Blockcerts is an open standard offered by MIT Media Lab used to digitally express a certificate and store it in a blockchain so that it can be always verified without the need to contact the issuing institution (UniTo) or platform Bestr.  

A Blockcerts is a digital certificate issued by the University of Turin and owned by an individual, expressed in this format and notarized in the blockchain.

UniTo issues the Blockcerts  and it signs it digitally with its own keys.

The Blockcerts, like the paper certificate, remains with the owner. Unlike a paper certificate, the owner can easily share the Blockcerts without the need to separate from the original and the authenticity of the certificate can be verified by comparing the content of the Blockcerts with its “digital footprint” stored in the blockchain.

The digital footprint, like anything written in the blockchain, is immutable and always accessible. This is why Blockcerts allows to verify the integrity of a certificate in a secure and immediate way without the need to contact the organization that issued the certificate.