The document "Use Cases and Requirements for Decentralized Identifiers" [1] lays out the following summary of what they are trying to achieve: "1. there should

The document "Use Cases and Requirements for Decentralized Identifiers" [1] lays out the following summary of what they are trying to achieve: "1. there should be no central issuing agency; 2. the identifier should be inherently persistent, not requiring the continued operation of an underlying organization; 3. it should be possible to prove control of the identifier cryptographically; 4. it should be possible to discover metadata about the identifier." Additional capabilities got tacked on during discussions, and I think are handled in different specs, such as DID-Messaging, but at it's core the above are the primary requirements. [1] https://www.w3.org/TR/did-use-cases/ https://www.w3.org/TR/did-use-cases/