Tomiwa Akinpelu

Introduction

My able comrades, I hail una!

For May this year wey we dey, our big oga for Ethereum Vitalik Buterin and 2 others gather release one research paper wey dem title as Decentralized Society: Finding Web3's Soul. Una sabi say e no easy to read research paper, me sef try am omo, e choke but I don read am for una but I sabi say some of una be efiko so na the link to the paper be this. Oya make we begin dey yarn the matter.

One wahala wey dem oga Vitalik realize na say for this web3, identity no dey, meaning say we no sabi who be who, for example, if platforms like Compound wey dey borrow people money in form of crypto one lend out crypto, dem no sabi who dem dey give money to, na why dem dey make people drop collateral wey pass the amount wey they wan borrow, na wetin dem dey call over-collateralized lending be that. I sabi say e no make sense but I go explain am some other time.

So to address this wahala of unknown identity and to improve human relationship in web3, dem come introduce this ochara, tear rubber idea wey dem dey call soulbound tokens. Dem talk say na this SBT go enable a new society wey dem call DeSoc (Decentralized Society) and e go come enable trust amongst people wey dey the society.

Wetin Come Be SBT?

Soulbound Tokens are publicly visible, non-transferable (but possibly revocable-by-the-issuer) tokens.

Na wetin dem talk be that. So now we sabi say SBTs na another form of NFTs( Non-fungible Tokens) but the difference na say, unlike NFTs, we no fit dey transfer SBTs from Mrs A to Mr B and from Mr B to Miss C. Also na everybody fit see am as per say na public e dey.

Dem come dey call accounts or wallets wey dey hold these SBTs "Souls".

Imagine say you get a blockchain wallet (Soul) wey contain verified records like your educational credentials, verified history of all the places wey you don work, the experiences

wey you don gain just like CV e fit just build up your reputation for the web3 space.

So this means that even company, community, institution or even country fit be Soul and Dem fit issue SBTs to another soul or even confirm and attest to an SBT wey dey allocated to a soul.

With this concept now, we fit sabi the level of integrity, how trustworthy and credible a soul is. We fit even sabi the organizations wey the soul dey associated with. This come mean say web3 no go dey totally built on say we wan cash out or make money but e go dey based on building reputation and verifying authenticity.

Use Cases For SBTs

Since we don sabi say SBTs no be another money making avenue, we now see say na means for how people fit prove who dem be and confirm their reputation.

As things dey now in the current state of web3 na on God I dey if I wan do business with anybody because say I no sabi dem but with the introduction of SBTs, I know need sabi the person face or even him real name but I go fit sabi him history, who him be, business wey him don conduct before now.

Employment

This one na one of the most prominent use cases for this token.

Brace up, stray bullet incoming.

LinkedIn dey littered with many people wey dey talk "MIT graduate" etc. In fact some months ago, our tech space for this 9ja turn vayolence HQ, one of the iyus (in Layi Wasabi's voice) na say one oga dey lie say him be MIT product when actually na a few weeks online course him do.

You go see "smart contracts dev" in peoples bio but dem no fit calculate gas price, product designer wey never open figma na just tweeting dem sabi.

SBTs fit solve this wahala of verifying experiences because dem dey publicly verifiable.

Companies or organizations fit issue SBTs to employees wey dey commot the company, dem fit use am confirm the amount of time the employee worked, experiences gained etc. In other words, dem fit testify say true true, Uche use 4 years with Bolt.

SBT fit be your digital CV.

Souldrops

If we wan understand wetin souldrops mean, we gats understand wetin airdrops mean first of all.

Airdrops na tactics wey crypto projects dey do when dem just dey start so that Dem go fit get members. Dem go give specific token to new members after Dem don perform one task or the other, usually the task na referrals.

One problem wey dey face new projects na the problem of something wey dem dey call sybil attack. E no hard, I go explain am now.

Another stray bullet coming, make I japa before una nab me

You sabi that thing wey many of una dey do (me, I be child of God) wey una go create like 5 new crypto wallets come use am pose like say na 5 different people but true true na just only you so una go come dey refer unaselves, na wetin dem dey call sybil attack be that. When bots dey disguise as human being, na sybil attack be that too.

Souldrops try solve this problem by giving airdrops to specific souls. For example, imagine say your national ID card na SBT, now election time don reach and INEC wan airdrop governance token wey you go use vote for your candidate, since no one person fit get 2 different NINs, sybil attack no go dey like that and then, one vote go be by one person. Your birth certificate fit be SBT so INEC go fit certify say you be 18 and above before dem airdrop you your token.

Uncollateralized Lending

For the current state wey DeFi dey, people no fit take loan without dropping more that the amount wey they wan borrow and na one big drawback be that because for traditional finance, people fit take uncollateralized loans as per the track record wey dem get, but we no get any way to prove the track record of anybody for our current web3 so if you borrow one random address 30eth, him fit run you street comrade.

SBTs fit hold your track records and show lenders how credible and trustworthy you be, you fit use your SBT build something wey dem dey call credit score and then take your loan.

NFT Provenance

Before you go carry Merriam Webster dear comrade, provenance just mean the ability to establish the origin of something.

One irony of the current state of web3 na say as a decentralized internet, e still dey depend on centralized platforms to function. For this case na opensea, NFT creators gats use am prove say na Dem get whatever NFT wey dem create but with SBTs them fit mint NFTs from their souls (wallets) and the more SBTs wey their soul get, the more possible e dey to prove the legitimacy of their NFT.

If you lose your soul nko?

I feel like one of una just talk say "God forbid", alright boss, you no go lose your soul but in this case wetin fit happen if you lose access to your wallet i.e lose the private keys to your soul? No worry, you still dey alright.

One method na say you fit create a list of guardians (individuals, wallets, institutions) wey fir help you reset your private key but this solution get comma. If you go use your babe and you and her/him fight nko or you go use one person and the person die etc. This method na Social Recovery Method.

Our oga Vitalik propose another method wey be say instead make you generate the list yourself, the system go choose your guardians based on broad real time relationships. So nobody go fit thief your soul.

So all in all my comrades, SBTs just wan improve how we dey relate for web3 by building trust. We no sabi the specific day wey dem go launch am but we sabi say e dey come along with the new upgrade for Ethereum.

My fellow builders, exciting times ahead! 🎉

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