notes: events/talks/kericonf26-d2-06-asawaka-mobile-wallet

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events/talks/kericonf26-d2-06-asawaka-mobile-wallet Evan Asakawa: Mobile Wallet (KERIConf 2026) summary v0.1 — 2026-10-15: drafted by Claude from the curated transcript; unread by Mark; marked partner on Mark's word 2026-10-21, paraphrase only, no quotation partner 775 # Evan Asakawa: Mobile Wallet (KERIConf 2026) **Abstract.** Evan Asakawa of the KERI Foundation development team described a web wallet for KERI (Key Event Receipt Infrastructure) that runs KERIpy entirely in the browser, with keys created and stored on the device, and the mobile wallet that reuses the same code. He demonstrated the web wallet and a plugin model in the Locksmith desktop wallet that lets several providers supply witnesses and watchers. Questions from the floor covered mailboxes, witness counts and KERIpy's coverage of the specifications. The talk suits developers building KERI clients. ## Summary Asakawa explained that the goal, set by Samuel Smith, was a fully web-native wallet to complement the Locksmith desktop application: running entirely in the browser with no KERIpy server behind it, keys created and stored locally, persistent across reloads, and deployable by anyone who serves the files. He then described the obstacles and how they were handled. Python normally runs on CPython, a C interpreter, so the team used Pyodide, the Python interpreter compiled to WebAssembly, and PyScript as the bridge to browser web workers and storage. KERIpy's dependencies had to work in WebAssembly: libsodium was compiled to WebAssembly and pysodium adapted to load it, under the name pychloride; BLAKE3, written in Rust, was also compiled; and pyoqs, a post-quantum cryptography library, was made compatible for future use. Inside KERIpy, LMDB (Lightning Memory-Mapped Database) depends on memory mapping, which WebAssembly lacks, so a second database class, webdber, mirrors the LMDB interface over the browser's IndexedDB, and imports were changed so LMDB is not loaded. Samuel Smith added an asynchronous interface to HIO, the KERI community's input-output library, to make persistence possible. In answer to questions, he said the changes are on a KERIpy branch and that a matching web keeper encrypts keys before storage. The architecture is a thin JavaScript interface launching PyScript workers that call KERIpy and HIO, which persist to IndexedDB, with no server-side key management. In the demonstration, a locally hosted web wallet with a Locksmith-style interface created a vault and a local identifier and, through a KERI Foundation plugin, obtained witnesses from the witness and watcher service open sourced by healthKERI, running on his machine. He said the KERI Foundation expects to offer a basic, rate-limited hosted service. He then showed the Locksmith desktop wallet with two plugins from different providers, rotating in witnesses from each, so that one identifier ended with five witnesses at sequence number two. He described a template folder to help others write plugins; an audience member noted plugins can carry any user interface, including an enterprise credential issuance tool, and could later manage observers and registrars. On mobile, an audience member reported that iOS and Android builds wrap the same web code and await store accounts. Phil Feairheller explained that mailboxes were once bundled into witnesses for speed but are now a separate store-and-forward service that healthKERI offers and that could be hosted anywhere. Karla McKenna, referring to GLEIF's governance framework for QVIs (Qualified vLEI Issuers), asked whether holders need guidance on witness numbers; the discussion recalled Samuel Smith's advice and suggested such recommendations belong in the vLEI credential frameworks and in KERI Foundation documentation. Feairheller added that KERIpy 1.2 and 1.3 implement KERI and ACDC (Authentic Chained Data Containers) 1.0, and that the main branch carries the work toward 2.0. The desktop Locksmith is Python with PySide6 and runs on Mac, Windows and Linux. ## Key terms web wallet, Pyodide, PyScript, WebAssembly, pychloride, webdber, IndexedDB, HIO, Locksmith plugin, mailbox ## Claims and their evidence - KERIpy runs in the browser through Pyodide and PyScript, with keys created and stored on the device and persisted in IndexedDB. [presenter-reported] - The browser changes to KERIpy are on a branch, not yet in a release. [presenter-reported] - The mobile apps wrap the same web code and will be published once store accounts are in place. [presenter-reported] - In the demonstration, one identifier held witnesses from two provider plugins, five in total after two rotations. [presenter-reported] - KERIpy 1.2 and 1.3 implement KERI and ACDC 1.0, while the main branch is being upgraded toward 2.0. [presenter-reported] - Mailboxes are a separate store-and-forward service rather than part of a witness. [informative] ## Related KERIpy, HIO, Locksmith (desktop wallet), the healthKERI witness and watcher service, the KERI Foundation plugin, the vLEI ecosystem governance framework, and the KERIConf 2026 talks by Ryan Hansen (Witnesses and Watchers) and Philip Feairheller. ## Provenance Drafted by Claude on 2026-10-15 from the curated transcript (d2-06-evan-asawaka-mobile-wallet.md), all of the transcript read, which runs to about 26 minutes although the front matter gives 40:15. No quotations; paraphrase only. Not yet read by Mark.

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