Some embodiments provide a system to generate a key pair. During operation, the system can receive a request to generate the key pair, wherein the key pair is generated by a key assigner, and wherein the key pair is associated with a user. Next, the system can determine a secret associated with the key assigner. Specifically, the system can determine the secret by determining an initial secret associated with the key assigner, and by applying a one-way hash function to the initial secret one or more times. The system can then determine a seed based on the secret. Specifically, the system can determine the seed by cryptographically combining the secret with information associated with the user. Next, the system can generate the key pair by using the seed as an input to a key generator. The system can then return the key pair to a requestor.