Everything is provable: building assets and identities that integrate on-chain and off-chain

Author: STARZQ, Web3brand

In this issue we will introduce a project about "proof". If you also see interesting projects that meet the above definitions in build or, please recommend them to us.

1. How to "prove" that I own Li Zhi's album?

When I logged in last month, I saw that my friend NASA was sending fruit gift boxes with very interesting conditions. Through the screenshot [NetEase Cloud Music-Purchased List], I "proved" that I own Li Zhi (Brother B) album.

As a senior B fan, how can you miss such benefits? I quickly took a screenshot and am currently writing this article while eating lotus mist.

Lianwu is indeed delicious, but to be honest, the cost of forging a screenshot is very low or even zero. I am also worried that NASA will be stolen by "non-target users", so I started to think about the title. Question:

How to "prove" that you own Li Zhi's album?

The easiest thing is to bring a physical album and meet offline. This method is fidelity but the cost is too high, and in the digital age, very few people have physical albums themselves.

Li Zhi has sold several digital albums on NetEase Cloud Music. In theory, NetEase Cloud Music can provide an API to query "I own Li Zhi" Chi's album".

But this is obviously unrealistic

1. The API needs to be actively developed by NetEase Cloud Music. I first have to find a way to find the corresponding API. Person in charge;

2. Assuming that I really succeed in finding the person in charge of NetEase Cloud Music, developing APIs is also a huge cost and is usually not included in the department’s OKR;

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3. Assuming that I am willing to invest this cost, this API is finally developed, but when it is put into use, user privacy, laws and regulations must also be solved

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It’s hard to imagine how many people/brands can cross these three obstacles and prove what they have.

2. Web2: You need to overcome three pain points to prove what you own

Essentially, it is because there is no Own in Web2, and we rarely own (Own) Your own data and assets belong to centralized institutions and do not belong to you.

A recent example: In order to apply for an EU Schengen visa in December, in addition to personal information certificates, I also need to prepare the following certificating materials:

1. Proof of employment: company employment letter with official seal, copy of the unit's business license

2. Proof of assets: nearly Original salary card or debit (savings) card statement with transaction records for 6 months, stamped with bank seal; original deposit certificate of at least 50,000 yuan per person issued by the bank; copy of real estate certificate; copy of motor vehicle registration certificate< /p>

3. Travel Proof: Air tickets, hotels, daily itinerary

4. Proof of Relatives: Original notarized certificate of relationship between children in Chinese and English

5. p>

To complete the above "proof", you need to overcome the following three pain points

1. You A centralized organization is needed to certify the data you generate

1. I need a company to prove my employment

2. I need a bank to prove my assets

3. I need a housing management office to prove my property< /p>

4. Need the DMV to certify my car title

5. Need a ticket booking website to certify my air tickets and hotel

6. p>

7. Even a separate notary institution [Apostille Notary] is needed to prove that "my daughter is my daughter"

2. "Proving your data" is often not cheap

1. I need to write an email to the company to apply for [certificate of employment] and explain why I am applying

2. I need to go to the bank to get an asset certificate

3. In order to prove "my daughter is my daughter", you must first make an appointment with an agency and then spend 600 RMB to buy a notarized certificate! (EU visa is really outrageous)

3. Data from different institutions are scattered in different centralized institutions/servers, and it is very troublesome to combine them for use

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1. I'm going to copy all these materials and put them together. I counted it, and it was almost 100 pages (required to copy every page of the passport, including blank pages). It took more than an hour just to copy the information for myself and my family. . .

After experiencing the above trip, I probably won’t apply for an EU Schengen visa again in the past five years. “Prove what I have.” "It's too difficult, time-consuming and labor-intensive."

It is hard to imagine that we live in such a magical era. On the one hand, every day is filled with "The sky has changed!" XX AI large model is here! ", "Only 1 year away from AGI"...such news headlines; on the other hand, we rarely own (Own) our own data and assets, and it is difficult to "prove what we own".

3. Opportunities of Web3: Everything can be proven

The core of Web3 is Own. Everyone can build and own their own assets on the chain, which is recorded on the chain. prove.

But the current limitation is that most of our asset certificates still exist off-chain, resulting in a lack of on-chain identities and limited application scenarios:

• Financial applications: Missing off-chain real estate certificates, stock certificates, and bank deposit certificates

• Workplace applications: Missing academic certificates and work certificates

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• Social applications: missing proof of interest (how to "prove" that I own Li Zhi's album?), proof of relationship (how to prove that Sister Yi and Brother Sun are following me)

• ......

Some projects in the industry have also discovered this series of Web2 pain points and Web3 opportunities, and built It includes on-chain and off-chain attestation protocols, one of which is the Sign Protocol that we will introduce below.

3.1 The definition and history of Attestation

Let us review a little first Let’s look at the definition and history of Attestation to help us better understand how Sign Protocol changes the matter of attestation.

Attestation and Verification both mean "proof" and both refer to the process of confirming a certain information, transaction or process, but there are key differences between them

• Attestation refers to a third party, usually an authoritative entity, stating or proving the authenticity of a piece of information or the occurrence of something. In this process, it involves a clear statement confirming that the content being reviewed is correct, authentic or compliant. For example, a certified public accountant audits a company's financial statements and issues an audit report, which is considered certification of its financial condition.

• Verification is more focused on determining the accuracy of a piece of information through inspection or investigation. It usually involves a series of testing, analysis, or evaluation processes to confirm whether information or systems meet specific standards or expectations. For example, the code verification process in software development ensures that the software is functioning properly and without errors.

In short, Attestation is usually performed by an external authorized agency/witness (Attestor) to prove the authenticity of certain information; while Verification Typically a more technical process that checks whether information or systems are correct, valid, and conform to specifications or expectations.

Based on this definition, who the witness (Attestor) is and what the form of the witness is, determines the ultimate efficiency and effect of the Attestation (Attestation).



As you can see, the form of Attestation is becoming more and more The more electronic it is, it is indeed more convenient; but for thousands of years, the role of witness (Attestor) has been a centralized institution, which led to the pain point we encountered at the beginning: you have to passively find a centralized institution. Proof generation is high cost, low efficiency, and difficult to combine.

But from the definition and history of Attestation, we can see that it is not solving a technical and algorithmic problem, but a social consensus problem.

When it comes to "consensus", the opportunity of blockchain arises, so that these witnessable and declarable events can be defined according to certain standards, and then become a chain that users can own through the blockchain. On the basis of data, while improving efficiency, greater potential is released through the characteristics of blockchain and smart contracts.

3.2 How does Sign Protocol realize "everything can be proved"

According to the official introduction, Sign Protocol It is an omni-chain attestation protocol that enables users to prove their data without permission and build on-chain proofs.

The first core concept here is zkAttestations. Compared with Web2 using centralized institutions to ensure the authenticity and integrity of information, zkAttestations uses zero-knowledge proofs to ensure integrity. Through technologies like TLSNotary, users can directly attest information from web pages and private messages without going through any centralized entity. The protocol uses zk proofs to verify that a website's data actually originated from the information provider's servers and has not been altered.

(Note: TLSNotary  is an open source project developed with support from the Ethereum Foundation. It is used to record and verify TLS connections and verify that a certain message is indeed sent by a company's server. It provides Create cryptographic proofs of authenticity from any data; zkAttestations is a zero-knowledge proof technology that allows users to prove they possess certain attributes or qualifications without revealing any personally identifiable information.)

Source: tlsnotary.org

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For example, when a user logs into China Merchants Bank, data can be captured from the China Merchants Bank server through a browser extension. The extension will then generate a cryptographic proof, verifying the user's balance over 200,000 and more.

This can create more powerful vampire attacks, like we saw with SushiSwap vs. Uniswap or Blur vs. Opensea. With zkAttestations, Web3 can conquer Web2 with simple incentives.

Suppose Binance or OKX wants to airdrop to US stock users, and BAYC or Pudgy Penguins wants to airdrop to popular Web2 players. All the users have to do is interact with zkatestation Once, to prove their US stock trading volume and fashion clothing consumption.

Through user self-certification, users do not need to disclose any personal information, nor do they need Binance, OKX, Boring Monkey and Fat Penguin to go to the corresponding Web2 company to ask for data. All the above matters can be completed through airdrops. and token incentives to migrate Web2 users to Web3 and move towards Mass Adoption.

For example, "My China Merchants Bank balance exceeds 200,000 yuan", "My annual consumption on farfetch exceeds 50,000 yuan", these proof configurations are called  Schema, which is the second item in the Sign Protocol. a core concept. Each Attestation Schema consists of Header and Body, allowing the witness (Attestor) to verify whether the user can pass the corresponding authentication.

Source: EthSign Medium< /span>

(Friends who are not interested in technical details can skip the following two pictures)

Header: includes key contextual information of the proof, witness One can quickly infer information relevant to the proof. Header contains the following elements:



Body: Contains the complete certification Contextual and metadata content. Here, witnesses are able to provide extensive data and comprehensive information that corroborates a given claim or assertion. Body contains the following elements:



Through the combination of Header and Body, Schema provides a structured framework that precisely defines the nature of proofs, ensuring that they convey not only confirmations, but also relevant necessary information, becoming the basis of this on-chain proof system.

At the same time, Schemas are also composable. Take me applying for an EU Schengen visa as an example. If there are already Schema 1 - Schema 4 supporting employment certificates, asset certificates, travel certificates and relative certificates, it is easy to You can put together an EU Schengen visa Schema5 and get all the certificates at once, which is wonderful to think about.

Unlike Web2’s witnesses (Attestor), which are basically centralized institutions, everyone can create the Schema of the Sign Protocol. This means that decentralized on-chain proofs can be built based on the Sign Protocol. , to realize "everything can be proved".

3.3 Build new assets, unlock new scenarios, and capture new value

User self-certification supported by zkAttestations and decentralized on-chain certification supported by Schema Sign Protocol can be more effective* *Build users' assets and identities on and off the chain, **Unlock various new scenarios that cannot be achieved with Web2, and capture new value.

New scenarios are mainly divided into two categories

1. Airdrops based on Web2 assets and identities

1. Through the Sign Protocol, the user's assets are transferred from Web2 When the Walled Garden moves to the chain, whether Web3 projects want to acquire Web2 users or Web2 projects compete with each other for users, it will become extremely easy, and user growth and operations will open a new paradigm;

2. Open Loyalty for brands and users

2. Complete decentralized social platform: interest identity, workplace identity, social relationships...

1. Web2 social platform cannot get the other party’s data ( Facebook cannot get Linkedin data, Douyin cannot get WeChat data), users lack a complete social experience and need to be maintained on multiple closed platforms;

2. Web3 social platforms do not have access to the rich social data of Web2, resulting in most projects only having "chains" and no "social";

3. The current social platforms are "only" for users "Incomplete"

4. Once the user passes the Sign Protocol, he or she will enter his or her interest status (I bought Li Zhi’s album), workplace status (used to work in companies such as ABC), If social relationships (followed by Sister Yi and Brother Sun) are put on the chain, there will be an opportunity to build a complete decentralized social platform. In the new generation of social platforms, the competition is no longer who has more closed data, but whose user experience and rights are better.

Capture new value

Once users can own their own assets, they can continuously Capture new value:

1. Put your existing off-chain/offline assets and identities on the chain, receive airdrops from the project party, and transfer Your own data becomes value.

1. At the same time, this will also greatly stimulate Open Loyalty's paradigm operation. When we were writing about  Open Loyalty , we assumed that brands would issue their own NFT membership cards. However, if the brand is not active, member data will still be in various closed databases, making it difficult to truly realize Open Loyalty.< /p>

2. But based on the Sign Protocol, I am a member of Lego, and I do not need the consent of Lego. Based on the corresponding Schema, I can generate an on-chain certificate for this membership card without permission. Get my value.

3. This will also force brands to change the paradigm of user operations and transfer more rights to users.

2. What’s even more interesting is that the construction of a positive flywheel of “user data → value capture” will encourage users to generate more meaningful data and enrich The entire ecosystem

1. Ten years ago, Foursquare was all the rage; Users generate geographical location records by checking in and collect corresponding medals. However, due to the lack of incentives, this gameplay is difficult to motivate users to continue using;

2. If the user's check-in records can be generated on-chain Proof, thereby being used by other project parties and benefiting users at the same time, will make users more willing to UGC. As a first-generation UGC product manager, I look forward to seeing some new UGC mechanisms.

3.4 Summary and Outlook

1. Decentralized Proof vs. Traditional proof, the witness (Attestor) consists of zkAttestations and decentralized Schema, the user is active, the cost is lower, it is composable, and can prove "everything", bringing more space for value capture;

2. Decentralized proof can unlock 2 new scenarios, airdrops based on Web2 assets and identities (user growth and operations will open a new paradigm), and a complete decentralized social platform;

3. Not only can it help users build assets and identities that are integrated on and off the chain, but it can also encourage users to generate new data and continuously capture value based on their own data.



The predecessor of Sign Protocol EthSign, a document signing application, is based on blockchain and smart contracts, reducing the cost of traditional digital signatures by more than 10 times. EthSign has received investment from Sequoia and Balaji. After 5 rounds of iterations, it has become the number one contract signing application in Web3. It has built interfaces in applications such as Telegram and LINE, providing services to more than 300,000 users; and has cooperated with SingPass Integrate with other government identity systems to achieve higher levels of compliance.

Essentially, EthSign is an application for "proof". The team saw the potential in the field of "proof" and built Sign Protocol based on the backend of EthSign to extend the content of proof from user-generated documents to everything.

The team launched a fun thing based on Sign Protocol at the beginning of this month, turning "New Year's First Sign(sign)" into an on-chain attestation (Attestation). Participants can Limited time mint Lucky Dragon NFT, get additional benefits in future community plans.

This is the team’s first Pilot based on Sign Protocol. This event generated 316,259 on-chain wishes (on-chain resolution) within 24 hours, indicating that everyone is still willing to record some interesting things on the chain. prove".

My first pick of the new year is "In the next 10 years, save 10 pieces of pie for my daughter": )



Next, I hope to see more individuals and project parties contribute various Schema and make interesting things based on Sign Protocol. I also hope that next time I apply for an XX visa, I can do it directly through on-chain certification (which country will be the first to support it, or a certain Network State?)