Dual Stack Design

As developer communities began implementing DIDs and verifiable credentials, they recognized this new peer-to-peer trust model could underpin an entire layer of Internet-scale digital trust infrastructure. As is usually the case, their initial efforts focused primarily on proving out the technology side of the stack. But as these technical solutions started bearing fruit, customers began coming to the table looking for real-world solutions. That’s when attention turned to the “other half” of the stack—the practical governance and policy questions that must be answered in order to drive business, legal, and social acceptance. The result is the ​ dual stack​ shown below.

Whereas early versions of the ToIP stack reflected its historical origins — technology on the left followed by governance on the right — real-world experience soon taught us to reverse it. ​ Governance first . In other words, implementing ToIP-based solutions should begin with​ business requirements​, then move to ​ policy requirements​ transparently communicated in governance frameworks. Only then should you choose the technology components required to implement those policies.