think about your online banking, when you want to upgrade your insurance, filing your taxes, booking flights, scheduling medical appointments: these processes become seamless with the use of blockchain technology.

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