KILT Protocol , developed by BOTlab in Germany, made an official announcement to announce the debut of SocialKYC. This innovative toolset, known as SocialKYC, serves as a decentralized identity authentication solution aimed at empowering users to reclaim control over their digital identities.
The appeal of using a platform like SocialKYC lies in its capacity for users to handle and store their credentials securely within the system, with the crucial ability to select which portions of their personal data can be viewed by services across the internet.
KILT Protocol Introduces SocialKYC to the Global Market
Let's take a moment to dive deeper into the transformative potential of this groundbreaking technology.
KILT Protocol stands as an open-source blockchain system that facilitates the issuance of decentralized identifiers and verifiable credentials, bridging traditional trust mechanisms (such as IDs and passports) with the online world.
KILT embodies your identity while ensuring your personal information remains securely in your own hands, protected and confidential.
As the year progresses, the KILT mainnet is set to launch within the Polkadot realm, marking its presence as a parachain on the Kusama network. Not long after, SocialKYC will emerge following the full establishment and operational status of the KILT mainnet.
A major participant in SocialKYC's development is Galaniprojects, a Berlin-based IT consultancy catering to worldwide clients in sectors including media, telecoms, automotive, and transportation.
Following its release, SocialKYC will be accessible via:
- Polkadex , a decentralized crypto finance exchange company
- Fractal Protocol , a a ‘Know Your Customer’ (KYC) service for decentralized identity verification
- Subsocial Network , an an open protocol geared towards decentralized social networking and online marketplaces with an integrated revenue-generating framework
- GameDAO , a a decentralized autonomous organization delivering DeFi solutions for the gaming industry, ensuring sustainability in aspects such as fundraising, operations, and ownership for gaming economies.
- DeBio Network , an a privacy-first platform tailored for medical and bioinformatics fields fostering collaboration among labs of all sizes while upholding user's anonymity and authority throughout the process.
How Does Social KYC Work?
In today's Web 2.0 society, individuals often need to supply personal details like email addresses or phone numbers to access free online services.
This personal information is often exchanged among service partners and affiliates without the user's explicit consent or awareness, enabling these services to connect and authenticate users to their platforms.
KYC, or 'Know Your Customer,' is a widely adopted standard when establishing an account with banks or exchanges, requiring users to submit official documents such as passports or other personal ID proofs.
The innovation of SocialKYC lies in its ability to confirm a user's internet identity by demonstrating control over their digital profiles (including LinkedIn, Twitter, TikTok, Discord, Github, etc.), email address, or phone number.
The pivotal difference is that once a credential validates a digital identity, the SocialKYC service intentionally forgets the user and the associated credential, ensuring that personal data remains uncollected and non-disseminated as seen in traditional Web 2.0 login processes.
A Better KYC
The verification process mirrors traditional KYC methods initially but diverges significantly at the end. To establish control over social accounts, SocialKYC prompts users to execute a task, such as posting a specific message on Twitter, clicking an email link, or confirming a code received via SMS.
Ingo Rübe, the brain behind KILT Protocol, remarked,
'In the physical world, control over your credentials is absolute. You keep them in your wallet, deciding who sees them, for what purpose, and when. Ironically, we’ve lost this control digitally... SocialKYC aims to empower consumers by returning their digital identity to their hands.'
Once authentication is successful, SocialKYC issues Verifiable Credentials to the user, kept firmly in their control. These credentials can then be utilized across various services, from gaming platforms to genetic research labs, exchange platforms, and media outlets, at the user's discretion.
