Verifiable credential
A tamper-evident set of claims by an issuer, held by a holder and cryptographically checkable by a verifier.
The W3C Verifiable Credentials Data Model defines a verifiable credential as a set of one or more claims made by an issuer that is tamper-evident and whose authorship can be cryptographically verified. A holder stores credentials and presents them to verifiers, who can check them without contacting the issuer each time. Credentials can express facts about a person, an organisation or an agent, and the Agent Payments Protocol builds its mandates on verifiable digital credentials.
Agent Minute explains this term on 31 December 2026.
Related terms
Decentralized identifier (DID)A W3C identifier the controller creates and controls, resolving to a document that lists keys and endpoints.European Digital Identity WalletAn EU wallet app, provided under the European Digital Identity Regulation, for storing and presenting identity data and attestations.MandateA checkable statement of what an agent may do for a principal: which action, how much, with whom and until when.Know Your Agent (KYA)Checking which agent is acting, who operates it and whom it acts for, before letting it act.