Skip to main content

Trust Network Architecture

The Trust Network is the registry that turns raw cryptographic verification into actual trust decisions. This page describes how it is wired into the platform; for the conceptual introduction see Trust Networks.

Position in the platform​

The registry is consulted at three points:

  1. At issuance — Credential Factory signs credentials with the issuing member's registered identity, so every credential is attributable to a registry entry.
  2. At verification — Verification Gateway resolves the presented credential's issuer against the registry. Membership in good standing yields verificationResult.issuerTrusted: true; anything else fails the session with failureReason: "issuer_not_trusted".
  3. At consent — the holder's wallet reads verifier_member_id from the client_metadata in the authorization URL and looks up your organisation's display name and logo, so the holder sees who is requesting their data before agreeing.

Identity resolution during verification​

The three identifiers, end to end​

IdentifierAssigned toSurfaces in
trustNetworkIdThe network itselfEvery VerificationSession — tells you which governance domain the verification ran under
verifierMemberIdYour verifier configurationVerificationSession, and inside client_metadata in every authorizationUrl
issuerMemberIdEach issuerverificationResult — identifies which trusted issuer signed the presented credential

All three are URNs (e.g. urn:uuid:8b6b2812-...). Treat them as opaque, stable identifiers — suitable for logging, auditing, and issuer-specific business rules, but not for parsing.

Operational notes​

  • Your configuration is bound to one trust network. You cannot select a network per request; it is part of your verifier/issuer configuration.
  • Membership changes are managed by iDen2, not via the API. To trust an additional issuer (or be added as one), contact the platform team — see Support.
  • issuer_not_trusted is a governance outcome, not an error. The cryptography may be perfectly valid; the issuer simply isn't a member of your network. Log issuerMemberId when available to support these conversations.
  • Audit trail — persisting trustNetworkId, verifierMemberId, and issuerMemberId alongside your business records gives you a complete, replayable account of every trust decision.

Where to go next​