Fraser Edwards, CEO and co-founder of cheqd, is one of the major voices shaping the future of decentralized identity and trusted digital credentials. With a rare mix of technical and business expertise, from leading digital ID projects with the World Economic Forum to architecting cross-ledger payments for central banks, Edwards brings a nuanced, practical approach to preventing fraud in the new data economy. We sit down with Fraser to discuss self-sovereign identity (SSI), how verifiable credentials are changing fraud prevention, and the future of digital trust.
How would verifiable credentials have prevented the North Korean operatives from using fake identities to secure remote blockchain jobs?
Absolutely. In that scenario, verifiable credentials (VCs) could act as a sort of digital “proof of identity” or work history, cryptographically signed by trusted organizations like previous employers, universities, or even government agencies. Traditional CVs or LinkedIn profiles can be faked pretty easily, but a VC’s claim, say, three years at a Fortune 500 company, has a digital signature from that issuer. The employer, at a click, can check that signature without ever needing to call or email the company.
So for bad actors like North Korean operatives, they’d struggle to provide authentic VCs for their claimed identity or employment history. Additionally, VCs create a real barrier for fraudsters while giving hiring managers an instant, low-effort background check.
Can you explain how “off-chain identity data” balances privacy with validation for employers?
Off-chain simply means your sensitive data isn’t being published onto the blockchain for everyone to see. The credentials, proof of education, work, whatever, stay either on your device, or with the original issuer. When you go to apply for a remote job, you present just enough of your credential for the hiring company to check its validity, without exposing all your personal background info.
Employers get quick and trustworthy proof, did you actually work somewhere? Did you study at this school? Meanwhile, you don’t need to hand out everything about yourself, and there’s much less risk of your details being stolen or misused. It’s a direct response to privacy regulations like GDPR, and honestly, it’s just better digital hygiene.
In the North Korean case, $7.7M was funneled via crypto. Could cheqd’s payment rails trace or freeze illicit funds tied to fake identities?
We’re not a blockchain analytics firm in the “tracking and freezing” sense. But we make it almost impossible for bad actors to move money under false pretenses in the first place. Our payment tools link transactions to verified, credentialed identities, think of it as requiring a legitimate, cryptographically signed proof of who you are, before you get paid.
For those North Korean operatives, if platforms required legitimate credentials (not just text fields), the fake identities could’ve been caught during onboarding. So, cheqd is less about after-the-fact investigations and more about making sure only real, verified people can earn or move funds through our ecosystem.
How does credential revocability mitigate risks when a fake identity is detected post-hire, compared to “immutable” NFTs or SBTs?
Verifiable credentials offer flexibility as a fundamental feature. If an employer uncovers fraud later, they can revoke the credential right away. Anyone verifying that same credential afterward will see it’s no longer valid, a live, real-time trust signal.
In contrast, NFTs or Soulbound Tokens are about permanence: once issued, you can’t change or revoke them. That’s a big liability for any system where facts, or trust, might change after issuance, which is often the case in employment or qualifications. SSI gives you that agility, along with privacy and security.
What role do Trust Registries and decentralized identifiers play in preventing deepfake or AI-generated fraud in remote work settings?
Trust Registries function like a digital whitelist: only verified organizations, recognized universities, employers, agencies can issue certain credentials. Every credential shows who issued it, so employers can instantly check if it’s from a legitimate, trusted source.
Decentralized identifiers (DIDs) are cryptographically unique, making it extremely difficult for someone to impersonate another person, even with sophisticated AI or deepfake tools. The credential is locked to both the issuer’s and the recipient’s DIDs.
Can Creds Studio’s no-code platform help companies quickly roll out identity verification for contractors?
That’s exactly what it’s for. With Creds Studio, companies with zero blockchain or developer resources can issue or verify digital credentials in minutes. For contractor onboarding, you can issue “Verified Contractor” or “Right to Work” credentials instantly, and you can verify others from reputable third parties, like background check agencies, just as fast. It all lowers risk without slowing down legitimate hiring.
Beyond crypto, how does SSI prevent scams in freelance marketplaces or DAOs?
The same SSI principles are game-changing beyond crypto: think freelance platforms, DAOs, anywhere remote, high-value work is happening with little or no KYC. SSI lets platforms ask for digital proof of identity, skills, or even reputation, without forcing people to overshare or platforms to hoard sensitive data. A freelancer could present a credential for “verified KYC completed” or “successful project delivery,” issued by recognized entities. Platforms can validate credentials instantly, but they don’t have to keep giant user databases.
