# decentralized-identity/ion

The Identity Overlay Network (ION) is a DID Method implementation using the Sidetree protocol atop Bitcoin

Repository: https://github.com/decentralized-identity/ion
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/decentralized-identity-ion
Homepage: https://identity.foundation/ion
Language: HTML
License: Apache-2.0
License Family: permissive
Topics: wg-sidetree
Last push: 2023-08-25T15:24:32+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 23/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 2778, "days_push": 1104, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1229, forks 166 (observed 2026-08-28T04:04:03.695354+00:00)

## What it is
ION is a public, permissionless Decentralized Identifier (DID) network implementing the Sidetree protocol as a Layer 2 overlay on Bitcoin. It is a Node.js-based collection of microservices (with Bitcoin Core, IPFS/Kubo, and MongoDB dependencies) that anchors tens of thousands of DID operations per on-chain transaction and resolves DIDs at scale without a separate consensus mechanism.

## Use cases
- run a node to resolve ION DIDs without trusting third parties
- create and manage decentralized identifiers anchored to Bitcoin
- build decentralized public key infrastructure (DPKI) at scale
- issue and update DID documents permissionlessly
- support decentralized package managers or app stores via DID registry capabilities
- integrate DID resolution into identity or credentialing applications

## When to choose
- you need scalable, permissionless DIDs anchored to Bitcoin with no new tokens
- you want to self-host a DID resolver for trust minimization and performance
- you need censorship- and tamper-resistant identifiers controlled only by their owners
- you are building on the DIF Sidetree specification and need a production-stable Bitcoin instantiation

## When to avoid
- you need a simple managed DID service without operating Bitcoin Core, IPFS, and MongoDB infrastructure
- your project requires a DID method on a chain other than Bitcoin
- you cannot dedicate a machine with ~1TB storage and ongoing node maintenance
- you need active feature development rather than a maintenance-mode network

## Facets
- artifact type: service
- maturity: maintenance
- function: security, cryptography, networking, http-server, database
- domain: security, blockchain, microservices, self-hosted, privacy, apis
- platform: windows, self-hosted
- tags: did, sidetree, decentralized-identity, dpki, bitcoin, layer2, ipfs, mongodb, verifiable-credentials, identity-overlay-network, cryptocurrency, linux, nodejs, docker

## Member repositories
- decentralized-identity/ion (main) score 23

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:03.695354+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T06:15:06.197722+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/decentralized-identity/ion (fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:03.695354+00:00, sha d856c4a1a4b4)
  - homepage: https://identity.foundation/ion (fetched 2026-08-29T12:22:33.596444+00:00, sha 956ddd79340e)
  - site_page: https://identity.foundation/ion/install-guide (fetched 2026-08-29T12:22:33.605762+00:00, sha 22fd88d52158)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.