How can blockchain and NFTs decentralize your digital identity on Web3?

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Decentralized digital identity is a system where people's personal data is stored in a single, non-custodial identity wallet. In this way, users can exercise complete control over their digital identity instead of having to depend on centralized entities to store and manage it.

Furthermore, by using the blockchain for a decentralized digital identity, users can enjoy high security and privacy, as well as effectively protect their identities from privacy breaches and data theft.



Currently, the personal data that makes up people's digital identity is usually stored centrally and linked through devices, applications and third-party services. Users have no control over what personal data they want to share or how they prefer to share it, which makes them more vulnerable to potential data privacy breaches and cyberattacks.

The arrival of Web3 has changed the Ecuador Mobile Number List way we interact with each other on the internet. Applications based on the blockchain work independently and without intermediaries, which has led to the creation of a decentralized Internet in which a person can be the sole and exclusive owner of their data. Web3 users can customize their profiles and store their personal data in a single account that they can use for all their online activities, from accessing social networks to logging into their cryptocurrency wallets.

What is decentralized identity?
Decentralized identity is a nascent ideology that proposes that identity data can only be owned by the person it represents. In this way, users can generate and control their digital identities without depending on third-party service providers. More specifically, decentralized digital identity (DDID) is a decentralized system that seeks to reconstruct the current centralized identity management through the use of blockchain technology.

For example, there is a digital credential standard called verifiable credentials capable of tokenizing a user's identity to allow it to be stored in a non-custodial wallet. Thus, users may disclose all or part of their identity and personal information to third parties, such as the government, banks or schools, at their sole discretion. In addition, it also makes storing information in a single source easier. Another example of this is self-secured identities (SSI), which are based on verified and authentic credentials linked to physical-world verification data managed in a decentralized way.

How does decentralized identity work on Web3?
Decentralized identity gives users absolute control of their personal data on the internet. On Web3, users of all types can express themselves and interact in completely new ways through tools such as NFTs and blockchain. These can become a key element to attract and introduce users to a new world of freedom and empowerment. Anyone can create a unique NFT avatar that represents them, and all NFTs contain a unique identifier that is impossible to replicate, making interactions in digital communities more secure.
               


Typically, decentralized identity uses a series of decentralized storage methods to hold a person's decentralized identifiers (DIDs), such as a non-custodial identity wallet. This wallet can be an app or a browser extension that allows users to create their decentralized identity and manage access to it by third-party service providers. In this case, users are the sole owners of the corresponding public and private cryptographic keys. Some wallets use other authentication methods to protect user data. For example, self-secured identities (SSI) link user credentials to physical verification data, such as biometrics, and store them on the blockchain. In this way, users can also manage their digital identities themselves without having to depend on third parties. Most importantly, SSIs store information in non-custodial wallets that users exclusively control to ensure the security of their personal data.

To verify their identity in the metaverse, users can sign the transaction with their private key or their biometric data in applications that allow decentralized identity to be used for authentication. The service provider will then use the decentralized identity that the user has shared to find the unique DID that matches it on the blockchain.
               
What are Soulbound Tokens (SBT)?
Soulbound Tokens (SBT), proposed by Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum (ETH), are non-transferable NFTs that belong exclusively to one person and are permanently linked to digital wallets (Souls). SBTs function as achievement badges and can be used to store various information such as CV, academic qualifications, club membership, etc. Additionally, they can be traced publicly, making it virtually impossible to use fake credentials. For example, a Web3 company hiring software developers can use SBT to validate a candidate's credentials, or an artist can issue NFTs from their Souls as validation of her artwork.

With SBTs, users can enjoy a series of benefits that transform the way we think about social identities in real life. These tokens can be used as a way to prove who someone is and confirm their reputation, thus being able to build trusting relationships in decentralized environments.

Likewise, the emergence of SBTs suggests that Web3 can be much more than simple financialized assets : they represent users' credentials, which can provide authenticity to human relationships and communities that exist in the digital world. For their part, SBTs describe the qualitative traits of a person, such as their successes, abilities, groups to which they belong, etc. They can become the fundamental pillars on which to rebuild the way in which humans interact with each other on the blockchain, as if they were a combination of resumes and online social network profiles.