BTE and myNFT Announce AssetDIDs for NFTs, Built on KILT
Unique digital identifiers will ensure authenticity across multiple chains to prevent counterfeits
10 June 2022, Austin, TX and London — Today at the Consensus conference, myNFT and B.T.E. BOTLabs Trusted Entity GmbH (BTE), a developer of applications for KILT Protocol, announced the launch of AssetDIDs, a new type of identifier that can be used with multiple asset classes from fungible and non-fungible assets like NFTs.
A DID or decentralized identifier functions like a digital fingerprint does for people. A DID can be created for machines, services, and anything that identities can be attached to, including assets. Verifiable credentials can be attached to AssetDIDs, which uniquely describe an asset on any given blockchain. By connecting credentials to these entities, AssetDIDs can transparently ensure authenticity and other properties of both physical and digital assets like NFTs across multiple chains.
A unique AssetDID for an NFT is generated from four existing datapoints about the asset:
- The NFT identifier issued by the creator.
- The NFT standard that was used to create the NFT (there might be two NFTs with the same NFT identifier, but from different standards).
- The identifier of the issuing instance (e.g. smart contract, blockchain, person, which might not be unique).
- The identifier of the blockchain (there might be different chains with common asset-issuing logic).
All together, these uniquely describe an NFT.
An AssetDID is public by default, as anyone can gather the information and build the identifier. Therefore, it is not necessary to store the AssetDID on a blockchain. Unlike normal DIDs, the AssetDID does not have private keys, because objects like NFTs cannot sign messages or transactions.
KILT is a decentralized blockchain identity protocol for issuing anonymous and verifiable credentials and DIDs. Credentials and DIDs created with KILT applications are under the control of the owner, who can then decide who to share them with. The DID can also be linked to an easily readable web3name (like w3n:alice) and used to represent the owner online, with public credentials adding an extra trust layer.
Anyone can create KILT credentials to certify properties of any NFT and link them to an AssetDID by storing the credentials publicly on the KILT blockchain. In this way, KILT credentials can be assigned to NFTs stored on any blockchain ecosystem.
myNFT.com is an upcoming multi-chain NFT marketplace built on the Moonbeam parachain that is introducing a wide range of exciting features such as new auction technology, best in class UX, low gas architecture, fiat onramps and cross-chain NFT migration.
As a marketplace, myNFT wants to ensure that customers on their platform are able to easily distinguish between counterfeit and legitimate NFTs. AssetDIDs combined with myNFT’s internal verification system represent a critical step in helping customers navigate the NFT market.
AssetDIDs for NFTs
Any NFT owner could create their own credentials using the Sporran wallet and SocialKYC applications built on KILT. They could then link their credentials to an Asset DID by storing them publicly on the KILT blockchain, to certify properties of their NFT.
For example, Alice could mint an NFT on the Ethereum blockchain and choose an NFT marketplace to sell her art. The NFT marketplace could attest that she is the artist. The AssetDID would then be composed of existing information about the NFT, including the blockchain, type of NFT, smart contract number and NFT ID. A credential that includes this AssetDID could then be generated and stored on KILT certifying that Alice is the creator of the NFT. This credential would be linked to the NFT via the AssetDID. Any potential buyer could then check the KILT blockchain for any credentials related to this AssetDID, to make sure that they are buying the original NFT and not a copy.
This adds an extra layer of security and can be particularly useful to address ownership and counterfeit issues in digital assets.
‘’Right now one of the biggest problems in the NFT industry is the high number of scams and counterfeit NFTs circulating due to how easy it is to create copycats of original projects. This is where AssetDIDs built on KILT can really help us solve this problem,’’ said Guillaume Gonnaud, CTO and co-founder of myNFT.
Asset DIDs for Physical Assets
AssetDIDs may also be used to certify properties of physical items. For example, a watch manufacturer could issue a unique NFT for each watch it makes. The smart contract of the NFT can be used to record changes of ownership on the blockchain. KILT credentials that include the AssetDID can be generated to record properties of the watch — gold content, limited edition number, etc. — and these credentials can be attached to the NFT. If the watch is stolen, the ownership represented by the NFT still remains with the original owner. The thief will have a harder time reselling the stolen watch because he cannot prove the ownership of it.
This could also be applied to ownership of other physical property such as a house. A notary service could issue an NFT to show ownership of the house. A credential showing the AssetDID and the properties of the house — size, location, etc. — could be notarized on the KILT blockchain and attached to the NFT. The smart contract could track ownership with each sale. Thus, ownership of physical items could be transferred digitally in a transparent and cost-effective way.
Cross-Chain Interoperability
Using the Cross-Consensus Message Format (XCM) in the Polkadot ecosystem, an NFT created in a smart contract, e.g. on Moonriver, could send an extrinsic to KILT via the Kusama Relay Chain to trigger the creation of a KILT credential proving its authenticity. Once the credential is created, any external marketplace application could read it and verify that the NFT is authentic. With AssetDIDs, NFTs live on two blockchains by default, making this a prime use case for cross-chain interoperability.
“AssetDIDs bridge the physical world with the NFT world. Adding verifiable credentials to uniquely identifiable NFTs brings enormous power and huge opportunities to the NFT ecosystem. Ownership of physical assets can be represented by a verifiable credential,” said Ingo Rübe, founder of KILT Protocol and CEO of B.T.E. BOTLabs Trusted Entity GmbH. “If this credential is attached to an NFT, and the NFT then changes ownership on a smart contract, the credential and all values associated with it would travel with the NFT. There are thousands of use cases for attaching physical goods with NFTs.”
BTE is working with a number of NFT partners to introduce AssetDIDs, and collaborating with Parity Technologies to incorporate AssetDIDs into a pallet that will become part of the Substrate framework. KILT founder Ingo Rübe will introduce AssetDIDs during the Polkadot ecosystem track at Consensus on Saturday 12 June starting at 11am CST.
About myNFT
myNFT is a new multi-chain NFT marketplace that is owned by Perpetual Altruism Ltd, a UK company that was founded in London by three university friends in 2018 and that specializes in the development of NFT technologies. myNFT will eventually allow people to buy and sell any NFT on any blockchain in any currency (crypto or fiat) and allow people to fully migrate their NFTs between blockchains. Customers will also be able to sell their NFTs using their patent pending GBM auction technology with very low gas costs and in a very user friendly fashion. myNFT’s long term mission is to make the NFT market accessible to everyone and to educate and introduce the technology to all the new industries around the world where it can be applied.
[myNFT The Multi-Chain NFT Marketplace With An Edge]
www.mynft.com | @my_nft (Instagram) | @mynft (Twitter)
About B.T.E BOTLabs Trusted Entity GmbH
B.T.E. BOTLabs Trusted Entity GmbH (BTE) is a subsidiary of BOTLabs GmbH, a blockchain R&D company founded in 2018 and the initial developer of KILT Protocol, a decentralized blockchain identity network for issuing self-sovereign, anonymous and verifiable credentials and DIDs. BOTLabs GmbH is a founding member of the International Association for Trusted Blockchain Applications (INATBA) and the Decentralized Identity Foundation (DIF), and a member of Blockchain for Europe.
BTE collaborates with developers, enterprise and government to build applications that enhance and protect digital identity across gaming, metaverse, health care, IoT, media, academia, energy and sustainability. The Sporran wallet, Stakeboard platform, SocialKYC attestation, DIDsign and web3name are the first applications developed by BTE.
