Protecting digital identity in the Metaverse: the case of access to a cinema in Decentraland

The Metaverse is expected to enter everyday life to provide users with various activities. In this context, digital identity is paramount for creating a trust worthy environment, even considering that a Metaverse avatar’s actions can produce legal consequences in the real world. DLT-based Metaverse platforms shall integrate, with other legally recognised instruments of online identification, in such away that these can guarantee selective disclosure of identity data. This work references current legal and technical instruments of online identification, such as eIDAS andW3CVerifiable Credentials, to provide the implementationofausecaseforselectivedisclosureinaMetaverse.Thisimplementationis based on a series of Ethereum smart contracts that canal ready directly interact with the Metaverse of interest, i.e., Decentraland. The final result Is implementing a scenario where on-chain verification of anonymous credentials based on Zero-Knowledge Proofs enables a Decentraland user to access an age-restricted movie screening in a decentralized cinema without disclosing his or her real identity.