The Future of Identity

Ross Freiman-Mendel – Networked Identity, Reusable Personas, and the Future of KYC

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.

Chris Goh – Scaling Mobile IDs in Australia with ISO mDocs

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.

Thomas Mayfield – Building Interoperable Web3 Identity with the Veridian Platform

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.

Teresa Wu - Driving Mobile ID Adoption at IDEMIA

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.Subscribe to our newsletter for more announcements related to the future of identity at trinsic.id/podcastReach out to Riley (@rileyphughes) and Trinsic (@trinsic_id) on Twitter. We’d love to hear from you.

Rebekah Johnson - Building a Business Identity Ecosystem at Numeracle

On today’s episode we spoke to Rebekah Johnson, Founder & CEO of Numeracle. This was a fascinating conversation about Rebekah’s journey starting Numeracle in 2016 to bring trust back to business communications by tackling robocalling and spam in the telecom ecosystem.We talk about how Numeracle became an early identity issuer in telecom through the implementation of STIR/SHAKEN protocols which have now rolled out to subscribers of carriers like T-Mobile and how she overcame the classic chicken-and-egg problem of launching before carriers were ready. We also discuss how the business identity ecosystem compares to consumer digital identity, and what companies should do when they know a new standard is coming (like eIDAS 2.0), but it’s not here yet.We finish by exploring modern AI's impact on communications, including how to preserve trust when automated agents or AI-powered voice calls are part of the conversation.You can learn more about Numeracle at numeracle.com and connect with Rebekah on LinkedIn.Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for more announcements related to the future of identity at trinsic.id/podcastReach out to Riley (@rileyphughes) and Trinsic (@trinsic_id) on Twitter. We’d love to hear from you.