We introduced digital wallets and agents in chapter 2 as two of the basic building blocks of self-sovereign identity (SSI). While the basic concepts are relatively straightforward, the details could easily fill an entire book. This chapter is based on Darrell O’Donnell’s continuously updated report on the state of digital wallets that he began writing in the winter of 2019. Digital wallet and agent technology has been advancing so fast that Darrell has been speaking globally about the evolving industry since then. Darrell is uniquely suited to write on this subject because he advises and works with many startups, large corporations, and governments that are down in the trenches of SSI, establishing the basic and advanced capabilities required. He is an entrepreneur, investor, and technologist implementing and supporting SSI, digital wallets, and agents.
If I look in my wallet, most of the stuff in there is nothing to do with payments. If Apple or Google want to replace my wallet, that means that they have to replace my driving licence, my loyalty cards, my rail discount pass, my travel insurance, my health insurance document, my blood donor card, my AA membership... well, you get the point... But in the long term, it’s much more valuable.