Endorsement Credential (VEC)

A Verifiable Endorsement Credential lets one participant vouch for another’s skills, competencies, or attributes. Unlike a Relationship Credential (which says “I know this person”), an endorsement says “I can attest to this person’s ability in X.”

What It Contains

Beyond the standard VC fields, an endorsement includes:

• Endorsement type — e.g., SkillEndorsement
• Competency description — what skill or attribute is being endorsed
• Competency level — optional proficiency rating

Use in the Trust Graph

Endorsements add qualitative depth to the Decentralized Trust Graph. A VRC tells you two people are connected; an endorsement tells you what one trusts the other to do. For the Know Your Developer use case, endorsements are how technical competence gets verified — not by a certification authority, but by peers who’ve worked with you.

See also: dtg-credentials-overview, relationship-credential, decentralized-trust-graph