Identity and Compliance

Identity verification and regulatory compliance are two of the most demanding areas in digital infrastructure. Existing approaches depend heavily on centralized intermediaries that store sensitive personal data, creating significant risks of privacy leakage, data breaches, and regulatory inefficiency. zkPass, through its zkTLS protocol, offers a cryptographically verifiable yet privacy-preserving alternative. By enabling individuals to prove compliance attributes directly from authoritative Web2 sources, zkPass allows institutions and applications to validate what matters while ensuring that raw data never leaves the user’s control.

Limitations of Traditional Identity Systems

• Data exposure: KYC service providers require storage of documents such as passports, bank statements, or proof of residence, creating high-value targets for attackers.

• Redundancy and inefficiency: Users repeat the same KYC processes across multiple platforms, while enterprises bear duplicated compliance costs.

• Regulatory mismatch: Current frameworks often force a binary model: either full disclosure of user data or complete exclusion from services.

• User resistance: Privacy-conscious individuals are increasingly unwilling to entrust sensitive information to centralized intermediaries, especially in Web3 ecosystems.

zkPass Approach

zkPass transforms the compliance model by embedding verifiability into the TLS layer. When a user connects to a regulated Web2 source — such as a government ID system, a bank portal, or an exchange account — zkTLS enables the generation of a zero-knowledge proof that confirms the required compliance attributes without revealing the underlying documents. This proof is portable, reusable, and verifiable on-chain or off-chain.

Core properties:

• Selective disclosure: Only the required attributes (for example, “over 18,” “EU resident,” or “non-US person”) are revealed.

• Local proof generation: Computation occurs on the user’s device, ensuring that raw credentials are never transmitted.

• Cross-domain interoperability: Proofs generated once can be applied across multiple applications and ecosystems, reducing redundant verification.

• Regulatory auditability: Proofs are cryptographically verifiable, ensuring institutions can meet compliance requirements with higher assurance than document scans.

Applications

zkKYC

• Account onboarding for centralized and decentralized exchanges, meeting AML and CTF standards without document exposure.

• Permissioned DeFi platforms where users must prove jurisdiction or residency constraints.

• Institutional counterparty verification in lending or derivatives markets, enabling compliance without sacrificing privacy.

Eligible Access

• Accredited investor verification using bank statements, tax filings, or government registries, proven via zkTLS without disclosing the full documents.

• Employment or university enrollment verification for gated research platforms, academic communities, or professional DAOs.

• Region-specific service access (for example, streaming, gaming, or fintech apps) that enforces compliance with local regulations without precise geolocation tracking.

Strategic Impact

By replacing document exposure with cryptographic attestations, zkPass redefines identity and compliance as a verifiable service rather than a centralized data-collection practice. This model balances the requirements of regulators, enterprises, and users:

• For regulators: verifiable compliance without reliance on weak document scans.

• For enterprises: reduced liability from data breaches and lower compliance costs.

• For users: strong privacy guarantees and control over personal data.

This establishes zkPass as a foundational infrastructure for compliant digital interaction, where trust is enforced by mathematics rather than institutional custody of identity data.