The importance of uniqueness
What is needed if we wish to see DeFi used on a mass scale? What will it take to realize the goals of decentralization, where users of applications and services remain, at all times, in control and ownership of their data and assets?
We early adopters find ourselves between two paradigms. On the one hand, you have self-sovereignty or self-custody over assets. This method of interaction with blockchain technologies is the original intent of its creators, one in which all participants can find freedom. We have seen that freedom also brings with it risks; losing your private keys is one of those chief risks. In stark contrast is the custodial option, where someone else holds or manages your assets. By using custodians, we eliminate many of the risks involved with self-custody. However, we give up many freedoms and ownership of assets by choosing this path.
Vendible recognized very early that, without some other option, most would gladly choose the path of custodians rather than self-custody, not wanting to burden themselves with learning about new technologies or having no fallback if they make a mistake. While there is nothing wrong with using custodians for some use cases, not having the choice for simple self-custody limits options. When options become limited for a person, this can lead to poor decisions and outcomes. Furthermore, suppose all new entrants experience blockchain technologies solely through custodians. In that case, we must ask ourselves if this can be considered web3 or do we have web2 with a blockchain database.
This recognition of a gap led to the creation of the sovereign system. Our solution sits between the two current choices. Members of the network own their assets and data, while provisions for seamless key management and privacy protections keep user experiences simple and secure. In this way, we offer freedom with mitigation for common risks.
We need an anchor to achieve this new approach, in which an individual has autonomy and protection. For Vendible, that anchor is a decentralized identifier, a stamp on-chain that attests to something about that person. In our setup, that something is the uniqueness of an individual or business. We can agree that there is only one you. By proving your uniqueness, Vendible can bring in a new suite of products and services.
That uniqueness we stamp on-chain includes your encrypted personal data in the initial setup process. Storing this encrypted data in decentralized storage, a space you control and no one can censor or access is key to proving the uniqueness through our zero-knowledge proofs. We call this space your identity vault.
Everyone who goes through our initial setup process will feel like the experience is similar to Know-Your-Customer or KYC. In comparison, you go through facial recognition and document submission, as in the KYC process; however, we handle this data quite differently.
In KYC, the biometrics and documents submitted to an identity validator are first run through checks to ensure that the face matches the one on the document and that the document is valid. Once that is complete, data is pulled from the document, encrypted, and stored in the validator’s database, and a second copy goes to the company that runs the application. There are now two copies of your information stored in centralized storage. The identity validator holds this information as a backup for the company. The company can use this information for whatever purpose they choose.
In our process, only the Trustible application and the validator communicate with each other. A secure channel sends your biometrics and document to the validator. The validator runs checks to ensure you are who you say you are and, most importantly, you have not already created an account. We need to ensure that you are unique in our network. This step is a critical security factor for you and everyone who uses our services. Once Trustible has confirmation of uniqueness from the validator, the personal data that would typically return to the company returns to you. That encrypted information is the root of your identity vault. From here, Trustible instructs the validator to delete all information except for the biometrics and a ciphertext. These two pieces of data facilitate account recovery, authentication, and uniqueness verifications for Trustible and other Vendible products. Notice that at no point was Vendible the company involved in this process.
Once you have established your uniqueness in our network, Trustible presents a series of questions to you. Whether text, visual, kinetic, story-driven, or location-based, these questions become a lock on all of your data and assets so that no one else can access what is stored in your accounts — not even Vendible.
With uniqueness established, Vendible can help wallets and applications build new types of decentralized applications that were not previously possible. dApps where the users own all of their data, encrypted and safe in decentralized storage, and can revoke access whenever they choose. Engineers can develop social media applications and financial trading platforms without bots or multiple accounts from a single entity. Authorization systems can limit access based on age or citizenship without asking the customer directly. Accurate, honest polling or DAO voting can occur where only those the host wants to participate can provide opinions or votes. Everyone can feel safe giving precise information or choices without revealing the participant’s identity.
We look forward to having everyone participate in Trustible’s testnet to ensure this uniqueness check and identity vault setup are as simple and streamlined an experience as possible. If you would like more information on how to participate and earn VEND tokens in the process, you can follow the links below to learn more.
