Hashgraph & Truesense file patent for privacy ID system

The Hashgraph Group and Truesense have filed a European patent application for a digital identity system called Continuous Identity Trust Infrastructure.

The system is designed to verify that a person was physically present at a specific place and time without disclosing personal data.

According to the companies, the filing covers more than 44 European countries through the European Patent Office. They added that the invention is also being prepared for submission to the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

CITI combines ultra-wideband sensing, decentralised digital identity and zero-knowledge proof cryptography to create a verifiable credential that a third party can check without revealing the individual's identity or location.

The process begins with ultra-wideband (UWB) detection to determine whether a person is present within a defined area. The system uses radar-mode sensing to identify signs such as breathing and heartbeat, alongside an on-device machine learning model intended to distinguish human motion.

That physical presence event is then linked to a decentralised identifier stored in a digital identity wallet. A credential is issued with a timestamp, zone identifier and cryptographic reference, while a record is anchored on the Hedera distributed ledger.

The proposed system is framed as a response to tighter European rules on digital identity, cybersecurity and audit trails. The companies pointed to alignment with the European Blockchain Services Infrastructure, W3C standards for decentralised identifiers and verifiable credentials, the NIS2 Directive, eIDAS2 and the EU Digital Identity Wallet framework.

They also linked the project to the EU's Digital Product Passport and Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation agenda, which is expected to expand requirements for traceable digital records across sectors.

Use cases

The companies said the technology could be used in financial services, healthcare, transport, entertainment, sport and manufacturing. One example is physical access control, where a person carrying a digital identity wallet could be verified at a UWB-enabled entrance and granted entry without a badge.

Other suggested uses include ticketing and gate systems, smart city infrastructure and regulated industrial sites. In those settings, an organisation could issue a proof of presence linked to a digital identity rather than relying only on transferable digital credentials.

The broader commercial ambition is significant. The companies said they have applied for EUR 74.3 million in EU funding under the IPCEI-CIC framework to support deployment across national transport systems, smart economic cities and manufacturing industries in regulated environments.

They added that the deployment plan covers 50 major corporations across all 27 EU member states, although no customer names were disclosed.

Regulatory push

The project comes as Europe increases scrutiny of how organisations verify identities and record sensitive events. Companies in sectors such as transport, healthcare and critical infrastructure face growing pressure to show that access, attendance and transactions can be audited without breaching privacy rules.

That tension has created demand for systems that can prove an event took place while limiting the amount of personal data shared. CITI is intended to address that issue by using zero-knowledge proofs, a cryptographic method that allows a fact to be verified without disclosing the underlying information.

For businesses, the appeal is that a verifier could confirm a person had valid authorisation or had been present in a particular zone without learning their name or exact movements. The model could be relevant where organisations want a record of physical attendance or access for compliance reasons, but do not want to collect more personal data than necessary.

Founders' view

The patent was filed jointly by the two companies after what they described as a multi-year collaboration in distributed ledger technology and ultra-wideband sensing.

"This patent filing represents an important and critical milestone in our roadmap to redefine identity trust infrastructure. CITI is the first solution that cryptographically links a real-world UWB spatial-presence event to a decentralised digital identity credential. This unique invention with Truesense strongly aligns with the progressive direction of EU regulation and meets the digital sovereignty agenda under the IPCEI-CIC program," said Stefan Deiss, Co-Founder & CEO, The Hashgraph Group.

Truesense said the design places compliance at the centre of the system. The company presented the product as suitable for organisations that need to connect physical verification with digital credentials across multiple environments.

"CITI is designed with a compliance first mindset, while offering spatial presence and decentralised ID across different ticketing and gate systems, smart city components, industry/manufacturing, healthcare infrastructure, and regulated environments. This joint invention with The Hashgraph Group is a distinctive privacy-preserving identity trust infrastructure that converges physical credentials with digital verification systems," said Armando Caltabiano, Founder & CEO, Truesense.