christophera user

Blockchain & Decentralized Identity Architect — Internet Cryptography Pioneer — Co-author IETF TLS & W3C DID Standards — Collaborative Tools & Patterns

Funding Links: https://github.com/sponsors/ChristopherA

Christopher Allen · SF Bay Area, CA · Life With Alacrity · 803 followers · 712 stars · 62 repositories · joined November 2022

GitHub Sponsors Profile

I believe in human dignity over system efficiency, consent over coercion, agency over control.
That's the thread connecting everything I do — from co-authoring the TLS standard that secures web commerce, to writing the 10 Principles of Self-Sovereign Identity, to testifying before legislators about why your private keys deserve legal protection.
My work operates on two interdependent tracks: pragmatic policy engagement (working with governments and standards bodies to improve existing systems) and radical technological alternatives (building infrastructure that doesn't require permission or institutional trust). I see these as complementary approaches in an ecology of change — inside reformers create space for outside radicals, while bridge-builders prepare paths for fundamental transformation.
On the policy side, I've helped pass Wyoming's identity definition law and private key protection law, and I'm currently advising on Switzerland's e-ID implementation. On the technology side, I founded Rebooting the Web of Trust and lead Blockchain Commons, building open infrastructure for digital autonomy. In standards bodies like the W3C and IETF, I represent the voices that often get drowned out when large vendors dominate.
Right now, I'm focused on #RevisitingSSI — a year-long effort to revisit and refine the original SSI principles for their 10th anniversary in April 2026. We're bringing together technologists, lawyers, advocates, and academics to wrestle with hard questions: What did we get right? What did we miss? What must change for the next decade?
This work doesn't have a business model. It has patrons — people who believe that human dignity in digital systems is worth fighting for. When you sponsor me, you're not buying a product. You're joining a movement and making it possible for me to keep doing this work independently, without corporate conflicts or institutional constraints.
More about my design philosophy: How My Values Inform Design

3 current sponsors · 19 past · 22 total · $1.00 minimum