Crosshub, “ID Block: The Key to Borderless Personal Identification”

- Crosshub’s ‘ID Block’ uses blockchain technology to enable secure, borderless personal identification by storing data directly on smartphones, making global authentication and simple payment services possible for foreigners and overseas Koreans.
- Founded by Jae-seol Kim, Crosshub has rapidly gained recognition, winning major awards and forming strategic partnerships with banks, universities, and international companies to expand its innovative authentication solutions.
- The company’s technology, which leverages Zero-Knowledge Proofs, has received strong government support and aims to become a global standard for personal data management and verification.


“All existing authentication methods rely on requesting authorization from centralized data whenever needed. This inevitably creates a burden on businesses for data management, maintenance, and security. In contrast, Crosshub’s ‘ID Block’ makes the individual’s smartphone the subject of the information, and uses blockchain technology to verify the integrity of personal data. This technology can be applied to everything from personal verification for foreign residents and overseas Koreans to using simple domestic payment services from abroad.”

South Korea's unique personal identification procedures often exacerbate the difficulties of living in the country for foreigners and are close to a barrier hindering internationalization. Proper life in Korea necessitates personal authentication, which often requires activating a mobile phone under one's own name. Not only South Korea but countries worldwide have built authentication procedures tailored to their own citizens, effectively forming digital borders. If a person's identity can be securely verified through technology, personal authentication becomes easier, further enabling services to transcend borders and nationalities.

Jae-seol Kim, CEO of Crosshub / source=IT dongA

Seeing the potential for blockchain technology to unify the global authentication market, Jae-seol Kim founded Crosshub Inc, a tech startup specializing in global identity verification and simple payment services, last year. Kim began his career in 1997 in the Planning and Coordination Office of the Ministry of Science and and ICT (MSIT), and subsequently worked at Onse Telecom and Dacom before serving as the Head of the Business Solutions (BS) Division at LG Uplus.

From 2015, he led ICT projects for more than 60 major domestic infrastructure facilities, including Gocheok Sky Dome Stadium, Busan Museum of Art, and the Jeju Duty-Free Shop, and is a top-tier developer who spearheaded the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS)'s Government 24 big data-based advancement project. We took the time to hear about the core technology and market strategy of Crosshub, which was launched based on Kim’s over 20 years of on-the-ground IT experience.

ID Block: From Local Revitalization to Global Authentication Integration, Anything is Possible

Crosshub began by winning the Grand Prize at the 'BIC Blockchain Conference' hosted by the Chungbuk Innovation Institute of Science and Technology (CBIST) in 2023. Kim explained, “At the time, we received the Grand Prize for an item that authenticated the identity of foreigners using blockchain technology and created an Honorary Citizen Certificate for them. The intent was to offer discounts to foreigners holding the certificate upon personal authentication at local tourist sites.” He added, “Based on this, we established Crosshub in May 2024, quickly gained corporate recognition, and secured a Seed funding round of 5 billion Korean Won (approximately $3.75 million USD) within a year.”

It is highly uncommon (or exceptional) for a startup to raise 5 billion Won in a seed round just one year after founding, a feat underpinned by Kim's dedication in refining the Investor Relations (IR) deck more than 100 times.

Kim (left) and Su-jeong Park, CFO of Crosshub (right) / source=IT dongA

There are many tech companies that support Verifiable Credentials (VC) and Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) based on blockchain technology or their own protocols. However, Kim asserts that Crosshub is fundamentally different from existing firms and currently has no competitors. “Our core business is not global identity verification, but a data management solution,” he said. “All existing authentication uses a centralized identifier (CIDs) method that compares information with data stored on a central server. This can lead to massive personal data leaks due to hacking and incurs high costs for maintenance.”

He continued, “ID Block stores personal data directly on the smartphone itself, and the server only verifies if it has been tampered with. This technology has already been selected for the Deep Tech TIPS program, and we possess the core technology for selectively providing information. We currently hold and are prosecuting seven patents in Korea, with filings also underway in the U.S. and Vietnam.”

Kim explained that ID Block will change the existing centralized personal information authentication process and enable borderless personal information verification / source=IT dongA

ID Block's technology uses Zero-Knowledge Proof (ZKP), a recent concept in cryptography. ZKP verifies that a statement is true without sharing the underlying information itself. For example, a certificate can be generated from a birthdate stored on a smartphone to prove that the user is 'over 19 years old'. When this is sent to the server, the server only needs to verify the certificate’s validity to confirm the user is 'over 19' without needing to check the birthdate directly.

Kim pointed out, “The reason simple payment cannot be used overseas, for instance, is the inability to verify personal or financial information. To solve this, the related industry is being standardized through the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). By integrating ID Block, borderless identity verification becomes possible, allowing users to use the simple payment services they use in their home country anywhere in the world.”

Focused on Securing Key Sector Adoption Cases, Targeting Banks for Rapid Diffusion

Hwan-seok Kim, Director of Gangwon Institute of Industry-University Convergence (left), and Kim (right) held a strategic partnership agreement ceremony for operating the D-2 Long-Stay Visa for foreign students utilizing ID Block / source=Crosshub

Kim is actively engaging in service adoption and expansion. “We were recently selected as the main operator for a foreign student-related project with the Gangwon Institute of Industry-University Convergence (GWGIC). Currently, it is difficult for students on D-2 visas to help alleviate local employment issues. Thus, GWGIC received regulatory sandbox approval for the creation of the D-2 Long-Stay Visa, which significantly allows foreign students to work during the semester,” he explained. “Crosshub will lead a consortium involving approximately 400 domestic universities over the next six years, supporting the personal information authentication and management of foreign students.”

Crosshub is also collaborating with the Ulsan Port Authority to manage incoming foreigners. “When foreign sailors arrive at Ulsan Port, the entry process is currently done manually. We are creating a system where personal authentication is completed with ID Block beforehand to receive a QR code, which then automates border entry and exit via QR verification. This can be adopted at various entry and exit points for foreigners, including ports and airports,” he stated.

Targeting commercial banks, rather than individual companies, is another key aspect of Kim’s strategy. “Proposing ID Block adoption to individual companies would be too numerous. Therefore, we are conducting a Proof of Concept (PoC) with Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) and Woori Bank, aiming to establish a system that general businesses will naturally adopt once implemented by the banks. This approach would allow foreigners to utilize bank services with ID Block, much like the existing joint-authentication certificate (Co-Sign Certificate) used in Korea.”

Crosshub won the Best of Innovation Award at CES 2026, set to be held early next year / source=CTA

Overseas business milestones include collaboration with Thales, a partnership with Japanese travel company HIS, and winning the Best of Innovation Award at CES 2026. Kim noted, “We are conducting a PoC to integrate ID Block into Thales’ digital security service, IDS. With HIS, a major Japanese travel corporation, we are planning to support Japan’s simple authentication in Korea to promote travel between both countries.”

Furthermore, it is rare for a one-year-old startup to receive the CES Best of Innovation Award for an intangible asset rather than a product. Kim stated, “We were able to achieve remarkable results at CES thanks to the support of various local governments. I believe this recognition stems from our ability to recreate standardized data management methods with new technology and provide a solution to a long-standing challenge in global payment networks. Our business scale is expected to grow continuously, with foreign sovereign wealth funds recently requesting investment.”

Crosshub explaining ID Block to local attendees at Asia Tech x Singapore / source=Crosshub

As Crosshub’s ID Block's value is validated, it has received successive, proactive support from the government. Kim revealed, “This year alone, we have been selected for over 100 government support projects, including more than 30 projects for overseas market expansion. We have also received ministerial awards three times. Every overseas business trip has resulted in a contract, and we are laying the groundwork for attracting foreign investment. Center for Creative Economy and Innovation (CCEI) across the country are providing broad support, along with many other institutions helping ID Block become a global standard.”

Crosshub also has ties with the Seoul CCEI. Crosshub represented Seoul CCEI in the 'S.Challenge IR'—a competition among excellent companies from regional CCEIs—and won the Grand Prize. They were also recommended as a Korean representative for ILS 2025 (Innovation Leaders Summit), Asia's largest open innovation event, in Japan. Open innovation is a crucial program that creates collaboration opportunities between large companies and startups, and further aims for strategic partnerships and investment attraction.

Kim expressed his intention to apply ID Block to any field requiring personal authentication and to enter the U.S. market next year / source=IT dongA

Despite the diverse spotlight Crosshub is receiving, Kim says business is a continuous process of proving oneself. “As a new company dealing with technology not yet in the market, it’s challenging to get potential partners to fully understand it. By traveling overseas over 40 times this year to introduce the technology, we are relatively quickly building trust with industry stakeholders. We will continue to prove ourselves through performance and results,” he affirmed.

Finally, Kim outlined his plans for this year and next. “In just one year since our founding, we have achieved the remarkable feat of securing an export contract worth $1.2 million USD (approx. 1.764 billion KRW) and winning the CES 2026 Best of Innovation Award. Being selected for Deep Tech TIPS and carrying out the regulatory sandbox project are also major accomplishments. Early next year, based on the CES Best of Innovation Award, we plan to enter the U.S. market and establish a system to issue digital diplomas for universities there,” he stated, concluding with the ambition to “expand into every industry that requires personal information authentication and usher in the era of self-sovereign identity, where individuals can manage their personal data.”

By Si-hyeon Nam (sh@itdonga.com)