At least one aspect is directed to improving the performance of real-time verification of online identity. The issuer computing system can receive a request to generate a composite token, the composite token configured to authorize certain verifying parties to authenticate a first-party token comprising information about a client. The issuer can generate a composite token using cryptographic keys and distribute it to the client, who can distribute it to other content item networks. The verifying parties can receive the composite token from the content item networks, use a cryptographic key verify the authenticity of the token corresponding to the client device, and use the token to further process content item operations. The system can distribute the cryptographic keys prior to the generation and verification of the composite token, and as such allow the parties to verify the composite token in real-time without contacting outside verification parties.