As 2024 comes to a close, we reflect on a year in which Paradym pivoted, matured and found its position as a global partner for builders who want to use verifiable credentials to change how organizations and individuals prove who they are. This year, our mission to make building decentralized digital identity solutions simple and accessible was amplified by the progression in the European Digital Identity (EUDI), which resulted in increased global interest in issuer, verifier and wallet solutions. To make the most of the increasing interest in EUDI, we took a 'build-as-we-go' approach to adoption meaning we didn't wait for a final version to start implementation.
Paradym kept (and is currently keeping) pace with the Architecture Reference Framework (ARF), a set of common standards and technical specifications created by the European Commission that serves as a basis for the implementation of the European Digital Identity Framework. As soon as EU standards and protocols are solidified, we at Paradym made sure to support them. This resulted in Paradym supporting issuance and verification of SD-JWT VCs (Selective-Disclosure JSON Web Token Verifiable Credentials) over OID4VC (OpenID for Verifiable Credentials) in April 2024.
Other ways that we've worked on aligning with EUDI are:
- The Paradym Wallet was used to create an EUDI Wallet Prototype through an innovation project for the German government. In 2025 these improvements will be made available for everyone as the Paradym wallet is fully open-source.
- Testing interoperability with Large Scale Pilot participants, which include some of the largest established relying parties in Europe.
- OpenID4VCI Draft 13 Compliance, introduced in September, this update ensures compatibility with the latest standards for verifiable credential issuance. We're already working on support for Draft 15, the latest draft published in December 2024.
- Direct Issuance of SD-JWT Credentials, simplifying the issuance process and broadening use case applicability.
- Revocation of SD-JWT Credentials, ensuring you can still invalidate a credential after it has been issued.
Infrastructure-wise, the most important thing we did this year was to pivot from Paradym as a low-code workflow builder to Paradym as an API-first platform. Our community asked for more developer control, and within one month we created the Paradym API to deliver it. The API supports SD-JWT VCs over OID4VC, as well as AnonCreds over DIDComm. It simplifies digital identity with straightforward endpoints and clear documentation, making it easier than ever to integrate with Paradym. Other steps we've taken in 2024 to improve the usability include:
- Launching the Paradym SDK for TypeScript in July, this SDK simplifies integration with Paradym for developers working with TypeScript.
- An interactive and improved API Reference, with project-specific fields now pre-filled and seamless navigation between endpoints, using our API has never been more intuitive.
- The Paradym dashboard, though some actions are only accessible through the API, the dashboard can be used by organizations to create credential and verification templates and manage their account.
- Our Zapier integration, launched in June, which enables users to connect their Paradym templates to over 3000 other apps on Zapier.
We also spent a lot of time in 2024 on improving the user experience, thanks to the feedback of all the builders in the Paradym Community (join to come chat with us).
- Customizable Invitation Pages: Pro tier users can now customize invitation pages, providing a more branded and seamless user experience.
- SD-JWT VC Debugger, a game-changer for developers working with Selective Disclosure JWT VCs, launched in September.
- Improved Dashboard and Workflow Tools: Revamped template screens, redesigned dashboards, and reusable input values for workflows have streamlined the user experience.
- Permanent Short URLs, ensuring durability and reliability for long-term credential verification and connection processes.
- Webhook Event Wildcards, reducing complexity for developers managing large-scale projects.
With over 30 changelog items since January 4th, it is clear that a lot of work has been done this year. Going into 2025, Paradym is more scalable and suited for large scale deployments than ever. It is incredibly up to date with European developments and the work done on the wallet means it is a frontrunner on EUDI interoperability and compliance.
As we prepare for 2025, our roadmap is focused on maturing even more in terms of EUDI compliance, on-premise delivery and integration capabilities.
My sincere thanks goes out to all our amazing partners, and the Paradym community, who are building the future-changing products that inspire us to make Paradym the best it can be. As always, my gratitude and pride also goes out to the whole Animo team, who seem to be evolving and growing just as fast as the platform is. They are simply the best team, and the best people.
To a productive 2025! May it bring more adoption, more worldwide interoperability and more exciting collaborations.
Ana Goessens
CEO, Animo Solutions
