EdenDID: an edge computing and blockchain-based decentralized identity system for Web3 applications and DePIN

Abstract Blockchain wallet manages decentralized identities in Web3, which allows users to identify themselves in a verifiable yet anonymous manner by digital signatures. However, native wallet scheme has been proven vulnerable to Sybil attacks in practice, where adversaries can easily create large numbers of controlled wallets at a low cost to undermine Web3 applications. To this end, many solutions are proposed for mitigating Sybil attacks. Nevertheless, they typically rely on either costly specialized biometric hardware or behavior-based heuristics that can be easily bypassed. In this paper, we introduce EdenDID, the first trinity-bound identity management system that uniquely binds human user, wallet address, and physical device into a unified framework. EdenDID combines edge-based video recognition, on-chain transactional activity analysis, and device computational power verification to establish a decentralized Proof-of-Trustworthiness consensus. The system provides compliant users with a trusted, verifiable credential to prove their unique identity. We prototype low-cost Eden Devices and deploy them on a Layer-2 blockchain network. Our experiments demonstrate the low end-to-end latency and robust resistance performance to Sybil attacks. Moreover, we present a case study to show how EdenDID can mitigate virtual-hardware fraud in DePIN, in which EdenDID successfully binds the user, wallet, and device uniquely, thus preventing users from binding multiple wallets or devices.