NFT Steez and Lukso co-founder explore the implications of digital self-sovereignty in Web3
Sovereign identity has been a hot topic in blockchain and cryptocurrency, especially with the rise of the creative economy. Currently, there are two types of digital identities. One is unified and centralized where data is under the control of the service provider. Sovereign digital identity is often cited as a human right that can regain agency through the use of blockchain technology, but what frameworks exist to help govern it?
August 2nd, NFT Steez, a bi-weekly Twitter Spaces host by Alyssa Expósito and Ray Salmond, met Marjorie Hernandez, the co-founder of LUKSO and The Dematerialized to discuss the state of blockchain-based identities and “universal profiles.” According to Hernandez, in the future “everything will have a digital identity.”
Introduction to the digital realm should be frictionless for superb “universal profiles”
During the interview, Hernandez explained the paradigm shift between centralized platforms to a more “platformless future”, and she emphasized that users must be in control of their identity and creation on more “agnostic platforms”, where users can bid on intellectual property. via “Universal Profiles.”
Lukso’s integration of Universal Profiles enables users and creators to reclaim their identity and issue their IP in a symbiotic way between creator and user. According to Hernandez, Universal Profile can be seen as a personal operating system (OS) where one can authenticate oneself, but also send, receive and create assets.
As Hernandez puts it, Universal Profiles is a “Swiss Army tool that serves so many purposes for the user.”
Related: Web3 is essential to data sovereignty in the metaverse
Blockchain-based identities in Web3
Understandably, the emphasis on identity in Web3 began to spark again when 2D profile picture (PFP) NFTs began to appear. This wave was designed as a means of representing and identifying oneself and also a flex, or expression of ego. For some, their physical and social identities were replaced by their newly adopted digital avatar.
However, Hernandez argues that while some often perceive digital as masking one’s true self, and believes that in a “decentralized digital environment”, people will be encouraged “to move beyond these predispositions” and express what she would consider to be one’s “true real self.”
The basis of Hernandez’s thesis is quite simple because blockchain-based identity is not only verifiable, but gives users 100% control over their data, identity and IP.
Asked by a listener what communities should do to ensure the standards around self-sovereignty and that users are no longer “consumers” but active co-participants in the ecosystem, Hernandez said simply: “I think it’s just being a co-creator, right? And you start building with it.”
Set and listen for the full episode stay tuned to NFT Steez here and be sure to mark your calendar for the next episode on September 16 at 12:00 PM EST.
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