I can use a pseudonym in real life. Nobody is "hard checking" my identity 99% of the time. Not even the government. They don't care if someone else does my taxe

I can use a pseudonym in real life. Nobody is "hard checking" my identity 99% of the time. Not even the government. They don't care if someone else does my taxes. It's up to me to share details about my identity with my tax accountant as I see fit. About the only institutions that actually care are banks because they don't want to give my money to someone else and airports because they don't want 9/11. So yes, you can have self-signed identity. And you can use it 99% of the time. If you need government-level identity verification, you can build that, do the hard check, and link to a self-signed identity by issuing a certificate for a reasonable amount of time until a re-check is desired. Your drivers license is exactly that in physical form. I'm not saying we shouldn't have a digital DMV that issues digital drivers licenses. I'm saying you don't need that as the foundation of your identity system. Identity is self-sovereign by nature. Don't fight it.