DOI - Mendel University Press

DOI identifiers

DOI: 10.11118/978-80-7701-047-4-0172

ISSUING MICRO-CREDENTIALS WITH BLOXBERG BLOCKCHAIN

Martin Záklasník1, Veronika Konečná1, Oldřich Faldík1, Oldřich Trenz1, Andrej Gono1
1 Department of Information Technology, Faculty of Business and Economics, Mendel University in Brno, Zemědělská 1, 613 00 Brno, Czech Republic

The increasing demand for flexible, modular learning credentials has positioned micro-credentials as an attractive alternative to traditional educational qualifications. However, effectively verifying and securing micro-credentials remains a significant challenge. This paper investigates the utilization of the Bloxberg blockchain—a platform specifically tailored for academic and research use cases—to issue and manage micro-credentials. Our approach builds on previous work by proposing a proof-of-concept application that integrates Bloxberg’s Proof of Authority consensus mechanism with three key API end-points: registering credential issuers, issuing new certificates, and verifying existing certificates. By separating on-chain credential identifiers from off-chain storage of sensitive personal data, our design addresses both GDPR requirements and the practical need for privacy. We develop a REST API with Swagger documentation and a React-based frontend to facilitate integration into existing institutional infrastructures or to function as a standalone solution. The paper details the technical architecture, including the generation of decentralized identifiers (DIDs) for issuers and certificates, and presents an initial evaluation of the system’s capabilities for handling revocation and validation. Our findings suggest that blockchain-based micro-credentialing offers improved security, reduces reliance on centralized authorities, and can improve trust among stakeholders. This study not only demonstrates the technical feasibility but also proposes a methodological framework for assessing the effectiveness of such blockchain-based systems, addressing key issues such as centralization, cost, and accessibility that are inherent in traditional credentialing systems. The framework includes verifiable metrics for evaluating improvements in security, trust, and efficiency.

Keywords: blockchain, digitalization, micro-credentials

pages: 172-181, online: 2025



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