Release of VC Knots, Modularized Components for Software Developers to Ensure Data Authenticity

ITOCHU Techno-Solutions Corporation (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Tatsushi Shingu, President and CEO; hereinafter CTC) has developed “VC Knots,” modularized components of Verifiable Credentials (VCs)— a digital certificate technology undergoing international standardization —and released it as open-source software (OSS) in December 2025. The components are offered to software developers and enable low-cost and rapid implementation of VCs, which previously required development by each individual company or organization. VC Knots ensures the authenticity of personal credentials and data exchanged between companies and organizations, supporting the development of highly reliable software.

In recent years, cases of online impersonation and forgery are on the rise. VC is considered effective to strengthen mechanisms for guaranteeing authenticity of data issuer, recipient and the data itself and detecting tampering. While it has already seen practical use in Europe and the United States, its adoption is also gradually expanding in Japan, where some universities and companies have begun using VC for digital student IDs and employee IDs. However, VC is regarded as a technology with a high level of difficulty in terms of adoption and implementation since its specifications are complex and it requires highly specialized expertise. This has resulted in cost increase for system development and modification to adopt the technology, posing challenges for those considering its adoption.

CTC has been conducting the joint research project “Trust Knots” ^*1 since 2024 with Keio Research Institute at SFC (Dr. Shigeya Suzuki, Project Associate Professor, Graduate School of Media and Governance, Major in Media and Governance, Dr. Ryosuke Abe, Project Associate Professor, Graduate School of Media and Governance, Major in Media and Governance ). Aiming to realize a safe and secure digital society, the project focuses on ensuring the trust of data exchanged over the Internet. Building on insights gained from Trust Knots, CTC has developed VC Knots in collaboration with Keio University students.

VC Knots provides developer‑focused components that use Verifiable Credentials to verify data authenticity, validate issuers and verifiers, and detect tampering, helping mitigate online impersonation and forgery.

It provides key functions such as the VC Issuer, the VC Wallet, and the VC Verifier with a developer‑friendly design. This eliminates the need for each company or organization to build similar mechanisms on their own, helping reduce development costs and shorten the time required to begin using the mechanisms. Furthermore, it complies with multiple global standards^*2, that are gaining attention in Europe and Japan, enabling the developers to easily build mechanisms that comply with those global standards. Since it is released as OSS, it can be easily used for pilot projects and proofs of concept before building production environments, allowing efficient exploration of mechanisms that leverage VCs. These benefits also contribute to energizing the developer communities that leverage VCs, thereby accelerating the social adoption of VCs.

CTC will continue collaborating with developer communities and standardization bodies both in Japan and overseas, to advance systems integration and solution development leveraging VC Knots. By openly accepting feedback and improvement proposals from developers, we will support the practical use of mechanisms for highly reliable data exchange in the society.