Re: Publication of VC API as VCWG Draft Note

David,
I sense a request that the VC Data Model (2.0) spec should clarify the
definition of Issuers :)

On Mon, Nov 21, 2022 at 1:45 PM David Chadwick <
david.chadwick@crosswordcybersecurity.com> wrote:

> Manu
> On 21/11/2022 16:03, Manu Sporny wrote:
>
> 1) We now have 17 implementations of VC API, largely thanks to the JFF
> Plugfest #2, and that has taken us by surprise (in a good way).
>
> this is where I take issue with you (as I said during the plugfest).
>
> You might have 17 implementations of the signing VC-API, but these are not
> VC Issuers. A VC Issuer talks to the wallet/holder (as per the W3C eco
> system model) and has much more functionality than simply signing a blob of
> JSON. An issuer that simply signs any old JSON blob that is sent to it by
> the middleman (the CHAPI playground) is not a holistic issuer. It is simply
> a cryptographic signer. The middleman and the signer together constitute a
> holistic VC Issuer as it is the middleman that talks to the wallet, says
> which VCs  are available to the wallet, authenticates and authorises the
> user to access the VC(s) and then gets the VC(s) signed by its
> cryptographic signer.
>
> You will note that all the OID4VCI implementations had holistic VC
> Issuers, which is why it was a lot more implementation work than that
> undertaken by the 17 cryptographic signers.
>
> Kind regards
>
> David
>