- Swiss voters narrowly approved the introduction of a state-issued electronic identity system, with 50.4% voting yes and 49.6% voting no.
- Hashgraph has expressed its support for the e-ID initiative, positioning the IDTrust platform as a privacy-first infrastructure.
The e-ID, or electronic identity, is Switzerland’s leap into a secure digital future. This digital ID, issued by the federal government, will allow citizens to prove their identity online in a secure and trusted way. It is completely voluntary, free to use and designed to work with, not replace, physical documents such as passports and ID cards.
In a LinkedIn post, the Hashgraph Group expressed strong support for the initiative and noted that
The Hashgraph Group is firmly behind this transformative national initiative. The Swiss approach to e-ID systems fits perfectly with the secure, trusted and citizen-controlled digital identity principles we champion at The Hashgraph Group.
The team then explained that their IDTrust platform, which is at the forefront of Swiss Web3 innovation, demonstrates their commitment to creating self-sovereign identity solutions built on Hedera Hashgraph’s trusted DLT.
In a closely watched referendum in September, 50.4% of Swiss voters said ‘yes’ to the introduction of a national electronic ID card, narrowly trailing the 49.6% who opposed it. The result surprised many pollsters, who had predicted a much more comfortable victory for the pro-e-ID camp.
Voter turnout was 49.55%, higher than expected, demonstrating how strongly the issue resonated across the country.
For Switzerland’s political parties, which had largely supported the plan, the victory comes as a relief. Just a few years ago, in 2021, voters rejected an earlier version of the e-ID proposal. One of the biggest concerns at the time was that private companies would have too much control over sensitive identity data.
This time, lawmakers have addressed those criticisms head-on: The new system will be entirely government-run, with no private operators managing the core identity infrastructure.
How Hedera’s IDTrust fits into this
For context, the IDTrust is a self-sovereign identity platform (SSI) built by The Hashgraph Group on Hedera. IDTrust aims to overcome some of the biggest limitations of traditional identity systems, including fragmentation, vendor lock-in, data overexposure and inefficiency.
Switzerland’s e-ID will be built around verifiable credentials, secure, cryptographically verifiable digital proof of things like your identity, age or residency status. But it doesn’t stop with identity cards.
The same trust infrastructure will enable government agencies and private organizations to issue a wide range of official electronic documents, from driver’s licenses and diplomas to residence permits and even membership cards.
It allows credentials to move freely between platforms, gives users control over what personal information they share, and streamlines authentication through trusted ledger technology and AI tools.
As Stefan Deiss, co-founder and CEO of The Hashgraph Group, explained, the e-ID upholds Switzerland’s core values of data protection, privacy and security.
In a separate development, filings on October 7 show that Canary has updated its S-1 filings for both exchange-traded funds, officially revealing their ticker symbols: LTCC for the Litecoin ETF and HBR for the Hedera ETF. The HBAR ETF builds on an initial filing in November 2024, which came shortly after its debut from a private HBAR trust for accredited investors.
If approved, these funds could mark an important milestone in advancing HBAR into institutional investing.