"A verifiable credential (VC) is an open standard (W3C Verifiable Credentials) for digital credentials. Verifiable credentials can represent information found in physical credentials, like a badge or a license, or new things that have no physical equivalent, such as ownership of a bank account. VCs are digitally signed, which makes them tamper-resistant and instantaneously verifiable and are similar to [[Self-sovereign Identity]].
Credentials can be issued by anyone about anything and be veriied by everyone. "The entity that generates the credential is called the Issuer. The credential is then given to the Holder who stores it for later use. The Holder can then prove something about themselves by presenting their credentials to a Verifier. This is validated via a data registry which the issuer writes to and the verifier checks against.
It’s like a shop clerk in Boston, MA deciding if they should accept a license issued by the state of Hawaii as proof of age when purchasing alcohol.
More info: https://verifiablecredential.io/learn