Trust has always formed an important part of the procurement process, but in this digital age, organizations need to utilize digital means and technologies in order to build that trust instead of relying solely on traditional means of business relationships and physical documentation. The use of verified digital identities and blockchain credentials is already having an impact on how buyers authenticate sellers and how suppliers authenticate their legitimacy, as well as how platforms authenticate their transactional integrity. By 2026, the global decentralized identity market is expected to be worth $5 billion, growing at a CAGR of 70.8% to $623.8 billion by 2035, while over 65% of solutions addressing digital identity will incorporate blockchain protocols, providing a clear opportunity to build trust architectures that will allow fraud to be nearly impossible to commit and reduce verification friction to a large degree.
In platforms such as India's GeM, which has 80 lakh registered sellers processing Rs 13.60 lakh crore in annual transactions, and other large global procurement systems that manage trillions of dollars in spending, identity verification is not only about ensuring secure transactions; it's also about improving business efficiency. Furthermore, the EU's eIDAS 2.0 mandate that requires all member states to implement their citizen digital identity wallets by the end of 2026, the rising number of identity theft complaints in the U.S. reaching 1.1 million according to FTC reports, and the already emerging widespread use of blockchain-based identity verification in government procurements present multiple reasons why verified credentials will become key to creating a competitive advantage.
The Current State: Multi-Layer Verification on GeM
GeM has established a framework for verifying sellers in order to demonstrate how digital identities can be used for large-scale public procurement; however, it also serves as a foundation upon which future blockchain-based and decentralized technology will be developed. The information gathered to date will provide insight into the advantages and disadvantages of the current system, as well as potential improvements through new technologies.
To register on GeM as a seller, an individual must provide several different layers of identity verification against government systems in real time. When registering as an individual or sole proprietor, their Aadhaar card provides biometric identification of the person's name, photograph, and fingerprint, which can then be linked to the mobile telephone number of the seller. Individuals may also use their personal PAN card for verification of identity, which allows for flexibility in how they identify themselves while maintaining authenticity. Identification of the type of constitution under which the seller is operating (i.e., proprietorship, partnership, private limited, or public limited) and also the necessary documents required for registration.
All GST registrants on the GeM website are verified through integration with the GSTIN database; therefore, any business entity that registers on the GeM website must be tax compliant and operational. The GST system automatically checks all GST information submitted by sellers against the official records of the GST and will reject any seller who does not provide a match to the official records of the GST. PAN verification for business entities confirms that the seller has a tax identity, while Udyam verification confirms that the seller is an MSME (Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise) and is eligible to receive beneficial status.
There is a multi-tiered verification standard to prevent a fraud risk associated with diverting funds. When an individual submits a cancelled check or bank statement to verify a business account, the payment channel is linked and a relationship established between the business and verified account. Verification of the address is included in the process through access to the GSTIN database or through submission of address proof. This provides a method to confirm the location of the physical business, which reduces the risk of dealing with an operator who will close their doors after the initial sale.
While the multi-tiered standard provides a high level of assurance, the process remains centralized and paper-intensive and has multiple points of manual processing throughout the entire process. While the seller only registers once, there are multiple government-provided platforms where similar documentation must be submitted repeatedly. Currently, there is no concept of portability of credentials; for example, the validation of a seller by a GeM system does not validate the seller as qualified on any state procurement portal or on any global platforms. Furthermore, every time an update to the seller's credential occurs (automatically or via submission), the seller must manually resubmit the documentation as part of the approval workflow.
Blockchain-Based Seller Credentials: The 2026 Evolution
In 2026, blockchain will begin to replace the traditional approach used by sellers for verifying themselves to potential buyers. The verification now takes place in a distributed manner, and sellers will have the ability to manage their credentials in a portable and verifiable way. The keys to this development will come from changes in the global digital identity ecosystems, which are becoming governed by principles related to ownership of one's own credential information.
The architecture of the future uses Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs), which are unique identifiers globally that do not require validation from a central authority to prove their validity. An example of a seller's DID would be something like "did:gem:5ef6gh7ui8k9o0p." The gem in the example represents the GeM, or Global eMarketplace network, and the remaining information represents the unique identifier assigned to the seller as a result of the seller generating their own cryptographic keys. In contrast to traditional government-issued forms of identification, DIDs provide sellers with the flexibility to carry their identity from one platform/jurisdiction to another.
DIDs are one component that establishes the foundation for verifiable credentials. A verifiable credential consists of a digitally signed statement indicating that the specific claim made by the seller in their digital identity is true. An example of a verifiable credential would be to say, "On January 15, 2026, Seller XYZ completed an assessment of the seller's manufacturing facility," which would have been digitally signed by the issuing party (i.e., RITES). The receiving party can verify the authenticity of the seller's claim by checking the digital signature against the purchaser's public key without needing to contact the issuing party (i.e., RITES).
Digital wallets hold credentials; they are safe apps on smartphones/mobile devices that contain all of a user's confirmed credentials. Instead of repeatedly having to upload documents to various platforms, users can share these credentials from their digital wallet. The platform uses cryptographic verification methods to verify credentials within seconds to make sure they are legitimate, unaltered, and issued by an authoritative source.
Smart contracts assist in the process of verifying credentials and checking for compliance when sellers submit bids on GeM tenders. Smart contracts will conduct a series of verifications without human involvement—automatically verifying the seller's digital wallet complies with all required credentials, verifying none of the credentials have expired, verifying all credentialing authorities are trusted, and validating whether all required qualifications have been met—as these processes will take place in less than a second from the time the smart contract is validated until the seller's qualifications have been verified.
When RITES approves and issues Vendor Assessment Credentials to Seller XYZ and those credentials are registered on the blockchain, they are permanently stored on the blockchain and cannot be changed retroactively. If at any time after the initial issuance of the credential RITES revokes the credential from Seller XYZ due to quality concerns, that revocation will also be recorded permanently on the blockchain, and an auditing record of the credential's lifecycle will exist on the blockchain as well.
Self-Sovereign Identity: Sellers Control Their Credentials
Blockchain’s ability to provide true self-sovereign identity to sellers represents a major paradigm shift; sellers will now have full control over their identity data and will no longer need to rely on third parties as gatekeepers. This change in philosophy affects the way that procurement verification is performed.
In legacy systems (e.g., GeM), GeM maintains control over all of the seller profile data you supply. When you need to update your bank information, you must submit a "Change" request. Subsequently, your request must be approved, you must go through manual verification, and then after all of that is done, your record will be updated in the central database. If you are applying for verification on another platform after completing the verification process on GeM, you will start over and will have to resubmit all of the same paperwork again.
Through SSI, you will maintain your own identity credentials in a digital wallet. When you create verifiable credentials, they can come from different sources—government agencies, certification bodies, and/or verification authorities—but you will decide how to share those credentials, what credentials to share, and with whom to share them. Thus, when submitting an application for a tender on GeM, you can share only those credentials that are required for that particular tender—for example, if the tender requires that the seller have experience in manufacturing, you can provide the experience only and do not need to expose unrelated business information.
Selective disclosure becomes very powerful when it is combined with the use of zero-knowledge proofs, which are cryptographic protocols that allow someone to prove that a statement is true without revealing anything about the underlying data. For example, if a tender required vendors to provide proof that they have an annual turnover of more than Rs 50 lakh, the vendor would usually provide full financial statements (disclosing their detailed revenue, expenses, and profit margins). However, with the use of ZK proofs, a vendor can generate a ZK proof that shows "My turnover is greater than Rs 50 lakh" without revealing what the actual turnover is. The procurement platform would then verify this proof mathematically to determine that the vendor's statement was true and would use that ZK proof to qualify the vendor without ever seeing any of the vendor's financial information.
Using SSI to preserve privacy is critically important when the same vendor is participating across several different procurement ecosystems (for example, GeM for the central government, various state procurement portals, international tenders, and private-sector supply chains). When using centralized systems, each of the procurement platforms would keep a separate copy of the vendor's sensitive business information, increasing the risk to the vendor's private information. In contrast, under SSI, the vendor's information will remain in the vendor's digital wallet, and the procurement platforms will only receive credential proofs and not the underlying data.
Interoperability: One Identity Across Multiple Platforms
It’s possible to say that one of the most revolutionary things that SSI has done is to develop credential portability for sellers across procurement systems on a global level. Currently, a seller who has been verified in one system, such as GeM, will have to go through the process of verifying themselves again for every other state-level procurement system in India, all international platforms, as well as private sector procurement systems. This leads to an unnecessary waste of time, cost, and effort for the seller, while also creating artificial barriers to getting into the market.
With the use of blockchain technologies and other verifiable credentials, the process of verifying can occur only one time by a trusted authority. Once this happens, the credential becomes portable across all systems that accept the issuing authority as being a trusted source. For example, RITES will do the vendor assessment of a seller based on set parameters, and when that seller is approved, RITES will then provide the seller with a verifiable credential through their wallet. That credential will then be able to be used on GeM, nProcure (the state of Gujarat’s procurement system), on any international procurement system that recognizes RITES’s authority, and potentially with private sector procurement systems if those systems respect RITES’s certifications.
The European Union’s eIDAS 2.0 program has developed an interoperability framework for the use of digital identity wallets by European Union member countries. By 2026, a business will have a verified digital credential wallet that can be used to bid on tenders in a member country as a result of this program. The acceptance of credentials in Europe will be mutualized over national borders. While India does not currently have a similar program in place, the infrastructure that blockchain technologies provide will allow for the establishment of interoperability once policy frameworks have been developed.
Interoperability will significantly reduce the barriers to market entry for MSMEs. For example, a small business manufacturer wanting to sell to both the central government and a state government must go through two very different registration processes, maintain two separate seller profiles, and update each of them individually when they need to renew their certifications. By having portable credentials, however, the small manufacturer will register their business identity once, obtain their credentials from relevant authorities, and then use the same verified business identity across all platforms—vastly reducing the administrative burden.
Several global platforms are looking at interoperability of credentials, including the UN Global Marketplace, which is developing blockchain-based supplier verification; development banks that are investigating distributed supplier databases; and multinational corporations that are developing cross-platform supplier credential systems. When these global platforms sync up with government procurement platforms like GeM that have the same standards, we will see the development of a truly global and interoperable digital procurement identity framework.
Practical Implementation: What Sellers Must Do Now
While there aren't any full blockchain-based credential programs on GeM yet, sellers should get ready for this changeover by developing strong digital credential foundations that can be easily imported into any SSI framework in the future.
First, current GeM verification documents must be complete, accurate, and up to date. Although verification requirements will not go away when transitioning to blockchain credentials, how those verifications are stored, shared, and verified will change. If you don't have complete or up-to-date credentials now, you'll have incomplete credentials when you open your new digital wallet.
Second, you should also have all other applicable third-party certifications that demonstrate the independent credibility of your credentials. Your ISO certifications, quality management systems credentials, environmental certifications, and any industry-specific standards will all be verifiable and portable credentials under SSI frameworks. Thus, as the number of independently verified credentials increases, so too will your digital identity.
Third, ensure that business identity data is consistent on all platforms and documentation. Today's discrepancies in names, address inconsistencies, and mismatched registration numbers create verification problems and will lead to invalidation of credentials in the automated blockchain ecosystem. Review all documentation to identify and standardize naming conventions, ensuring that all records align uniformly.
Fourth, make a concerted effort to learn about digital identity, even if there is not an imminent plan to implement digital identity solutions. Credential-based verification systems are becoming more prevalent; sellers who possess an understanding of how verifiable credential technologies function, what information can be shared versus withheld, and how to effectively manage digital wallet applications will adapt to credential verification significantly quicker than sellers who are introduced to them through forced system implementation.
Lastly, engage industry associations and trade body organizations involved with the adoption of self-sovereign identity in their procurement methodologies. The different stakeholders' input will help shape the rules about required credentials, which authorities are acceptable credential issuers, and what practices must be followed to verify credentials. By participating in these discussions to develop standards, sellers will have the opportunity to shape the frameworks that will provide operational advantages, rather than being forced to put up with what is developed for them.
The Trust Triangle: Issuers, Holders, Verifiers
A three-party trust model characterizes blockchain identity systems, unlike traditional centralized verification; the underlying nature of this triangle creates a framework for how self-sovereign identity will shift the dynamics of requesting verification.
In the role of the issuer, trust and authority create the credential digitally, and then use their own unique signatures to provide proof of validity. The Government e Marketplace (GeM) agent can have certificates signed by RITES for vendor assessment, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) for product certification, the Quality Council of India for quality management, financial certificates from banks showing financial trustworthiness, and regulatory compliance from government agencies. Issuers maintain and use cryptographic keys to sign the credentials they make available, thus creating digital signatures that can be verified by verifiers.
In the role of holders, sellers receive their credential(s) into their digital wallet and control the timing and amount of sharing of the credential(s). As a result, the individual seller will receive the vendor assessment credential from RITES, a quality certificate from BIS, and a financial audit indicating trustworthiness from their bank. The seller securely stores the credential(s) in their wallet application. When a seller is ready to bid on a tender, they determine which of their credentials will be shared based on the requirements of the tender and create credential presentations or zero-knowledge proofs, as necessary.
Verifiers are buyers and procurement platforms that verify the validity of credentials when delivered by sellers. GeM as a verifier receives a presentation of credentials from its sellers, verifies the digital signatures of the credentials to the issuer’s public key to validate that they are authentic, verifies the credentials to ensure that they have not been revoked by checking blockchain revocation registries, verifies that the credentials have not expired, verifies that the credentials meet tender requirements, and upon completion of all verifications, automatically determines whether to accept or reject the seller.
The triangle eliminates julienne honeypots of sensitive data. Prior to the introduction of SSI, GeM retained copies of all seller’s documents, which became a prime target for hackers looking for business intelligence or for identity theft purposes. With SSI, GeM now only receives credential proof and not the actual underlying documents. RITES maintains its issuance record, sellers maintain their credentials, and no one single entity has the complete data of all other entities; thus, the size of the potential breach is considerably diminished.
The 2026 Global Landscape: From India to Europe
GeM only has some blockchain credentials in usage, but there are global events that highlight the future of procurement identity verification and what sellers will need to prepare for.
The EU's new eIDAS 2.0 requirements dictate that all member states will implement these digital identity wallets by 2026, thus establishing the largest government-backed implementation of self-sovereign identity (SSI) in history. All European citizens and businesses will have a supply of verifiable credentials related to identity, professional qualifications, educational credentials & certificates, and business registrations held in a standardized digital wallet that will be accepted across all EU countries. All public procurement in the EU will require, increasingly, credential-based verifications to take place using eIDAS wallets.
The Digital Identity and Attributes Trust Framework of the United Kingdom establishes a standardized process for all digital IDs accepted for use within government services, with a requirement for certification to be completed by organizations providing digital IDs no later than 2026. Although not a blockchain-based solution at launch, the interoperability of the developed ID/attributes framework will provide for future integration of blockchain-based credentials.
The UAE & Singapore are at the forefront of innovation in the regulation of digital assets. The two countries are both conducting pilot tests of blockchain-based business identity systems that can be used for trade and procurement purposes. Singapore has a national digital identity system that is exploring possible use of its verifiable credentials, such as for business licensing and trade documentation. Similarly, the UAE is using blockchain technology as part of its overall blockchain strategy for government procurement, as well as using blockchain-based verification of credentials for suppliers.
North America is leading the way for investment in decentralized identity projects, with the US market projected to reach $924.3 million in 2025 and continue to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 66.7%. Because federal adoption of NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) digital identity guidelines will accelerate the adoption of blockchain-based identities in finance, healthcare, and citizen services, it will also result in pilot programs currently being developed for verifying supplier credentials using blockchain technologies in the areas of federal procurement, specifically within the Defense and Homeland Security.
For Indian-based suppliers looking to enter international markets, this trend can mean the portability of their credentials will become increasingly important. For example, if an Indian manufacturer can establish its credentials using an Indian digital credentialing system, that same manufacturer will be able to provide a verified version of its credentials to participate in tenders in, for example, Europe, Singapore, or North America. Therefore, Indian credentialing systems will need to align with new global standards being developed as part of this global push for the portability of credentials.
The Bottom Line: Building Trust Through Verifiable Credentials
Digital identity verification in electronic procurement will transition to a decentralized, blockchain-based credentialing system by 2026. This development is not purely technological but philosophical: it moves the control of credentials from the platform operators to the credential holders while at the same time providing a verified integrity through cryptographic proof and distributed trust.
For sellers on GeM and worldwide procurement platforms, this transition will provide stronger credentials as a competitive advantage. Businesses that obtain high-quality certificates from recognized authorities, keep impeccable credential verification across all touchpoints, and prepare for credential portability across platforms will be in a good position to participate in the emerging globally verified economy.
The trust deficit has historically been a major problem for government procurement because of value-producing factors—including counterfeit credentials, falsified documentation, and schemes that involve ignoring due diligence. However, if properly implemented, the use of blockchain credentialing systems will make it mathematically impossible for any of these types of issues to occur. Therefore, when used correctly, credentials that are cryptographically signed, recorded on the blockchain, and verifiable will allow for instant confirmation of fraud instead of being discovered after damage has been done.
For procurement systems, like GeM, dealing with transactions worth 13.60 lakh crore, operational improvements via automating credential checks may allow for onboard procedures to drop from several days to a few minutes, eliminate the need to verify manually through document checking processes, help to stop fraud before it occurs, and enable a shore for fixing credentials, enabling a wider pool of sellers.
The challenge for sellers is not whether or not to transition to verified digital credentials; that change is coming as robustly as many global identity infrastructures are headed toward utilizing blockchain. The question for sellers is whether to establish a strong foundation of credentials now vs. scrambling to meet the verification condition when platforms force the requirement. As verification requirements only continue to tighten over time, those who have established a strong foundation of credentials will have a significant advantage over those who did not.
Sellers should first enhance the quality of their current verification documentation used on GeM and all other platforms the seller is using; seeking independent audit certifications from recognized certifiers that can be considered credential issuers in the verification plans that will eventually come from advanced things such as blockchain identification; maintain sufficient integrity and consistency with all aspects of the seller's identity data; become educated on how verifiable credentials work, even when the technical implementation feels like it is far in the future; and will be an important activity for the seller to engage in to influence the development of credential standards created by policy discussions in their industry.
A verified economy is soon to emerge. Building a trusted, portable, verifiable blockchain identity will enable seamless navigation of global procurement platforms in the future. Conversely, those who do not take the initiative to obtain such identities will find themselves scrambling to provide proof of legitimacy within the newly established systems designed to render unverified persons invisible. Building the necessary infrastructure to support this new economy is taking place now, while the standards necessary to comply with it are being put into place presently. Your verified digital identity must be established before the systems requiring it are made mandatory.
