# Identity FAQ

Common questions about VerusID, the self-sovereign identity system built into the Verus protocol.

A VerusID is a human-readable, on-chain identity (like alice@) that can hold funds, prove ownership, store data, and be recovered if keys are lost — all without any centralized authority.

A VerusID combines:

• A human-readable name: People send to alice@ instead of a random address
• A crypto wallet: Holds VRSC and other currencies
• A digital passport: Cryptographically signs messages and transactions
• A data vault: Stores arbitrary data on-chain (public or encrypted)
• A recoverable identity: Keys can be rotated without losing the identity

Unlike accounts on platforms like Google or Twitter, no company controls your VerusID. It exists on the blockchain permanently.

Learn more: VerusID In Depth | Register a VerusID

A root VerusID costs ~100 VRSC (~80 VRSC with a referral). SubIDs can cost as little as 0.01 VRSC.

The cost of a root VerusID is a protocol-level fee that goes partially to the referrer (if any) and partially to miners/stakers. SubID pricing is controlled by the namespace (currency) owner.

Learn more: Register a VerusID | Manage SubIDs

Yes. VerusID has a built-in revocation and recovery system — you can freeze a compromised identity and reassign new keys without losing the identity itself.

How it works:

1. Each VerusID has a revocation authority and a recovery authority (these can be other VerusIDs or the same ID)
2. If your keys are compromised, the revocation authority revokes (freezes) the identity
3. The recovery authority recovers the identity with entirely new keys
4. The identity keeps its name, history, and address — only the controlling keys change

This is one of Verus's most important features. On most blockchains, lost keys mean lost funds forever. On Verus, identity recovery is a protocol-level operation.

Learn more: How to Revoke and Recover

A SubID is a child identity created under a parent namespace. If you own a currency called MyCurrency, you can create identities like user.MyCurrency@ at prices you set.

SubIDs are useful for:

• Organizations: employee.CompanyName@
• Applications: user123.MyApp@
• Agent registries: agent.AgentHub@
• Communities: member.CommunityName@

The namespace owner controls:

• SubID pricing (can be as low as 0.01 VRSC)
• Whether anyone can register or only the owner can issue them
• Referral discounts

SubIDs have all the same capabilities as root IDs: they can hold funds, store data, be revoked and recovered, and use multisig.

Learn more: Manage SubIDs

Yes. VerusID has native M-of-N multisig — you set multiple primary addresses and a minimum signature threshold directly on the identity.

Example: A 2-of-3 multisig identity has three keyholders, and any two must agree to sign a transaction:

primaryaddresses: ["R_addr_1", "R_addr_2", "R_addr_3"]
minimumsignatures: 2

No special scripts or smart contracts are needed. Multisig is a built-in property of every VerusID.

Learn more: Setup Multisig

Yes. Every VerusID has a contentmultimap field that stores arbitrary key-value data on-chain using the VDXF (Verus Data Exchange Format) standard.

You can store:

• Public text, JSON, or binary data
• Encrypted data (encrypted to a Sapling z-address)
• Files (automatically split across transactions if large)
• Structured data with schema definitions

Data is stored permanently on-chain. There's no external storage dependency like IPFS.

Learn more: VDXF Data Standard | On-Chain File Storage

Yes. VerusID supports cryptographic signature-based authentication — a user proves they control an identity by signing a challenge, with no password needed.

The flow:

1. Application presents a challenge string
2. User signs it with their VerusID (signmessage)
3. Application verifies the signature (verifymessage)

This enables passwordless login for any application that integrates with the Verus RPC API.

Learn more: VerusID Login Guide