Abstract

Cr3dentials improves verification processes by providing institutions with instant, cryptographically secure proof of individual income, employment, and credit worthiness. Our platform eliminates the hassle of collecting and manually verifying multiple financial documents while significantly reducing fraud risk across various industries that rely on financial verification.

The current financial verification process is fundamentally broken. Organizations waste countless hours manually reviewing documents that can be easily forged, leading to significant fraud risks and delayed decisions. Financial institutions, employers, landlords, and government agencies all face the same challenges:

• Manual document verification is time-consuming and resource-intensive

• Financial documents are easily manipulated, with limited tools to detect fraud

• Approval delays result in lost opportunities and revenue

• Handling sensitive financial data creates security and compliance risks

These inefficiencies cost organizations billions annually while creating frustrating experiences for individuals who must repeatedly provide the same documentation to different entities.

Cr3dentials delivers instant, private, and verifiable income, credit, and employment verification.

Instant: Results back in less than 30 seconds Private: See only the information you need, nothing more. Verifiable: Sourced directly from a bank, credit bureau and/or payroll provider during login

Admin side	Customer side

1. Admins set requirements and share a verification link

2. Applicants securely connect their financial accounts

3. Verification completes in seconds with zero-knowledge proofs

4. Results show only whether requirements are met, protecting privacy

For Admins:

• Faster application processing

• Higher confidence in verification results

• Reduced paperwork and administrative burden

• Compliant with privacy regulations

For Applicants:

• No need to share sensitive financial statements

• Reusable verifications across multiple properties

• Control over personal financial data

• Quick and convenient process

Cr3dentials uses cryptographic technology to ensure data is accurate, secure and non-fraudulent. The platform leverages digital signatures and TLS data from servers to verify the provenance and authenticity of user data. Zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) are then used to maintain privacy, only revealing the necessary verification outcomes. Cr3dentials does not see any of the users private data.

We use zkTLS, a cryptographic protocol that securely retrieves data from websites while proving its authenticity without exposing sensitive information. The server sends information to a user via TLS (Transport Layer Security). Cr3dentials processes this data to generate zero-knowledge proofs that confirm its validity.

Proof of Income Verification: When a user accesses their banking portal (such as Chase or Bank of America), financial data is transmitted to their browser via TLS. Cr3dentials' browser extension captures this information at the source, generates cryptographic proofs verifying the account balance and transaction history, and securely shares only the verified results with the requesting party—never the raw financial data. Note that through bank login we are capturing net income (after taxes and deductions), which provides verifiers with a more accurate picture of actual funds available to the individual

Proof of Credit Worthiness: During access to credit bureaus or monitoring services (like Credit Karma, Experian, or TransUnion), Cr3dentials can securely capture credit scores and account information. The system verifies this meets specified requirements and generates proof without exposing the user's complete credit history or personal details.

Proof of Employment and Payroll: When a user logs into payroll providers (such as ADP, Workday, or Gusto), Cr3dentials can cryptographically verify employment status, job title, salary information, and tenure. This eliminates the need for traditional employment verification letters or pay stubs while providing stronger, tamper-proof verification.

We use zkEmail, a system that extracts cryptographically signed information from email headers and content. This approach allows us to verify the origin and authenticity of financial data, such as bank deposit notifications or pay stubs, without exposing the full content of the email.

Example: As a social media influencer, when you receive a payment confirmation email from TikTok, the email contains the payment amount in its body. Cr3dentials verifies the DKIM signature to confirm the email originated from TikTok.com, then uses zkRegex to extract only the relevant information, such as the payment amount, while keeping the rest of the email private.

All verification proofs are cryptographically secured and recorded on the blockchain via attestations. Cr3dentials leverages the Ethereum Attestation Service (EAS) to create immutable, time-stamped records of each verification. This blockchain integration provides several critical advantages:

• Creates a permanent, tamper-proof record of all verifications

• Establishes a clear chain of custody for sensitive information

• Allows authorized parties to independently verify the authenticity of proofs

• Eliminates the possibility of document forgery or manipulation Provides transparent audit trails without compromising privacy

Q1 2025

• Complete proof of concept for JP Morgan Chase Bank integration

• Establish core verification infrastructure and zkTLS protocol

• Expand bank support to relevant regional banks

• Develop payroll provider support

Q2-Q3 2025

• Launch beta testing program with diverse financial institutions

• Collect feedback from early adopters across different sectors

• Continue adding bank, payroll, and credit bureau support

• Refine product based on real-world usage patterns

• Evaluate market fit across various use cases

Cr3dentials transforms financial verification by combining zero-knowledge cryptography with blockchain technology. Our platform provides instant, private, and cryptographically secure proof of income, employment, and credit worthiness across multiple industries. By replacing manual document processing with tamper-proof digital verification, we significantly reduce fraud risk while improving efficiency for both organizations and individuals. Our use of zkTLS and zkEmail technologies enable comprehensive verification from diverse financial sources, positioning Cr3dentials as an emerging standard for secure, private verification worldwide.

X - https://x.com/cr3dentials
Website - https://cr3dentials.xyz/
zkemail - https://zk.email/
zkTLS blog - https://medium.com/zkpass/zktls-the-cornerstone-of-verifiable-internet-da8609a32754 Ethereum Attestation Service - https://attest.org/

The market for verifiable Github contributions is primarily concentrated in Web3, specifically targeting developers. Our potential customers were protocols looking to distribute grants and companies hiring developers. After extensive discussions with several protocols, we faced two key realizations: our email-based verification flow couldn't compete with OAuth's simplicity, and the privacy benefits, while important, weren't compelling enough to justify the added friction. This highlighted a fundamental challenge in privacy technology, its value often isn't apparent until after a breach or misuse has occurred, making it a difficult selling point for products that have simpler, streamlined alternatives. We explored using JWTs (JSON Web Tokens) to streamline Github authentication, which could potentially match OAuth's simplicity. However, we hit another roadblock: while JWTs work well for basic Github authentication, they don't sign contribution data. This meant we still couldn't verify a developer's actual Github activity without falling back to more complex flows.

As we explored zkTLS and zkemail technologies, we faced an interesting challenge, there were almost too many opportunities. These protocols could verify everything from employment status to university credentials to developer contributions. But among all these possibilities, income verification stood out as the most compelling problem to solve. It's a fundamental requirement that impacts millions of people in high-stakes situations: getting approved for an apartment, buying a house, taking out a loan, or applying for visas.

The current solutions are painfully manual. People have to collect bank statements, paystubs, and W2s, documents that are both time-consuming to gather and susceptible to fraud. Additionally, users must expose excessive personal information to verifiers. This is where Cr3dentials shines: we've simplified the entire process down to a few clicks. Users just need to install our extension and log into their bank account. Within seconds, we can verify their monthly income for the past year, all while preserving their privacy and ensuring the authenticity of their data.

The real estate market has emerged as our primary focus due to its massive scale, outdated verification processes, and clear pain points for all stakeholders. Property managers and landlords process millions of rental applications annually, with each application requiring thorough income verification to assess tenant reliability.

Current verification processes in real estate are notably inefficient:

• Property managers spend hours manually reviewing bank statements, pay stubs, and W2s

• Prospective tenants must gather and submit sensitive financial documents, often exposing more information than necessary

• The manual nature of verification creates opportunities for document fraud, putting landlords at risk

• Processing delays can cause properties to remain vacant longer, resulting in lost revenue

Our solution addresses these pain points by:

• Reducing verification time from days to minutes through automated bank connectivity

• Protecting tenant privacy by sharing only the necessary income proof without exposing detailed transaction data

• Ensuring document authenticity through our zkTLS and zkemail protocols

• Providing a standardized verification format that property managers can trust

• Enabling instant verification during the application process, reducing property vacancy periods

We've already initiated conversations with several property management companies who have expressed strong interest in piloting our solution. Their feedback has been instrumental in refining our product to meet industry-specific needs while maintaining our core value proposition of privacy and efficiency.

Our journey from Proof of Github to Proof of Income revealed several insights that fundamentally shaped our approach and strategy. Here are some of the key learnings we've discovered:

Product-Market Fit > Technical Innovation Initially drawn to the technical elegance of privacy-preserving Github verification, we learned that solving a real, pressing market need is far more important. We found ourselves caught in the Web3 echo chamber, where innovative technology often takes precedence over practical utility. The shift to income verification was eye-opening as it showed us how powerful zero-knowledge technology could be when applied to real-world problems people face daily. While our technology is sophisticated, its true value lies in solving the painful, manual process of income verification while maintaining privacy. This pivot taught us to always start with the problem, not the solution - ask "what hurts?" before asking "what can we build?"

Simplicity Wins Over Complexity The Github verification experience taught us a valuable lesson: additional friction, no matter how well-intentioned, must justify its existence. Privacy features should feel seamless and natural, not burdensome. This insight drove us to design our income verification solution with simplicity at its core, transforming a traditionally complex process into a few simple clicks.

Market Timing Is Everything Privacy-preserving solutions gain the most traction when existing alternatives are clearly inadequate. The real estate market's continued reliance on manual verification processes, combined with growing privacy concerns, creates the perfect environment for our solution. The pain is acute, the market is massive, and stakeholders are actively seeking better solutions.

Build for Scale from Day One Starting with Chase gives us a strong foundation, but our infrastructure is designed with much broader ambitions. Supporting multiple income sources, from traditional employment to gig economy earnings, will be crucial for providing comprehensive verification. Modern income is increasingly diverse, with many people earning from multiple sources, and our platform needs to reflect this reality. By building a flexible system that can adapt to various income streams, we're not just solving today's verification challenges, but preparing for tomorrow's opportunities.

Q1 2025: Chase Integration Launch

• Launch initial income verification tool with Chase banking platform

• Core features: bank login via extension, automated verification, privacy-preserving proofs

• Deploy user dashboard for property managers and real-time tracking

Q2-Q3 2025: Banking Expansion

• Integrate additional major banks (Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citibank)

• Expand to regional banks and credit unions

Q4 2025: Alternative Income Sources

• Support freelance platforms (Upwork, Fiverr)

• Add social media earnings verification (YouTube, Instagram, TikTok)

• Enable e-commerce income verification (Shopify, Amazon, Etsy)

• Include gig economy platforms (Uber, DoorDash)

We are currently working to complete all of our goals regarding the roadmap and we are excited for whats to come in 2025.

Our journey from Proof of Github to Proof of Income has been a testament to the importance of solving real-world problems with technology that seamlessly integrates into existing workflows. While privacy-preserving credentials for developers were an exciting technical challenge, the true value of our work became evident when applied to income verification, a problem where existing solutions are slow, inefficient, and invasive.

With a clear market fit in real estate and financial services, our pivot to income verification marks a significant step forward in bringing zero-knowledge technology to industries that need it most. As we move into 2025, our focus remains on execution: launching our Chase integration, expanding banking coverage, and supporting diverse income sources to ensure our solution is accessible to as many people as possible.

We’re grateful for the insights gained through this transition and the support from our early partners. The road ahead is ambitious, but the opportunity to redefine trust and privacy in financial verification is more exciting than ever. Here’s to making 2025 the year privacy-first income verification becomes the standard.

From the very beginning, we’ve been fascinated by the intersection of reputation and blockchain technology. Over time, we kept coming back to a few key questions: How can we bring more forms of reputation on-chain to unlock opportunities for people? How can we move beyond traditional metrics like credit scores or school fee payments to create something truly transformative? These questions became the driving force behind everything we built.

Magma, a builder residency for African founders started by Yoseph and Songyi, became a pivotal part of that exploration. It brought together builders from across the African continent, fostering a vibrant space for collaboration and innovation. During the residency, I gave a presentation on zkemail and applied cryptography, which sparked many ideas among the residents. That presentation also marked the beginning of our conversation with Yele about Cr3dentials, opening new doors for the project.

Yele helped us brainstorm how to take our idea of using applied cryptography to create verifiable credentials from 0 to 1. He introduced us to the Microtraction team, and together, we aligned on the vision. Their decision to fund us has been a game-changer. This isn’t just an investment—it’s a vote of confidence in what we’re building and the impact we hope to make.

To Ato, Offiong, Yele, and the entire Microtraction team: thank you for seeing the potential in Cr3dentials and giving us the opportunity to turn our vision into reality. This idea is ambitious and future-forward, and countless investors turned us down along the way. We’ve presented to hundreds of people, faced skepticism, and kept pushing forward. Your belief in us means everything.

We’re just getting started, and we’re excited to have you on this journey with us. Watch what we accomplish.