Scalable Blockchain-Based Identity Management: An Applied Framework for High-Performance Decentralized Identity Systems

Abstract

Blockchain-based identity management (BC-IAM) systems promise a paradigm shift in how digital identities are issued, verified, and managed. By removing centralized intermediaries, these systems aim to provide individuals with greater autonomy, transparency, and privacy in digital transactions. However, despite the conceptual advantages, BC-IAM adoption at national or global scale remains constrained by scalability and performance limitations, including restricted transaction throughput, high verification latency, and excessive on-chain storage demands. These limitations hinder applications in high-volume, real-time environments such as e-governance, cross-border trade, and healthcare data management.

This paper introduces ChainID-Flex, an applied BC-IAM framework designed to address these constraints through a combination of Layer-2 identity verification channels, shard-aware credential allocation, and zero-knowledge proof (ZKP)-enabled off-chain storage. The architecture enables high-frequency, low-risk verifications to be processed off-chain while preserving security guarantees through periodic anchoring to the main ledger. Sharding improves parallel transaction processing, and off-chain attribute storage reduces blockchain bloat without compromising data integrity.

ChainID-Flex was implemented in a 12-node consortium blockchain network and tested with a simulated workload of 10,000 active users across four credential categories: financial, healthcare, academic, and government. The results demonstrate a 3.2× increase in throughput, a 41% reduction in verification latency, and a 55% decrease in on-chain storage requirements compared to a baseline BC-IAM model. Furthermore, the framework maintains compatibility with W3C Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) and Verifiable Credentials (VCs) standards, supporting interoperability with existing SSI ecosystems.

The findings indicate that ChainID-Flex offers a viable pathway to production-scale decentralized identity systems. The proposed architecture balances decentralization, scalability, and security in a manner aligned with emerging regulatory frameworks such as GDPR, HIPAA, and eIDAS. This work contributes to bridging the gap between BC-IAM prototypes and deployable, high-performance solutions.