Glossary
What Is Open Badge 3.0?
Open Badge 3.0 is the current version of the Open Badges standard, rebuilt on the W3C Verifiable Credentials data model so a badge carries its own cryptographic proof instead of relying on the issuer's server staying online.
Also called: Open Badges 3.0, OB3, OpenBadgeCredential
What it's for
Every version of Open Badge before 3.0 verified by lookup. The badge pointed at a file on the issuer's server, and checking it meant fetching that file. That works right up until the issuer moves domain, retires the platform, or simply stops paying — at which point every badge they ever issued quietly stops verifying.
Open Badge 3.0, published by 1EdTech in 2023, moves the proof into the badge. The credential is signed when it's issued, and anyone can check that signature against the issuer's public key. The issuer's server no longer has to be alive for the badge to hold up.
How it works
3.0 is built on the W3C Verifiable Credentials data model, which means an Open Badge 3.0 credential is a Verifiable Credential — one with an achievement in it. The badge type is OpenBadgeCredential, and the practical changes are:
- Cryptographic proof. The credential carries a signature over its own contents. Alter a name, a date or a criterion and the signature no longer matches.
- A signing identity, not just a URL. The issuer is identified by a key they control, so verification is about who holds that key rather than who owns a domain today.
- Holder-centric. Because the proof travels with the credential, it can sit in a recipient's wallet, be sent to an employer directly, and still verify.
- Wider interoperability. Anything that can read a Verifiable Credential can now read a badge, not just badge-specific software.
The trade-off is complexity. 2.0 could be validated by fetching a URL; 3.0 needs a verifier that understands the proof format. That's why 2.0 is still widely in use, and why most platforms support both.
Where you'll see it
In credential wallets, in the digital-credentialing programmes universities are building out, and increasingly as the default on issuing platforms. The European Blockchain Services Infrastructure and the emerging digital-identity wallet work in the EU pull in the same direction, since they rest on the same W3C model.
In Verifycate
Every certificate is issued as an OpenBadgeCredential under the W3C Verifiable Credentials 2.0 context and the 1EdTech Open Badges 3.0 context. Each workspace gets its own Ed25519 signing key — stored encrypted, never shared between workspaces — and the credential is signed with a Data Integrity proof using the eddsa-rdfc-2022 cryptosuite. The issuer is identified by a did:key derived from that key. Recipients can download the signed JSON from their public page.
That is a lot of specification names for one sentence of meaning: the certificate proves itself, without asking us anything.
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Common questions
- What's the difference between Open Badge 2.0 and 3.0?
- 2.0 verifies by fetching a file the issuer hosts, so verification depends on the issuer's server staying up. 3.0 signs the credential so it can be verified on its own. 3.0 is also a W3C Verifiable Credential, which means far more software can read it.
- Is Open Badge 3.0 the same as a Verifiable Credential?
- An Open Badge 3.0 credential is a Verifiable Credential — a specific kind, one that describes an achievement. Every Open Badge 3.0 is a VC; most VCs are not badges.
- Do I need blockchain for Open Badge 3.0?
- No. The proof is an ordinary digital signature over the credential's contents. Some issuers anchor credentials to a blockchain as well, but the standard neither needs nor mentions one.
- Does Open Badge 3.0 cost extra on Verifycate?
- No. It's on every plan, including the free one, and on every certificate you issue.
Related terms
- Open BadgeAn Open Badge is a digital achievement in a shared, machine-readable format, so the same badge can be checked and displayed by software that had nothing to do with issuing it.
- Verifiable CredentialA Verifiable Credential is a claim about someone, signed by whoever made it, in a W3C format any verifier can check on its own — without contacting the issuer.
- Credential RevocationRevocation is an issuer withdrawing a credential before its expiry date, because it was issued in error or the holder no longer qualifies for it.
- Credential IDA credential ID is the unique reference for one issued credential, used to look it up, verify it, and tell it apart from every other credential the same issuer has given out.
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