GLEIF Launches vLEI Hackathon to Boost Digital Org Identity

Published Date : 10/22/2025 

The Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF) has announced the Global vLEI Hackathon 2025, inviting developers and innovators to shape the future of digital organizational identity through the use of verifiable Legal Entity Identifiers (vLEI). 

The Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF) has announced the launch of the Global vLEI Hackathon 2025, which invites developers, entrepreneurs, and innovators worldwide to help shape the future of digital organizational identity. This competition aims to accelerate the adoption of the verifiable Legal Entity Identifier (vLEI), a cryptographically secure credential designed to bring trust, transparency, and automation to the digital economy.

As industries increasingly rely on machine-to-machine interactions, decentralized finance, and programmable business wallets, the need for robust digital identity infrastructure has become critical. GLEIF’s hackathon challenges participants to build technical solutions that demonstrate how vLEI can streamline compliance, reduce fraud, and improve operational efficiency across key sectors.

Participants will work through the APIX Platform to address three thematic areas: bridging digital assets with traditional finance; enhancing Industry 4.0 operations through ESG and AI agent identification; and strengthening supply chain resilience and SME finance through digitized trade and documentation. Winning teams will present their solutions at high-profile forums in New York (November 3), Hong Kong (November 7), and Frankfurt (December 2), hosted by organizations including Swift, Chainlink, Certizen, and the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management.

Submissions will be evaluated by a global jury of experts from leading organizations and technical domains. In addition to prize money and international exposure, participants will have the opportunity to collaborate with Qualified vLEI Issuers (QVIs), which are trusted entities responsible for issuing and managing vLEI credentials. Current QVIs include CFCA, CERTIZEN, FINEMA, Provenant, SHECA, Toppan, TradeGo, and Global vLEI.

The hackathon also serves as a proving ground for GLEIF’s broader technical ecosystem, which includes infrastructure built on Key Event Receipt Infrastructure (KERI), Authentic Chained Data Containers (ACDC), and Composable Event Streaming Representation (CESR). Participants will have access to GLEIF’s testnet and open-source tools to support development, including community wallet repositories and browser-based wallet libraries.

GLEIF has also announced that the Shanghai Electronic Certification Authority Co. Ltd. (SHECA) is the latest Qualified vLEI Issuer (QVI) within the vLEI ecosystem. Pioneered by GLEIF as the secure digital counterpart of the Legal Entity Identifier (LEI), the vLEI is a globally standardized form of digital organizational identity. By equipping organizations and their representatives with cryptographically verifiable identities, vLEI credentials tackle the challenges arising from digitalization by establishing a global digital trust ecosystem.

Established in 1998, SHECA is one of China’s pioneering Certification Authorities accredited by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). It provides digital identity certificates and trust services widely used for secure authentication, serving over 7 million legal entities. In 2022, SHECA became a member of Shanghai Data Group. It has built a cross-border digital identity platform that integrates LEI records with authoritative legal entity data sources to provide enterprise query services and LEI embedded digital certificates.

As a QVI, SHECA will now expand proven capabilities to offer authoritative vLEI issuance, validation, and verification services. This will help Chinese companies address regulatory requirements across various cross-border trade scenarios by verifying the identity of counterparties and their authorized representatives. It also enables both domestic and international organizations to use the vLEI to support the digitalization of trade by promoting increased security, trust, and transparency across key applications, such as e-invoices and e-bills of lading (eBL).

Other digital transactions and exchanges will be supported to promote more efficient business operations, including contracts, labor agreements, certificates, and reports. “Increasing momentum for the vLEI reflects the fact that truly global commerce demands interoperable digital organizational identity solutions capable of delivering immediate and automated trust across borders,” says Alexandre Kech, CEO of GLEIF. “SHECA’s approval as a QVI marks a significant expansion of the vLEI ecosystem in China, which stands to increase the adoption and application of the vLEI across the region to foster simpler, smoother, and safer trade.”

Jiuqiang Cui, General Manager of SHECA, said: “As a QVI, we look forward to continued collaboration with GLEIF to support the development of next-generation digital identity solutions that will address longstanding trust issues in cross-border identity verification – streamlining compliance, reducing risks and costs, and stimulating global trade.” 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS): 

Q: What is the Global vLEI Hackathon 2025?

A: The Global vLEI Hackathon 2025 is a competition organized by GLEIF to invite developers, entrepreneurs, and innovators to build technical solutions that demonstrate how vLEI can streamline compliance, reduce fraud, and improve operational efficiency in various sectors.

Q: What is a vLEI?

A: A vLEI (verifiable Legal Entity Identifier) is a cryptographically secure credential designed to bring trust, transparency, and automation to the digital economy. It is the digital counterpart of the Legal Entity Identifier (LEI).

Q: What are the thematic areas of the hackathon?

A: The hackathon focuses on three thematic areas: bridging digital assets with traditional finance, enhancing Industry 4.0 operations through ESG and AI agent identification, and strengthening supply chain resilience and SME finance through digitized trade and documentation.

Q: Who are the Qualified vLEI Issuers (QVIs)?

A: Qualified vLEI Issuers (QVIs) are trusted entities responsible for issuing and managing vLEI credentials. Current QVIs include CFCA, CERTIZEN, FINEMA, Provenant, SHECA, Toppan, TradeGo, and Global vLEI.

Q: What is the significance of SHECA becoming a QVI?

A: SHECA becoming a QVI marks a significant expansion of the vLEI ecosystem in China, helping Chinese companies address regulatory requirements in cross-border trade and promoting increased security, trust, and transparency in digital transactions. 

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