ArcBlock has officially joined the Decentralized Identity Foundation (DIF), the leading consortium formed to create and promote an ecosystem where decentralized identities are built using blockchain-based ID systems.

The foundation is made up of a diverse group of companies, startups and open-source projects including other blockchain and technology leaders like Microsoft, Accenture, NEC, IBM, Hyperledger and more.

Recently, ArcBlock released their new DID ABT Wallet for consumers and decentralized identity solutions for businesses and developers through their Forge Blockchain Application Framework that makes it easy to add decentralized identity capabilities into any DApp or blockchain-ready service. By joining the DIF, ArcBlock will be working with other leading decentralized identity organizations to help create and promote secure and interoperable protocols and decentralized identifiers and ensuring that users of ArcBlock's blockchain ecosystem have access to expanded marketplaces and services with using apps like the ABT Wallet.

Robert Mao, CEO of ArcBlock said, "we are excited to announce ArcBlock has joined the Decentralized Identity Foundation (DIF) as a complement to our existing efforts to make decentralized identity available to everyone through our Forge Blockchain Application Framework and recently launched ABT Wallet. We are excited to join together with other like-minded organizations and expand our partnerships with Microsoft, and IBM, and making blockchain-enabled services and decentralized identity across their entire ecosystems."

The Foundation said that "Our members come from different backgrounds, market verticals, and regions of the world-in many cases are direct competitors. However, this diverse set of individuals and organizations is bound by a common creed: the belief that identity is composed of a deeply personal collection of data that defines us, and your identity should answer to no one but you."

As a next step, ArcBlock's identity team will be joining the active DIF working groups and will be adding their expertise, open-sourced DID protocols and other decentralized identity tools to the community and working with everyone to make the vision of self-sovereignty a reality.