Soul Sync #3 - SBT Meetup & Research Survey

Community Update & Research Survey

Apr 30, 2023

SoulSync is the first community focused on exploring the implications of soulbound tokens and ‘soul’ related technology at the advent of a decentralised society.

Soul Sync,

Welcome to our latest installment of the SoulSync newsletter. Today, we delve into a captivating phenomenon that Joseph and I have been experiencing first-hand as we investigate and inform the market about soulbound tokens (SBTs), their potential as groundbreaking reputation technology, and the subsequent societal choices and trajectories that may arise from their adoption.

Our public conversations frequently spark critical, engaged, and thought-provoking dialogue. Last month, we presented on SBTs at Blockchain Sydney, one of the most established grassroots meetup organisations facilitating industry discussions. The feedback we received, "that was one of the most engaged Q&As we've ever had," prompted me to ponder what it is about SBTs that truly captivates people.
Several ideas come to mind;

Identity, compliance, and self-sovereign data systems are exponentially referenced as the next “biggest” technology primitive to enable mass adoption of decentralised innovation.
1. Existing web2 companies have a network of legacy identity and compliance systems they rely upon to do business. If these are not made compatible with decentralised technologies, it is impossible to adopt, one of the reasons Bitcoin and DeFi adoption from institutions has been only ever incremental.
“Dismembering the Data Octopus” is becoming a more realistic opportunity with the advent of soulbound token technologies. Proposing a data labour movement towards a concept called “data dignity,”
“Data Dignity; Technology companies wield highly concentrated power over the way peoples’ data is used, and make enormous profits from it. They can do this because we “bargain” for Big Tech services as if we were all isolated individuals, with “personal” datasets. In fact, the data we produce is always deeply social. Sharing it affects our friends, families, and communities as much as it affects us.
People should be able to exert democratic collective bargaining power over their data, in order to make joint decisions controlling its use, and negotiate appropriate compensation.”
Commercial rationalisation when using non-transferrable tokenisation technology;
1. It can be challenging to see a commercial, capital-based outcome to the proliferation of non-transferrable tokens in a blockchain-based ecosystem.
  1. Many of the value additions surrounding identity and soulbound token use are when supporting other commercial outcomes, for example;
    1. Improving composability and control over personally identifiable data allowing for cross-platform identity and authentication, think KYC account bound tokens.
    2. Community incentive and reputation systems;
      1. Achievement reward-based systems
      2. Legacy member Patreon-style community engagement
      3. Cross-network affinity network mapping
What data should be on-chain?
1. The blockchain is an immutable memory; this is awesome for creating numerous novel technologies but requires a nuanced approach. In the past, we’ve spoken on the ‘right to be forgotten’ and how the lifecycle of a soulbound token is essential to explore to be compatible with the human experience and our society.
2. At its core, many of the blockchain natives, especially at grassroots events, tend to, and rightfully so, argue on the privacy implications surrounding on-chain data. My guess is this debate is only just beginning.
  1. We are researching zero-knowledge-proof technologies to offer solutions to this risk.
  2. Computationally Efficient & Private Soulbound Tokens
Are soulbound token just a non-transferrable NFT? A critical definition to be clear on.
1. Soulbound tokens in their proto-design do look like an NFT with the transferability removed. However, this is not the only attribute required to be a soulbound token; we expect future generations of soulbound tokens to include attributes such as social or communal recovery, diverging away from the proto standards we see today.
2. Moreover, single value ‘SBTs’ holding only non-transferable values open the contract to malicious use cases such as scarlet letters. Shrey Jain, highlights this issue in “A Plural Decentralized Identity Frontier: Abstraction v. Composability Tradeoffs in Web3” (2022)

These are only a handful of the questions and insights we gather from speaking to the potential of soulbound token technology among the industry and community. It’s an iterative process to find the best use case fit, at least initially, to empower outcomes leveraging SBT primitives.

Many of these conversations happen in person; for this reason, we are initiating an ongoing primary research initiative, a SoulSync Survey, that will allow for regular feedback and access to insights from this community and beyond regarding the technology and industry progression; there may even be a soulbound token pilot (no promises) as a result of participating and sharing your thoughts, to exemplify potential use case. More below…

Onward,

Keeper of Souls

Soulbound Token Research Initiative

As we explore the potential of this new token standard, your input is essential to understand better its use cases, benefits, and potential challenges.

Soulbound tokens are a novel, non-transferrable reputation-based token system designed for blockchain applications. These tokens aim to create more secure and personalised digital experiences by focusing on individual identities, community building, and membership management.

Introducing the first of our primary research activities!

Soulbound Token (SBT) Primary Research: SoulSync Survey #1

In this survey, we will ask a series of questions to gauge your understanding and opinion of Soulbound tokens, their possible use cases, and their potential impact on various industries. Your responses will help shape this innovative token standard's future development and adoption.

Please note that participating in this survey is entirely voluntary, and all the information you provide will be kept confidential. We appreciate your valuable insights, look forward to learning from your perspective, and invite you to share it with anyone else interested!

As members of this community already, please do reach out in the telegram group or via email to discuss the results; suggestions are welcome!

Link: https://forms.gle/6wcewUxRRgKfjYB6A

The SoulSync Playlist

SoulSync Community Hangout ep3 - Chris Were

Personal Data Wallet: verida.io
Protocol: Verida.one

Verida is doing some incredible work building a protocol layer solution to many of the predicated technology for SBT enablement; it’s been fantastic to have Chris and the team in the community!

Five institutions/Governments piloting Soulbound Tokens:

1) Binance - First Binance soulbound token BAB targets KYC user credentials

2) Deutsche Bank - Deutsche Bank completes trial of tokenized investment platform

3) Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (Japan) - Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui to issue soulbound tokens to explore Web3

4) Dubai (UAE) - Digital Dubai adopts ‘Soulbound Token’ technology, introducing world’s first Secured Digital Certificate

5) Tamil Nadu Government (India) - Tamil Nadu Government makes the first move: Issues NFTs as Digital Medal

Share any additional institutional SBT updates in the community; I would love to hear about them and reach out to explore the industry's progress. One of the more profound insights Soulbis has had throughout its market research is realising the institutional interest in this identity and data-specific web3 technology, such as SBTs, is accelerating quicker than any prior decentralised innovation, including Bitcoin.

Announcements

BGIN Block #8 Conference

Event Tickets

Next week, May the 4th be with the BGIN Block #8 conference hosted in Croatia,

Last Block #7 meeting, we had the privilege of sharing the Soulbound token study paper and presenting a few of the ideas the community have been building around; there was such fantastic energy and joining of minds, progressing towards rebuilding trust in blockchain and web3.

Join online for any roundtables and working group discussions; this will be a hybrid event, and many community members are involved in a few of the panel discussions!

Research Paper Work

BGIN IKP working group will be working on two proposed works,

Soulbound token research into reputation economics, the other on identity and KYC using Soulbound tokens;

Soulbound Token Research Paper Part 2
1. Reputation Economics
Token Economy Compliance with SBTs

Over the week of the conference, expect to see some progress updates on these research topics.

Call to contribute!

We are open to any community members writing, researching, sharing what they are up and contributing to SoulSync; reach out and let us know; there is always work to be done during these nascent stages.