The Future of Identity

In this episode of The Future of Identity Podcast, I’m joined by Alexandre Kech, CEO of the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF). Alex leads the organization responsible for the global Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) system and its next evolution: the Verifiable Legal Entity Identifier (vLEI), a cryptographically verifiable framework that enables organizations, employees, systems, and eventually AI agents to prove who they are and who they represent.

Our conversation explores how organizational identity is becoming a foundational layer for digital trust. We discuss why the vLEI was created, how strong governance enables trust at global scale, and what it will take to build interoperable identity infrastructure that can support businesses, financial institutions, and AI-powered ecosystems.

In this episode we explore:

• Why the vLEI extends the traditional LEI by enabling organizations and their representatives to prove identity and delegated authority across digital interactions.
• How governance, cryptographic trust chains, and qualified issuers create a globally trusted framework for organizational identity.
• Real-world applications for the vLEI across financial services, telecommunications, healthcare, trade, digital assets, and cross-border business transactions.
• How digital identities, reusable credentials, and organizational identity can work together to strengthen verification while reducing friction.
• Why AI agents, delegated authority, and interoperable trust frameworks will drive the next generation of enterprise identity.

This episode is essential listening for anyone working in business identity, digital trust, financial services, or decentralized identity. Alex provides a thoughtful look at how globally governed trust frameworks can help organizations operate more securely in an increasingly digital and AI-driven world.

Thanks for listening, and if you found this conversation valuable, share it with someone who is helping build the future of digital identity.

Learn more about GLEIF and the vLEI ecosystem.

Reach out to Riley (@rileyphughes) and Trinsic (@trinsic_id) on Twitter. We’d love to hear from you.

Listen to the full episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or find all ways to listen at trinsic.id/podcast.

In this episode of The Future of Identity Podcast, I’m joined by Zac Cohen, Chief Product Officer at Trulioo, one of the world's leading identity verification platforms. Having helped scale Trulioo from its earliest startup days into a global leader in identity verification, Zac brings a unique perspective on how trust, fraud prevention, reusable digital identities, and AI are reshaping the future of digital identity.

Our conversation explores how identity verification has evolved beyond simple compliance into a continuous trust problem and why digital IDs, agentic AI, and intelligent risk engines are becoming essential building blocks for the next generation of online experiences.

In this episode we explore:

• Why identity verification is evolving into a broader digital trust problem and how reusable digital identities fit alongside traditional verification methods.
• How enterprises can balance fraud prevention with seamless customer experiences by giving users multiple trusted verification options.
• Why continuous risk monitoring, behavioral intelligence, and lifecycle-based verification are becoming just as important as onboarding.
• How AI agents will transform digital identity and what organizations need to consider when verifying people, businesses, and autonomous agents working together.
• Why global identity ecosystems require intelligent orchestration across countries, regulations, and digital ID schemes to simplify adoption for enterprises.

This episode is essential listening for anyone building identity, fraud, or trust infrastructure. Zac offers thoughtful insights into how enterprises can prepare for a future where reusable IDs, AI agents, and continuous trust all work together to create safer, lower-friction digital experiences.

Thanks for listening, and if you found this conversation valuable, share it with someone else working to shape the future of digital identity.

Learn more about Trulioo.

Reach out to Riley (@rileyphughes) and Trinsic (@trinsic_id) on Twitter. We’d love to hear from you.

Listen to the full episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or find all ways to listen at trinsic.id/podcast.

In this episode of The Future of Identity Podcast, I’m joined by Eran Haggiag, founder and CEO of Glide Identity, to explore a bold vision for the future of digital identity. While much of the industry is focused on wallets, passkeys, and government-issued credentials, Eran argues that the foundation for a global, high-assurance identity system has been sitting in our pockets for decades: the SIM card.

Our conversation examines how Glide is leveraging telco infrastructure, hardware-bound cryptographic keys, and verifiable credentials to create a universal identity layer designed for a future shaped by AI agents, quantum threats, and increasingly sophisticated fraud. We also discuss why phone numbers may be one of the most underappreciated public identifiers in the world and how they could serve as the connective tissue between authentication, verification, and reusable identity.

In this episode we explore:

• Why SIM cards may be the world’s most widely distributed hardware security tokens and how they can provide a foundation for phishing-resistant authentication.
• How Glide’s Magical Auth platform replaces SMS OTP with hardware-bound cryptographic verification tied to mobile networks.
• The role of phone numbers as a universal identity anchor for verifiable credentials, digital wallets, and reusable identity.
• How telcos, banks, governments, and identity providers can contribute credentials to a shared identity ecosystem.
• Why AI agents will need their own identities and how verifiable credentials and delegated authority could power the next generation of agent-to-agent interactions.

This episode is essential listening for anyone thinking about the infrastructure layer of identity in an AI-driven world. Eran offers a fresh perspective on authentication, identity verification, and how existing telecom infrastructure could help accelerate the transition to more secure and interoperable digital identity systems.

Hope you enjoy the conversation and if it resonates, feel free to share it with others interested in where identity is headed.

Learn more about Glide Identity.

Reach out to Riley (@rileyphughes) and Trinsic (@trinsic_id) on Twitter. We’d love to hear from you.

Listen to the full episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or find all ways to listen at trinsic.id/podcast.

In this episode of The Future of Identity Podcast, I’m joined by Rob White, Head of Samsung Wallet US, to discuss Samsung’s role in the rapidly evolving digital identity ecosystem. From mobile driver’s licenses to the newly launched Samsung ID with CLEAR, Robert shares how Samsung is thinking about identity as a foundational layer for secure digital experiences across its devices and services.

Our conversation explores the challenges and opportunities of scaling digital identity adoption, the importance of balancing security and privacy, and why wallets may play a critical role in addressing the growing trust challenges created by AI-generated fraud and impersonation.

In this episode we explore:

• How Samsung provisions and secures digital IDs, from document verification and liveness checks to state-issued credential delivery.
• Why mobile IDs offer stronger privacy protections than physical credentials through selective disclosure and consent-based sharing.
• The launch of Samsung ID with CLEAR and how it expands access to trusted digital identity beyond states currently issuing mDLs.
• Why AI-driven fraud, synthetic identities, and online impersonation are increasing the urgency for trusted digital credentials.
• How Samsung is working with issuers, identity providers, and relying parties to grow acceptance and accelerate adoption worldwide.

This episode is essential listening for anyone interested in the future of digital wallets, mobile driver’s licenses, and identity verification. Robert offers a unique perspective from one of the world’s largest wallet providers on what it will take to move digital identity from early adoption to mainstream use.

Hope you enjoy the conversation and if it resonates, feel free to share it with others interested in where identity is headed.

Learn more about Samsung Wallet.

Reach out to Riley (@rileyphughes) and Trinsic (@trinsic_id) on Twitter. We’d love to hear from you.

Listen to the full episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or find all ways to listen at trinsic.id/podcast.

In this episode of The Future of Identity Podcast, I’m joined by Amit Sharma, Global Head of Digital Strategy at IDEMIA Public Security, to explore a more foundational question than usual: why digital identity matters right now. Rather than focusing on a single deployment or ecosystem, this conversation zooms out to examine how accelerating AI capabilities, data exploitation, and digital-first lives are reshaping the role of identity in society.

Our discussion connects big-picture philosophy with real-world infrastructure - covering everything from verifiable credentials and mobile driver’s licenses to identity acceptance networks and the economics of data. Amit shares a compelling perspective on why the current model of identity - built around detection, data aggregation, and exploitation - is breaking down, and what needs to replace it.

In this episode we explore:

• Why AI and agentic systems are breaking traditional fraud detection models - and forcing a shift toward proving authenticity instead of detecting bad actors.
• How verifiable digital credentials enable trust-first identity, reducing reliance on data brokers and improving both security and user experience.
• The role of identity acceptance networks in unlocking real-world utility for credentials like mDLs across industries.
• Why today’s data economy is fundamentally misaligned, and how user-controlled identity could reshape incentives around privacy and monetization.
• The importance of incremental progress over perfection, and why deploying imperfect digital ID systems today is critical to driving adoption and learning.

This episode is essential listening for anyone thinking about the future of identity beyond just technology - spanning business models, regulation, AI, and the fundamental question of how we build a more trustworthy digital world. Amit brings a rare combination of policy, security, and commercial perspective to one of the most important shifts happening in identity today.

I hope you enjoy the conversation and if it resonates, feel free to share it with others interested in where identity is headed.

Learn more about IDEMIA.

Reach out to Riley (@rileyphughes) and Trinsic (@trinsic_id) on Twitter. We’d love to hear from you.

Listen to the full episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or find all ways to listen at trinsic.id/podcast.

In this episode of The Future of Identity Podcast, I’m joined by Robin Tombs, co-founder and CEO of Yoti, one of the earliest and most widely adopted reusable digital identity wallets globally. Robin shares the long journey behind Yoti - from early frustrations with knowledge-based identity checks to building a biometric, user-controlled identity app years before reusable identity became a mainstream concept.

Our conversation explores what it really takes to build a reusable identity network from the ground up. Robin reflects on the challenges of solving the cold start problem, navigating regulatory friction, and earning user trust, while steadily growing Yoti to over 23 million downloads across multiple markets. We also dig into how adoption is finally accelerating as governments, businesses, and users begin to align around the value of portable, privacy-preserving identity.

In this episode we explore:

• Why knowledge-based verification failed and how biometrics and document verification changed the game.
• The realities of the cold start problem in identity and why utility and acceptance must grow together.
• How regulation both slows and unlocks adoption, from right-to-work checks to age verification laws.
• The importance of trust frameworks and certification in helping relying parties confidently accept reusable identity.
• Why acceptance networks are critical to scaling identity ecosystems and ensuring wallets can be used everywhere they matter.

This episode is essential listening for anyone building or investing in digital identity. Robin offers a rare, candid look at what it takes to persist through a decade-long journey in identity and why the next phase of growth will be driven by interoperability, networks, and real-world utility.

Enjoy the episode, and don’t forget to share it with others who are passionate about the future of identity!

Learn more about Yoti.

Reach out to Riley (@rileyphughes) and Trinsic (@trinsic_id) on Twitter. We’d love to hear from you.

Listen to the full episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or find all ways to listen at trinsic.id/podcast.

In this episode of The Future of Identity Podcast, I’m joined by Ross Freiman-Mendel, Head of Product Growth at Persona, to explore the shift from one-off, siloed KYC toward network-based and reusable identity products. Ross walks through Persona’s consumer and enterprise identity networks, including Reusable Personas, Persona Connect, and emerging work on Know Your Agent (KYA), and explains why redundant verification has become one of the biggest unsolved problems in identity.

Our conversation goes deep on the practical realities of building reusable identity at scale. Ross shares concrete adoption metrics, including 2× higher conversion rates, significantly faster completion times, and why over 90% of Persona customers are now activated on the network. We also unpack how network-based identity improves fraud detection while simultaneously reducing user friction - one of the rare win-win scenarios in identity.

In this episode we explore:

• Why redundant KYC is breaking onboarding experiences and how transferable identity solves it.
• The difference between consumer-owned identity wallets (Reusable Personas) and enterprise-to-enterprise sharing (Persona Connect).
• How network-based identity acts as a trust signal, improving fraud outcomes without global blocklists.
• Where mobile driver’s licenses and digital wallets fit into Persona’s platform-agnostic acceptance strategy.
• Why AI agents are accelerating the need for identity portability and what Know Your Agent could look like in practice.

This episode is essential listening for anyone building or buying identity verification technology. Ross offers a grounded, metrics-driven perspective on how reusable identity is finally moving from theory to production and why networks, not standalone checks, will define the next era of digital trust.

Enjoy the episode, and don’t forget to share it with others who are passionate about the future of identity!

Learn more about Persona.

Reach out to Riley (@rileyphughes) and Trinsic (@trinsic_id) on Twitter. We’d love to hear from you.

Listen to the full episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or find all ways to listen at trinsic.id/podcast.

In this episode of The Future of Identity Podcast, I’m joined by Chris Goh, former National Harmonisation Lead for Australia’s mobile driver’s licenses (mDLs) and the architect behind Queensland’s digital driver’s license. Chris played a pivotal role in driving national alignment across states and territories, culminating in the 2024 agreement to adopt ISO mDoc/mDL standards for mobile driver’s licenses and photo IDs across Australia and New Zealand.

Our conversation dives into Australia’s path from early blockchain experiments to a unified, standards-based approach - one that balances innovation, security, and accessibility. Chris shares lessons from real-world deployments, cultural challenges like “flash passes,” and how both Australia and New Zealand are building digital ID ecosystems ready for global interoperability.

In this episode we explore:

• Why mDoc became the foundation: Offline + online verification, PKI-based trust, and modular architecture enabling scalable, interoperable credentials.
• From Hyperledger to harmony: Lessons from early decentralized trials and how certification and conformance reduce fragmentation.
• Balancing innovation and standardization: Why agility and stability must coexist to keep identity ecosystems moving forward.
• The cultural realities of adoption: How flash passes, retail constraints, and public education shaped Australia’s rollout strategy.
• The road ahead: How national trust lists, privacy “contracts,” and delegated authority could define the next phase of digital identity in the region.

This episode is essential listening for anyone building or implementing digital credentials, whether you’re a policymaker, issuer, verifier, or technology provider. Chris offers a clear, grounded perspective on what it really takes to move from pilots to national-scale digital identity infrastructure.

Enjoy the episode, and don’t forget to share it with others who are passionate about the future of identity!

Learn more about Valid8.

Reach out to Riley (@rileyphughes) and Trinsic (@trinsic_id) on Twitter. We’d love to hear from you.

Listen to the full episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or find all ways to listen at trinsic.id/podcast.

In this episode of The Future of Identity Podcast, I’m joined by Thomas Mayfield, Head of Decentralized Trust & Identity Solutions at the Cardano Foundation. Thomas leads the development of the Veridian Wallet, an open-source digital identity platform built on the KERI (Key Event Receipt Infrastructure) protocol and funded by the Foundation.

Our conversation explores the rapidly evolving Web3 digital identity ecosystem—and how Veridian aims to bridge Web2 and Web3 with universal interoperable identifiers that cut through today’s fragmented identity landscape. We also dig into the growing urgency to rebuild digital trust as data breaches, ransomware, and AI-powered threats escalate.

In this episode we explore:

• Why interoperability—across Web2, Web3, and beyond—is essential to breaking down identity “walled gardens.”
• How the KERI protocol enables quantum-proof, tamper-evident, and recoverable identifiers for individuals, organizations, and AI agents.
• Real-world adoption: how the United Nations is using Veridian for organizational identity and passwordless authentication.
• The potential for verifiable IoT and AI agent identities to transform trust in machine-to-machine and human-to-machine interactions.
• How developers can leverage Veridian’s open-source infrastructure, sandbox environments, and tooling to build secure, compliant identity solutions faster.
• The role of regulation in driving adoption—and why future-proofing identity systems now could save billions in breach-related costs.

This episode is essential listening for anyone working on decentralized identity—whether you’re building infrastructure, integrating identity into products, or shaping policy. Thomas offers a rare, in-depth look at how to design for both future-proof security and real-world interoperability.

Enjoy the episode, and don’t forget to share it with others who are passionate about the future of identity!

Learn more about the Cardano Foundation.

Reach out to Riley (@rileyphughes) and Trinsic (@trinsic_id) on Twitter. We’d love to hear from you.

Listen to the full episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or find all ways to listen at trinsic.id/podcast.

On this episode we spoke with Teresa Wu, Vice President of Smart Credentials and Access at IDEMIA. IDEMIA has been involved with many U.S. states for their mobile IDs, including New York, Arizona, Iowa, Delaware and more. Very few people on earth have more experience than Teresa working with governments to issue digital credentials.

We asked her what would encourage more states to launch mobile IDs and drive end-user adoption. Her response was: more relying party use cases. So, we spent most of our conversation exploring questions like:

• Should relying parties wait to adopt until standards mature and more people have digital IDs?
• How can relying parties get started now?
• How much should the industry channel its energy towards innovation vs. standardization?
• How will the wallet landscape evolve? Will operating system wallets dominate, or will there be lots of wallets?

We closed out by covering the lessons Teresa has learned through all this experience for public servants. I think this conversation will be relevant to anybody interested in digital IDs, either on the issuance or acceptance side.

You can find Teresa on Linkedin and learn more about IDEMIA on their website.

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Reach out to Riley (@rileyphughes) and Trinsic (@trinsic_id) on Twitter. We’d love to hear from you.