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Abstract
Biometric recognition, as an efficient and hard-to-forge method of identification and verification, has become an indispensable part of the current digital world. Meanwhile, blockchain has been widely received by both research and industry. Researchers have started to speculate on the pros and cons when these two technologies cross paths. This paper provides a survey of the literature on the combination of blockchain and biometrics and includes a first legal analysis of this integration based on GDPR. Although the integration of blockchain technology into the biometric sector is still in its infancy, this paper aims to provide a holistic understanding of blockchain applicability in biometrics. This article examines several patterns, including biometric-bound public-key credentials, distributed identity management, and auditable biometric services. The survey distinguishes applications where blockchain provides a genuine technical advantage from those where it is not fundamentally required, and identifies its role as an integrity and audit layer around off-chain biometric storage and processing. Challenges and limitations when combining blockchain and biometrics are also discussed; e.g., blockchain networks may not be efficient or economical for some real-time biometric applications. Finally, we discuss key legal aspects of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) related to this combination of technologies.
Biometric recognition and blockchain are both widely used technologies, and researchers have begun exploring what happens when they are combined. This paper surveys the existing literature on integrating blockchain with biometrics and offers what it describes as a first legal analysis of such integration under the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The authors aim to give a holistic view of where and how blockchain can meaningfully contribute to biometric systems.
The paper examines several design patterns in this space, such as biometric-bound public-key credentials, distributed identity management, and auditable biometric services. It distinguishes applications where blockchain offers a genuine technical advantage from cases where it is not fundamentally necessary, positioning blockchain primarily as an integrity and audit layer surrounding off-chain biometric storage and processing. The paper also discusses limitations, such as blockchain networks potentially being inefficient or uneconomical for some real-time biometric applications, and explores key legal considerations arising from combining these technologies under GDPR.
Plain-language summary by The Gufo; the paper is the authors’ own text.
Key findings
The integration of blockchain and biometrics is still in an early stage of development.
Blockchain is most usefully understood as an integrity and audit layer around off-chain biometric storage and processing, rather than a replacement for it.
Not all biometric-blockchain applications genuinely require blockchain technology to provide technical advantages.
Blockchain networks may be inefficient or uneconomical for some real-time biometric applications.
Michael Antonov, Gábor Csárdi, Szabolcs Horvát, Kirill Müller, Tamás Nepusz, Daniel Noom, Maëlle Salmon, Vincent Traag, Brooke Foucault Welles, Fabio Zanini
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