#01 Why Metaverse Identity Matters
In the physical world, identity is integral to a well-functioning society. Passports enable governments to identify their citizens, driver's licenses enable citizens to claim road rights, college degree-granting eligibility, and more.
Likewise, in the metaverse world, DIDs will enable high-value digital economic activity. Decentralized identity DID has always been the holy grail of killer apps in the encrypted world. Although it has attracted widespread attention, DID distributed identity has not been widely used. The biggest reason is the lack of broad community consensus and de facto unity. Apply the standard. And the emergence of NFTs - cleverly solved the pervasive digital identity and authenticity (Authenticity and Identity)
Figure 1: Basic Components of a DID Architecture
#02 The Embarrassment of Web2 Identity and the Infinite Possibilities of Web3 Identity
In the world of web2, user data is one of the most important assets of an organization or company. But in the world of web3, the fact that users have self-controllable identities and related data is a reality.
Web2 identity embarrassing example 1:
We often encounter such an embarrassing situation. When registering for a service or website, we are prompted to choose to register with Google Account, Apple ID or Microsoft Account.
Suppose you choose Google Account every time, save trouble. But one day, a new service appeared and did not offer Google Account registration. Ultimately, your personal information is scattered all over the place, a little here and a little there.
Web2 identity embarrassment Example 2:
"What do I use to register this thing?" "Can I link these two account systems together (for example, the PS and Xbox player systems are linked together), so I don't have to manually link these two accounts. information?"
Note: You may have noticed that the above two scenarios are not enough to convince you to embrace the web3 identity system / abandon the web2 identity system, which is not a pain point at all.
Imagine the future of web3 identity Example 3:
You are applying for a job at a nonprofit organization. Your web3 footprint documents your previous experience working with several NGOs and local communities, which is credible and cannot be tampered with. This non-profit organization applies to verify your experience, provide transparent and open verification of on-chain data, and verify the above-mentioned on-chain behaviors/transactions that may be marked with #NGO, #publicwealfare. A trustworthiness data is calculated and produced, and is used to provide an assessment for considering whether or not to accept your application.
The reason why we can outline such a scenario is that our interactions and transactions with smart contracts are recorded on the blockchain, forming our footprints in web3 and the metaverse. To some extent, it can play the role of identity, replacing those paper documents used for verification, or traditional manual verification.
At the same time, these interactions are also computable to a certain extent. Based on this, a data similar to trust can be constructed. That's the limitless possibilities of web3's identity.
#03 Redefining DID and striding into the Metaverse
Figure 2: OPENAVATAR DID PROTOCOL Digital Badge: DragonCapsule
In the future metaverse, we will need to submit applications for almost everything: scholarships, internships, jobs, etc. Such a process is troublesome for both the applicant who makes the application copy and the reviewer. DID - as a storage container for personal information - can help people improve the "application for registration" process. A more trustless solution than the web2 version of the identity solution, Linkedin.
Consider the application case as a miniature version of the trust model between humans. When the scenarios that require authentication in various places are contracted by DID, it is equivalent to the reconstruction of human trust.
A book called The Network State ***[2]*** describes how the DAO evolved into a network state. The Internet Nation is an Internet community that can carry out common actions and has a strong consensus. This kind of community consensus is strong enough to crowdfund the purchase of real-world territories and ultimately gain the diplomatic recognition of existing nations。
We naturally thought that DID is the ID card in the Web3.0 country. Imagine such a metaphor: different public chains are like different countries, and one identity has accounts and assets of different countries. The reputation is stored in the identity system of the unified account to which this identity belongs (according to the current development, it may not be unified). Combined, the DID reflects a more three-dimensional person on the chain.
A strong DID infrastructure can solve the Web 3.0 and metaverse identity problems. Applications can be built on DIDs, allowing creators to prove that NFTs representing physical or digital assets were created by them. Buyers and sellers will also be able to verify the origin of digital artwork. DIDs can also help foster more engagement between artists and their communities, such as limiting NFT ownership to community members to limit scalper speculation, or providing specific holders with exclusive NFT content, the idea also Let NFT itself be the best alternative protocol scheme for DID.
- We briefly review similar DID projects that have made significant progress so far:
Figure 3. Widespread application of ENS NFTs
Thanks to the realization of de facto standard technology and precise vertical function positioning, ENS shrewdly introduced NFT technical standards very early, and quietly rose. ENS is becoming a widely used alternative DID identification and standard, and ENS itself has also become a A special kind of functional NFT digital assets, and has natural scarcity and value-added. However, ENS (Ethereum Name Service) basic tools and vertical functional positioning lead to its unique complexity, making it difficult to be qualified for the properties and wide application of metaverse social identity
Figure 4. Metamask is widely used as a Web 3.0 SSO
On the other hand, MetaMask serves as the de facto application for over 21 million monthly active users accessing their Ethereum addresses. Basically similar to the Web2 single sign-on (SSO) authentication protocol implementation, almost all EVM-compliant Web3 applications will provide "login with MetaMask".
MetaMask serves as a powerful Web 3.0 application model, showing what a broader DID solution looks like, while also emphasizing the promise and dangers of self-sovereignty. Since MetaMask users hold their own private keys, they truly own the assets in their wallets. There is no need to trust the safety and custody of a third party. Additionally, users can seamlessly transfer assets from one application to another.
However, MetaMask itself is not a DID standard, but an important carrier and channel to promote the popularization of DID. Since 2022, global Internet giants such as Twitter, FaceBook/Meta, Reddit... have all used NFTs as user avatars and status symbols. NFT is becoming the best implementation of DID encrypted digital identity, and has naturally gained widespread Internet social recognition and encrypted identity applications. Of course, as a metaverse DID identity protocol, NFT will naturally utilize its natural allies, including ENS and MetaMask.
More broadly, NFTs have become the carrier of the best social identity in WEB3.0 and have formed a global consensus. Naturally, NFTs have gradually become an anchor solution for decentralized identity DIDs. Twitter and Reddit have begun to provide users with NFT identities. to identify and identify their online identities. As an example of NFT identity value consensus, Manifold co-founder @richerd explained that he turned down a $9.5 million offer for his cypherpunk NFT because he believed his cypherpunk was his identity and brand.
#04 A new generation of metaverse DID, a decentralized visual identity protocol
OPENAVATAR DID PROTOCOL
Figure 5: OPENAVTAR PROTOCOL - Metaverse DID
Since 2017, with the establishment of the EIP721/EIP1155 global de facto technical standard for digital asset ownership confirmation, NFT has gradually become the best comprehensive carrier in many decentralized application fields around the world, including but not limited to: DAO digital certificates and income Credentials, metaverse social identity ID, encrypted digital assets, game liquidity assets, digital rights, visual image/digital avatar...
We believe that the Web3.0 world only needs an identity system to open up all applications: we need to clearly propose standard protocols to form consensus and accelerate the arrival of a unified identity in the metaverse
YieldDAO recognizes that: in the coming multiverse era, AVATAR NFT has become a fact that the global users are widely used Web3.0 ID social identity, but the lack of interoperability, application technical standards and consensus is still restricting AVATAR NFT to become Web 3.0 ID Killer Apps
We propose the OPENAVATAR DID PROTOCOL , which promotes the optimal integration of AVATA NFT and DID from the dual levels of organizational structure and technical standards, promotes the determination of the best scalable technical framework, and is committed to expanding the organization of the OPENAVATAR standard Practical work such as application, operation and promotion.
# 05 OPENAVATAR PROTOCOL Metaverse Digital Identity Protocol Technology Stack
Figure 6: OPENAVTAR PROTOCOL - Tech Stack
- IPFS_EAC (IPFS Enterprise Autonomous Cell): IPFS controllable enterprise alliance autonomous service unit, fully controllable and manageable IPFS enterprise-level and autonomous organization management service unit, and public domain IPFS to achieve fully controllable communication and release management. -- L1 Managed Storage Tier
- WEB3_ID: Web3.0 decentralized identity standard identification, based on the latest mainstream asymmetric key system, fully compatible with EVM Ethereum virtual machine, and gradually supports L2 extension, Solana, HashHydra... -- L2 interoperability standard layer
- MetaDATA: Metadata standard information of OPENAVATAR, which provides the basic identity information and extensible identity information standard framework of Web3.0 ID. -- L3 metadata standard
- OPENAVATAR.JS API : Decentralized authentication authorization SDK & API based on blockchain D, realizes fast WEB3.0 authentication and verification, supports ERC20, ERC721 and other Token authentication, also supports ETH ADDR authentication management, and Express .JS framework is naturally combined, supporting JS/TS. --L4 open API/SDK
- OPENAVATAR DOS (Decentralized NFT Operating System) Distributed NFT standard operating system, providing one-stop decentralized support application systems such as standard contract deployment, IPFS configuration, NFT casting and distribution, and contract management. -- L5 one-stop DID digital identity operating system
#06 OPENAVATAR DID Alliance
YieldDAO proposes to develop a wide range of metaverse identity interoperability, promote the Web3.0 DID de facto standard based on OPENAVTAR Protocol, and provide diversified identity authentication and EIP721/EIP1155 NFT standards for all NFT and decentralized DAO organization projects. Authentication service.
OPENAVATAR DID PROTOCOL open standard protocol system will be released in September 2022, welcome to follow our progress. We also warmly invite mainstream NFT projects in the industry to join us to jointly promote the OPENAVATA.XYZ Open Avatar DID Alliance, and obtain the OPENAVATAR Open Avatar Alliance digital certification badge.
Please contact us at https://twitter.com/@yielddaoio
Epilogue: To the Explorers of the Metaverse
There is a line in a game/movie that says, "We are shaped by our memories, we are shaped by the stories we are told over and over." Now, our past experiences, our digital footprints, have the opportunity to be linked to our identities , our souls are linked. What would such a country look like? A Sims-like game? Can a hacker see what's going on in your head like the little bubble above your NFT Avatar's head? A Turing-complete machine based on your personal data, complete enough to act as a personal replica of you? Or, people suddenly find themselves unable to bear the open of all personal identity data onchain, and return to the now closed prehistoric Web 2.0 era?
Metaverse adventurers, welcome to join hands with YieldDAO and OPENAVATAR to enter the new world of Web3.0.
References
[1] Verifying Identity as a Social Intersection : https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3375436
[2] The Network State : https://thenetworkstate.com/
Contact us
Contact us on twitter： https://twitter.com/@yielddaoio