A Progress Update on the UN/CEFACT Global Trust Registry Project
Who this is for: Trust Architects working on trust anchors, registry-based assurance, digital identity infrastructure, or tracking the progress of digital trust across systems and sectors.
Main Global Trust Registry project / GRID site
When supply chain participants say, "we need to know who registered this company," what they're really asking for is verifiable trust at the source.
That's what the Global Trust Registry project (GTR) and the Global Registrar Information Directory (GRID) it is designing will support.
Launched in May 2025 under the UN/CEFACT umbrella, the GTR builds on the UN Transparency Protocol (UNTP) to help surface and verify authoritative registries worldwide. The project's key deliverables are:
- The Global Registrar Information Directory (GRID): A global directory of authoritative registrars to support discovery and cross-border interoperability.
- The Digital Identity Anchor (DIA) framework: A mechanism for issuing verifiable credentials that link entities to official registration records.
From a Trust Architecture perspective, this isn't about creating a centralised list of approved registries. The goal is to establish a shared, open standard for recognising who's who in global trade in a way that works across systems, jurisdictions, and levels of digital maturity.
If you're advising on digital product passports, working with national regulators, or building systems that handle identity and compliance, the GRID and DIA framework will offer a way to connect decentralised identity with legal recognition.
They will help participants document trust decisions and trace the source of claims, without imposing a single model of trust.
As GTR project lead and digital trust expert John Phillips puts it:
"The decision to trust is always yours. We're just making the supporting data easier to find."
2025 Retrospective: Building the Foundations
The past seven months saw the Global Trust Registry project move from concept to progress with advisory documents, infrastructure, and alignment efforts in motion.
The project team tackled core challenges at the intersection of legal recognition, digital infrastructure, and international interoperability.
Key developments include:
- Defining parameters. Acting under the premise that no central body should designate trusted registries, the team grounded the work in legal reality. Registrars get their authority from national laws, which differ across countries. The GRID will reflect that by enabling each registrar to publish verifiable information about their legal basis rather than imposing a single model of trust.
- Clarifying the role of the Digital Identity Anchor (DIA). One of the most debated concepts in 2025 was the DIA, defined as a verifiable credential issued by an authoritative register to link a subject with one or more Decentralised Identifiers (DIDs). The team worked to clarify that the DIA is not another layer of hierarchy. It is not a new identifier, but a way to represent and validate registration data using cryptographically signed credentials. It is a bridge between existing identifiers, not a replacement for them.
- Creating a documentation repository. The team created and compiled key materials—governance frameworks, DIA specs, implementation guides, and pilot resources—into a centralised, open-access documentation set. This includes both conceptual documents and technical artefacts like credential structures and example data flows. The documentation is hosted on both the main project site and the GitLab environment, where technical teams can also find working code, sandbox tools, and markdown specs. These resources are designed to support engagement at different levels, from legal review to hands-on technical implementation.
- Designing for decentralisation from the outset. To avoid the misconception that the GRID would become a centralised registry or global monopoly, the team built it as a decentralised mesh. Data is federated, participation is voluntary, and each country retains sovereignty over its registrars. Head to the GTR GitLab for a prototype that shows how this works in practice.
- Piloting and outreach. A sandbox prototype was created in GitLab to support early pilot interest. This environment shows how registrar information can be harvested, verified, and queried in customs and tax workflows.
- Cross-initiative alignment. The team reviewed and responded to parallel efforts including the EU's WEBUILD business wallet work, GLEIF's VLEI model, and existing ISO and Council of Europe frameworks. Rather than compete, the GTR aims to interoperate. Trust infrastructure needs to support many systems, not consolidate them.
What's Next for the GRID and DIA Framework
- A GTR project white paper is being prepared for presentation at the May UN/CEFACT forum.
- The GitLab repository is the home for live edits, using markdown-based version control to support open collaboration and better maintainability.
- Visuals and explainers are being developed for stakeholders including regulators, implementers, and legal teams.
Ways Trust Architects Can Work with the GRID and DIA Framework
- Working with a registry or industry body? Explore the GRID pilot sandbox to see how your data or process might align with the project. The GTR GitLab includes prototype scripts and test tools under the sandbox/ and docs/Pilots/ directories.
- Focused on legal architecture? The Digital Identity Anchor – Legal Meaning and Data Structure document outlines proposals for linking credentials to the legal basis for claims. Timely reading ahead of the May plenary.
- Interested in testing? If you're interested in testing your registry data or implementation approach in a real-world scenario, consider participating in a pilot. The sandbox environment can be accessed via the GTR GitLab, where you'll find prototype scripts and test tools in the docs/Pilots/ directories. You can also reach out via the participation guide to express interest.
- Want to help shape the GRID? The project remains open to participation and you'll find the participation guide here. You can submit a request to join the working group, contribute feedback, or engage in a pilot.
Join the Discussion
We've opened a GRID thread on chat.pyx.io so the Trust Architect Community can ask questions and weigh in.