Description
Beyond feeling a tad dystopian, the Orb is also now entirely unnecessary.
You can now take a picture of your passport & scan its NFC chip to generate a ZKP verifying your identity whenever you need it. It generate a ZKP of your uniqueness by hashing identity metadata and adding it to an on-chain ZK registry. You could also selectively disclose specific information (e.g. personhood, citizenship, that you’re over 18).
These identity checks will quickly become practically unfakeable by combining multiple other forms of ID like a FaceID selfie powered by ZKML to log into the app, a zkTLS-based email login, a proof of current address (e.g. a picture of an electricity bill), social graph attestation, etc.
With these solutions, your identity can be encrypted on-chain, suddenly making identity a composable primitive in blockchain that you can query from a smart contract.
Uses
- Sybil-resistant crypto airdrops that could be programmable beyond unique personhood to include trading volume, KYC, etc.
- Rewards for loyalty, fans, citizens, etc.
- Verifiable web: we may be moving towards a future in which every time you do something online you automatically cryptographically sign it with your unique identity key
- Digital tamperproof voting
- Edward Snowden- or Boeing-style whistleblowing / leaks in which the person can prove their credentials without revealing their full identity
Other Thoughts
- These identity products are starting to catch on. Over 90% of the world’s passports are verifiable on Rarimo. Worldcoin has 10M users, Human Passport has 35M, and the city of Buenos Aires rolled out ZK-backed digital identities to all its 3.6 million citizens. A similar solution exists in India.
- Over time, an identity platform could earn user trust to host ever-more of people’s digital records, credentials, and personal data (e.g. financial and healthcare data) in fully encrypted form.
Comparable Companies
- Woldcoin
- Rarimo
- Human Passport
- zkPass
- zkEmail
- Computable Labs
Further Reading
https://www.mackenziemorehead.com/putting-the-cryptography-back-in-crypto/
https://healthapiguy.substack.com/p/why-identity-in-healthcare-sucks
