Project Name
verisoul
Project Category
Build & Integrate
Proposal Earmark
New Entrants
Proposal Description
We will help Ocean progress along its mission of equalizing access to data by creating an on-chain methodology for integrating verified student discounts only for real, unique students.
We will ensure uniqueness of each student such that one student cannot “share” their credential with other people / wallets - their account will be restricted to one wallet.
We will work with a regarded proof of student status provider to integrate off chain data and memorialize it in the form of verifiable credentials
Finally, we will create on-chain integrations that leverage off-chain proof-of-student data to create ability for Ocean Protocol data providers to enable on-chain student discounts or free access.
Grant Deliverables
- Working student onboarding flow to verify student status and uniqueness (one discount per person)
- Unique biometric onboarding (not KYC - no PII)
- Proof of student status integration
- Verifiable credentials that represent uniqueness and proof of student hood; powered by Sovrin blockchain, but credentials themselves are privacy-preserving and live off chain
- Wallet app to hold verifiable credentials capable of QR scan to login / prove credentials
- On-chain testnet integration that enables proven students to whitelist their blockchain wallets; sample Ocean protocol data provider customer leverages student whitelist to offer free / or discounted rates
Project Description
verisoul is a decentralized, privacy-preserving identity solution that will increase security and unlock new, powerful use cases for Ocean Protocol. We are building a solution for Ocean that can accomplish two key things:
- Increase security: Deduplicate users with biometrics (not KYC) in a privacy-preserving way to increase security, prevent fraudsters / scammers
- For example, known bad actors / fraudsters could be blocked from accessing ocean or certain datasets
- Enable nuanced permissioning using off-chain data (in the form of verifiable, block-chain based credentials). Users can verifiably prove attributes about themselves (e.g., student, professor, health professional) that could create opportunities for permissioning based on real-world information
- Can open up discounts to certain communities (e.g., students) that may need data for research, but can’t afford given early life station
- Cross-chain enablement: verifiable credentials that serve as identity can live off-chain and then be used to whitelist / approve on chain wallets on any chain - meaning Ocean can transcend the single-chain paradigm
- This enables more access to more data - by making cross-chain possible, remove chain restriction
- Reputation / action based discounts: Ocean recruiters, followers, etc. that are trusted users promoting the protocol could receive “membership” credentials or “reputation” credentials that could enable bonuses or discounts.
Final Product
Final product consists of three parts:
- Core identity onboarding flow based on biometrics, not KYC:
- inclusive identity onboarding that takes seconds, not days (e.g., BrightID)
- Users receive credentials that prove uniqueness
- Users can also prove attributes (traits) about themselves via integrations (e.g., student, teacher, medical researcher, government official) in privacy preserving way
- All of these identity attributes leverage blockchain-powered verifiable credentials to memorialize identity credentials off-chain (on user’s device) for re-use later
- On-chain integrations:
- Enable off-chain verifiable credentials to dictate on-chain use cases by whitelisting wallets or issuing on-chain tokens that represent the attributes or approvals
- Then, certain datatokens could require pairing with on-chain credential tokens (like uniqueness, student proof, researcher proof, etc.)
- Ability to re-use identity credentials throughout Ocean
- Can re-use the credentials with one QR scan (1-2 seconds) to whitelist their on-chain wallets (any chain) or to mint credential tokens that prove identity attributes or approvals without GDPR risk of putting ANY information / PII on chain
Value Add Criteria
- Usage of Ocean - directly improves cost/benefit equation for students that may benefit from access to Ocean's powerful data ecosystem but currently don't have the capital to access valuable data. Improves access to valuable data for students performing research, doing projects, etc.
- Viability - highly viable; already proven core technology, this is just a new implementation of the verifiable credentials model and on-chain interaction
- Community activity - budding activity with objective of becoming more active members of Ocean. Henry (CEO) scheduled to do podcast with Republic of Ocean leader Saswat to discuss decentralized identity
- Value to community - direct alignment with Ocean mission to equalize access. Student discounts directly improve student access and enable richer ecosystem filled with more diverse population, especially of researchers, new project explorers, etc.
Core Team
Henry LeGard
CEO
https://www.linkedin.com/in/henrylegard1995/
- Strategy leader at two top identity players (Neustar (sold to TU) and TransUnion)
- Youngest director at TransUnion; led long-term identity strategy work and operated directly under the Global Chief Data & Analytics officer
- On 10-person deal team with CEO, CSO at Neustar responsible for $3.1B sale to TransUnion; built story to differentiate Neustar’s identity platform
- Ex-Bain Consultant; rated in top 10% of class
- Employee #5 at VC backed startup
Raine Scott
CPO
https://www.linkedin.com/in/raine-scott/
- Led product at multiple startups
- Built risk decisioning engine for Fintech company
- Scaled Fintech company user base from 0->100K
- On team that helped raise VC funding at past startup
- Front-end engineer
Niel Ketkar
CTO
https://www.linkedin.com/in/npketkar/
- Full-stack engineer at Capital One
- Created data pipeline used by >1M customers at Capital One
- Drove product and development roadmap based on first-party user research
- Developed, designed software for Capital One customer niche visited >15K times
Funding Requested
3000
Minimum Funding Requested
2000
Wallet Address
0x085513f6E6928CB32418A0F0606F9BAB3B0ca645