Blockchain-Enabled Credential Verification Framework for Transparent Academic and Professional Records

Abstract

Academic credential fraud, document manipulation, and unverifiable professional records continue to
pose major challenges to universities, employers, and regulatory agencies worldwide. Traditional verification
systems rely heavily on centralized databases, manual cross-checking, and institution-dependent authorization,
which are often slow, opaque, and vulnerable to tampering. This paper presents a blockchain-enabled credential
verification framework designed to establish trust, transparency, and interoperability in academic and professional
certification ecosystems. The proposed architecture integrates decentralized identifiers (DIDs), immutable smart
contracts, and blockchain-based timestamping to enable secure issuance, storage, and validation of digital
credentials. To demonstrate real-world applicability, a prototype system was developed using Ethereum smart
contracts and InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) for distributed document storage. The solution supports real-time
verification while ensuring privacy through cryptographic hashing and selective disclosure. Furthermore, the
framework provides cross-border compatibility, empowering institutions to share verifiable credentials without
relying on intermediaries. Experimental evaluation shows that blockchain-based verification significantly reduces
processing time, enhances security, and prevents unauthorized alteration of records. This work contributes a
transparent, tamper-proof, and scalable model for global credential verification and highlights its potential adoption
across education, recruitment, and licensing bodies.