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A blockchain can be useful infrastructure around KERI, but the root of trust lives in the identifier and its Key Event Log (KEL), not in a validator network.",[149,150],"video-embed",{":autoplay":151,":muted":152,":playlist":153},"true","false","[{\"url\":\"\u002Fconfs\u002FKERI\u002F2026\u002Fapr\u002Ftalks\u002FSamuel Smith ｜ State of the KERI Suite ｜ KERI Conference 2026.mp4\",\"bumper\":\"Samuel Smith - the ledger wars\",\"subtitles\":\"\u002Fconfs\u002FKERI\u002F2026\u002Fapr\u002Ftalks\u002FSamuel Smith ｜ State of the KERI Suite ｜ KERI Conference 2026.srt\",\"volume\":0.7,\"start\":\"24:12\",\"stop\":\"25:04\"},{\"url\":\"\u002Fconfs\u002FKERI\u002F2026\u002Fapr\u002Ftalks\u002FSamuel Smith ｜ State of the KERI Suite ｜ KERI Conference 2026.mp4\",\"bumper\":\"Samuel Smith - identity without blockchain\",\"subtitles\":\"\u002Fconfs\u002FKERI\u002F2026\u002Fapr\u002Ftalks\u002FSamuel Smith ｜ State of the KERI Suite ｜ KERI Conference 2026.srt\",\"volume\":0.7,\"start\":\"27:54\",\"stop\":\"28:13\"},{\"url\":\"\u002Fconfs\u002FKERI\u002F2026\u002Fapr\u002Ftalks\u002FThomas Mayfield ｜ KERI Infrastructure & the 5 W's ｜ KERI Conference 2026.mp4\",\"bumper\":\"Thomas Mayfield - blockchain hashchain comparison\",\"subtitles\":\"\u002Fconfs\u002FKERI\u002F2026\u002Fapr\u002Ftalks\u002FThomas Mayfield ｜ KERI Infrastructure & the 5 W's ｜ KERI Conference 2026.srt\",\"volume\":4,\"start\":\"5:09\",\"stop\":\"5:19\"},{\"url\":\"\u002Fconfs\u002FKERI\u002F2026\u002Fapr\u002Ftalks\u002FThomas Mayfield ｜ KERI Infrastructure & the 5 W's ｜ KERI Conference 2026.mp4\",\"bumper\":\"Thomas Mayfield - off-chain identity\",\"subtitles\":\"\u002Fconfs\u002FKERI\u002F2026\u002Fapr\u002Ftalks\u002FThomas Mayfield ｜ KERI Infrastructure & the 5 W's ｜ KERI Conference 2026.srt\",\"volume\":4,\"start\":\"22:56\",\"stop\":\"23:05\"}]",[155,156,158],"h2",{"id":157},"summary","Summary",[160,161],"handwritten-note",{"text":162},"KERI is not ledger-first identity. It can anchor to blockchains when useful, but identifier authority is verified from the AID's own cryptographic event history.",[155,164,166],{"id":165},"what-the-clips-cover","What the clips cover",[168,169,170,177,183,189],"ul",{},[171,172,173,176],"li",{},[141,174,175],{},"Samuel Smith - the ledger wars."," Early SSI conversations often became arguments about which ledger should hold identity. KERI's insight is that portable identity should not be locked to one ledger.",[171,178,179,182],{},[141,180,181],{},"Samuel Smith - identity without blockchain."," KERI was designed so decentralized identity can work without requiring blockchain consensus.",[171,184,185,188],{},[141,186,187],{},"Thomas Mayfield - blockchain hashchain comparison."," KERI uses hash-chained data structures like blockchains do, but a KEL is per-identifier rather than one global shared ledger.",[171,190,191,194],{},[141,192,193],{},"Thomas Mayfield - off-chain identity."," Blockchain integration can make sense for some use cases, but identity itself should remain off-chain.",[155,196,198],{"id":197},"why-it-matters","Why it matters",[138,200,201],{},"Blockchains solve double spending for scarce digital assets. Most identity state changes need consistency and duplicity detection, not global ordering by a consensus network. That is why KERI can be decentralized, portable, and scalable without being tied to the blockchain trilemma.",[155,203,205],{"id":204},"sources","Sources",[168,207,208,217,224],{},[171,209,210],{},[211,212,216],"a",{"href":213,"rel":214},"https:\u002F\u002Fmedium.com\u002Ffinema\u002Fthe-hitchhikers-guide-to-keri-part-1-51371f655bba",[215],"nofollow","The Hitchhiker's Guide to KERI, Part 1",[171,218,219],{},[211,220,223],{"href":221,"rel":222},"https:\u002F\u002Fmedium.com\u002Ffinema\u002Fthe-hitchhikers-guide-to-keri-part-2-what-exactly-is-keri-e46a649ac54c",[215],"The Hitchhiker's Guide to KERI, Part 2",[171,225,226],{},[211,227,230],{"href":228,"rel":229},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.lfdecentralizedtrust.org\u002Fblog\u002Fa-day-in-your-life-with-keri",[215],"A Day in your Life with KERI",{"title":232,"searchDepth":233,"depth":233,"links":234},"",2,[235,236,237,238],{"id":157,"depth":233,"text":158},{"id":165,"depth":233,"text":166},{"id":197,"depth":233,"text":198},{"id":204,"depth":233,"text":205},true,"2026-07-01","KERI can use blockchains for discovery or anchoring, but its identifiers do not depend on shared-ledger consensus.","md",null,{},4,{"title":109,"description":241},"xpGCJKRMjH3ntwbEl7ZuLRWrpFXyF8hZaufRxA2WX1M",[243,249],{"title":113,"path":114,"stem":115,"description":250,"children":-1},"KERI identifiers are self-certifying, so control comes from cryptographic keys instead of a registrar, issuer, or platform.",1791282196208]