The Shiba Inu ecosystem will tie all the applications to a blockchain-based digital identity to strengthen trust among shib (SHIB) users and governments, a representative for the blockchain told CoinDesk on Thursday.

The move is the latest attempt by Shiba Inu to break away from its meme coin status and become a serious decentralized finance (DeFi) contender in a crowded blockchain market

Self-Sovereign Identity, or SSI, is the digital alter ego of identity documents, like passports and driver’s licenses. In the digital world, SSI is said to give users more control over their personal data and its distribution online.

Shiba Inu developers say they have been working with community projects – such as those using SHIB or planning to build on the upcoming Shibarium blockchain – to ensure SSI deployment is a priority.

These developers say the rising interest in digital identities and data protection in Canada and the European Union, could help position Shiba Inu as a tamer project compared to other blockchains.

“We are laying the groundwork for a new global standard in decentralized digital trust and international identity verification,” Shiba Inu lead developer “Shytoshi Kusama” said in a message to CoinDesk. “In this way, Shibarium is the herald of a new digital age where faith in systems is restored and enhanced.”

SHIB, initially a meme coin, is turning into a serious blockchain contender with the launch of Shibarium. The layer 2 network will utilize BONE, TREAT, SHIB and LEASH tokens for applications built on the blockchain.

“Layer 2” refers to a set of off-chain systems – separate blockchains – built on top of layer 1 protocols, reducing bottlenecks with scaling and data. They bundle multiple off-chain transactions into a single layer 1 transaction, which helps reduce the data load and fees.

A test blockchain for Shibarium has seen meaningful activity in the past months with 27 million transactions from an estimated 16 million wallets as of July, indicating brisk demand for the network. The network is expected to go live later this month.