Context
It emerged that TÜBİTAK BİLGEM has an EU-compatible wallet and a test environment. This information comes from a single source and its official status is unknown. But the direction is clear: a state-backed wallet and person identification data (PID (Person Identification Data)Devletin en yüksek güvence seviyesinde verdiği temel kimlik verisi. Tamga bu rolü üstlenmez; Tamga'nın kimlik belgesi PID değildir.) path is forming in Türkiye. The analysis is in private documents (2026-10-01).
Two misunderstandings needed clearing up:
- "EUDI WalleteIDAS 2.0'ın tanımladığı Avrupa Dijital Kimlik Cüzdanı; Tamga aynı biçim ve protokolleri kullanır." is a legal title. It means a wallet provided or recognised by an EU member state and certified under EU rules. A wallet from an organisation outside the EU (Tamga Wallet as well as the TÜBİTAK wallet) cannot hold this title today, nor use the EU Trust Mark. What it can be is EU-compatible: speaking the same standards and proving it through testing.
- EU compatibility is not an alternative to the paths but their common ground. There is no choice between "an EU-compatible wallet + services" and "Tamga Network". The network is a layer placed on top of the EU standards.
Three paths were considered:
- Path 1: an EU-compatible wallet and services only.
- Path 2: first a heavy, EU-like network and institution.
- Path 3: a layered structure.
Decision
Path 3: three layers, each able to stand on its own.
- Base: EU compatibility. Credential formats (SD-JWT VC (Selective Disclosure JWT Verifiable Credential)Selective disclosure destekli JSON tabanlı belge biçimi; EUDI Wallet'ta ve Tamga'da çevrimiçi gösterme için kullanılır., ISO mdocISO/IEC 18013-5 mobil belge biçimi, CBOR ile kodlanır; yüz yüze gösterme ve mobil ehliyet için kullanılır.), protocols (OpenID4VCI (OpenID for Verifiable Credential Issuance)Belge verenin belgeyi cüzdana teslim ettiği protokol./VP, HAIP (High Assurance Interoperability Profile)Yüksek güvenceli kullanım için OpenID4VC seçeneklerini sabitleyen profil; EUDI Wallet'ta da kullanılır.), the trust model (LOTL (List of Trusted Lists)Ülke güven listelerinin adreslerini, imzacılarını ve tanınma durumlarını gösteren imzalı liste. → country lists, ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute)Güven listeleri, imzalar ve güven hizmetleri için teknik standartları yazan Avrupa standart kuruluşu. formats) and the registration model follow EU standards. Even if the network never grows, this layer is valuable on its own.
- Tamga Network: a light federasyon (federation)Her ülkenin kendi güven listesini işlettiği ve listelerin listesinde birleştiği model; Tamga dış listeleri de gösterebilir..
- The network does not select wallets, it recognises them. Any cüzdan sağlayıcısı (wallet provider)Cüzdanı sunan ve cüzdan ile anahtar kanıtlarını imzalayan kuruluş. Tamga Wallet ağın ilk cüzdanıdır. that follows the published rules (ARF (Architecture and Reference Framework)Rolleri, mimariyi, güven modelini ve kuralları anlatan belge seti. Tamga ARF, AB ARF'sinin düzenini izler., rulebookBağlayıcı kurallar seti. Tamga Rulebook tüm katılımcıların kurallarını taşır; her belge türünün ondan dallanan kendi rulebook'u vardır.s) and passes the conformance tests can be listed.
- The network's real job is to collect country lists and introduce them to each other. Today Tamga operates the Türkiye list on an interim basis. When the state, or an institution it authorises, publishes its own list, the Tamga LOTL points to that list's address and signer. For wallets and doğrulayıcı (verifier)Gösterilen belgeyi denetleyen taraf: imza, belge verenin güven listesindeki kaydı, durum ve politika. Relying party diye de anılır.s only the address changes (the ADR-0009 hand-over goal). The same applies to every Turkic state.
- No heavy institution is set up on day one. Today Tamga is the interim operator. When one or two states are willing to join, a governance body (council or foundation) is formed, the lists are handed over and the ledger arrives (ADR-0009: at least two independent operators).
- Products and services.
- Tamga Wallet: the network's first and reference wallet, but not locked to the network; it works in any EU-compatible environment. It makes no claim to be a national identity wallet. Its strengths are takma ad (pseudonym)Cüzdanın her web sitesi için ayrı türettiği kararlı hesap kimliği; iki site aynı kişiyi eşleştiremez.s, zero-knowledge proofs (ZK (Zero-Knowledge proof)Bir bilginin doğru olduğunu, bilginin kendisini göstermeden kanıtlayan ispat; örneğin doğum tarihi olmadan "18 yaşından büyük".), tickets and credentials of the Turkic world.
- Services (Institution Console, Tamga Verify, institutions' self-registration, a test environment, integration and SDK support, consulting, the provisional identity service) are offered on top of the standards. An institution issues its credential to whichever compatible wallet the person chooses; verification works whichever compatible wallet it comes from.
- The services are not separate software: they are the running services offered to institutions. The separation is at the level of brand, contract and responsibility.
Invariants
| Code | Rule |
|---|---|
| PO1 | Tamga's credential, protocol and trust list formats do not depart from EU standards; every Tamga-specific addition uses a standard extension point and does not break standard clients. |
| PO2 | Tamga Network recognises a wallet not by its name but by the published rules and conformance tests; any wallet provider that follows the rules can be listed. |
| PO3 | The state roles Tamga holds on an interim basis (list operator, registrar, root CA, provisional identity provider) are designed to be handed over; on hand-over only the address and signer change on the credential, wallet and verifier side. |
| PO4 | In public texts Tamga Wallet is not presented as an "EUDI Wallet" or a "national wallet"; the correct wording is "EU-compatible wallet", backed by conformance test results. |
Rationale / alternatives
| Option | Result | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Path 1: EU-compatible wallet + services only | rejected (as the main direction) | Fastest revenue, but little differentiation, and it shrinks when the state wallet arrives. Path 3 already includes it. |
| Path 2: heavy network and institution first | rejected | Without states it stays without revenue for years; an early institution is costly. |
| Path 3: layered | accepted | Matches the architecture exactly; services and the wallet bring revenue now, the network grows over time, and when the state wallet and lists arrive the value is not lost — the federation's value grows. |
Known tension: the EU deliberately separates roles. An institution that runs the list and also sells services has a conflict of interest. One team is enough today, but later the network's governance (council or foundation) and the service company must separate. Public communication already shows this separation through names and documents.
Consequences
- Federation gate. Country lists with external signers, reading the ETSI format and recognising external wallet providers are opened by a separate ADR (ADR-0036).
- EU identity. Verification of EU identity (PID) and driving licence (mDL (mobile Driving Licence)Cüzdanda mdoc biçiminde (ISO/IEC 18013-5) tutulan sürücü belgesi.) types is added (ADR-0036).
- Wallet and console. A "institutions I shared with" screen is added to the wallet; self-registration for verifying institutions comes to the Institution Console (design now, build after the store release).
- Public communication. The site, whitepaper and presentations are organised around the three layers. The ARF and the developer docs are simplified according to this positioning.
Status
Accepted — 2026-10-01 (project management approval; the verbatim quote is in the private approval record). The third layer ("products and services") was changed by ADR-0037: Tamga Network is only a network and sells no services; commercial services sit outside the network. PO1–PO4 remain in force.