Often abbreviated VC or W3C VC. Sometimes confused with a PDF certificate; verifiable credentials are cryptographically verifiable, PDF certificates are not.
A verifiable credential is a digitally signed claim about a subject — a person, an organisation, an artefact — issued by one party and independently checkable by any third party using open cryptography. The format is defined in the W3C Verifiable Credentials Data Model standard; Open Badges 3.0 is built on top of it for educational credentials.
The practical contrast is with PDF certificates and platform-locked badges. A PDF certificate's authenticity must be verified by contacting the issuer. A platform-locked badge can be verified only inside the platform that issued it. A verifiable credential can be verified by anyone, anywhere, using only the credential and the issuer's public key — without contacting Ewance, the issuing university, or any other party.
Every credential Ewance issues is a verifiable credential in the W3C Data Model 2.0 format with Open Badges 3.0 metadata. The credential is anchored on Ethereum L2 by LearnCoin so the issue date and content are tamper-evident. A recruiter clicks through and verifies in seconds; a future employer two years later does the same. The credential outlives the platform.
The fastest way to know whether challenge-based learning fits you is to ship one.
