Cogni Unveils Web3 Passport at New York NFT Event
An exclusive rooftop party was hosted by New York-based Fintech firm Cogni at NFT.NYC. The firm provides easy access to a wide range of Web2 and Web3 services, such as fiat currency exchanges, cryptocurrency exchanges, non-fungible token exchanges, online casinos and metaverse.
FinanceFeeds first became aware of Cogni via the FF Podcast, where Simon Grunfeld, head of Web3 at Cogni, appeared as a guest. At Cogni’s rooftop event, experts discussed the bright future of digital banking and cryptocurrency. New features, such as the Cogni Passport, for its non-custodial wallet were also demonstrated at the event.
The loss of FTX may have been the final straw that convinced Bitcoin owners to switch to non-custodial wallets. Cogni had an advantage because of its non-custodial wallet that could store digital assets like NFTs on multiple blockchains and its FDIC-insured checking account that was available on iOS and Android.
The exclusive NFT NYC network convened industry leaders and game changers including Fred Kim, Archie Ravishankar, Nabyl Charania and Carlotta to discuss the state of the business one year after the bubble burst and how to win back consumer confidence.
Cogni’s non-custodial software ‘Passport’ is a significant innovation in the NFT market. It’s like a hybrid of Web2 KYC’s finesse and Web3’s portability. The new “Pass” user verification technique launched by Cogni could be useful for the expanding NFT market. This solution simplifies user interactions by requiring KYC to be completed only once by the user throughout their time with Cogni. Instead of developing their own services, web3 platforms will be exposed to a non-custodial wallet that is authorized by web2-kyc and can be verified with others. Once the Know Your Customer (KYC) process is completed, a verified non-custodial wallet and bank account is provided, as explained by Simon Grunfeld of Cogni.
This new update addresses the needs of businesses to find and profile their ideal customers in the complex Web3 ecosystem without compromising compliance. Cogni’s “Passport” helps solve trust issues in blockchain transactions, which is especially important given that the value lost to cryptocrime by 2022 is estimated to reach $20 billion.
Simon Grunfeld claims that joining Cogni is as easy as opening a bank account. “Passport” works to verify the owner of a wallet using a token that cannot be removed from the wallet itself for verification purposes. It is also known by another name – “soulbound token” – and is used in a similar way.
The soul-bound token ensures that only wallets approved by Cogni can be used on Web3 services. The Cogni KYC standard gives companies access to encrypted user data in the chain for the purpose of performing additional verification checks. In the event of a security breach, the encrypted data is uploaded to the blockchain instead of a centralized database. One can deposit up to $150,000 to Cogni’s checking account app. Simon Grunfeld has made it clear that no other cryptocurrency service can guarantee the safety of consumer funds in the event of a business failure like Cogni. I hope it never does!
For the avoidance of doubt, the wallet money and digital tokens are not FDIC insured like other cryptocurrencies since they are not held in a bank. With the NFT-enabled banking application’s 100% non-custodial web3 wallet, users retain full custody of their private keys and digital assets at all times. Cogni plans to take advantage of the possible crypto and NFT trend in the wake of the fall of some of the digital asset industry’s big brands in 2022.
