In the real world, humans prove "I am who I am" through government-recognized documents such as ID cards and passports. In the Web2 era, identity has evolved into various social media accounts, yet control of this data remains in the hands of centralized internet giants. The leakage of privacy has prompted a rise in awareness of self-sovereignty.
To break free from the shackles of centralized identity verification, DID (Decentralized Identity) emerged as the identity framework of the Web3 era. It revolutionizes traditional identity systems by returning ownership, control, and management of digital identities to the user.
For most users, the emergence of a product like DID has been long-awaited. ME ID, the first application built on the ME ID Protocol, places the protection of "personal data sovereignty" as its top priority by creating a unique "identity" on the ME Network. Simply put, ME ID is an on-chain identity identifier on the ME Network, owned and controlled by a real-world individual. It connects to various ME ID-related processes or applications, such as wallet addresses, crypto accounts, dApp interactions, social logins, and more.
Of course, for regulatory compliance and to ensure that the person behind the ME ID is legitimate, KYC (Know Your Customer) is unavoidable. This means users must provide valid identity information. To ensure privacy protection, ME ID leverages a DID solution that integrates KYC and Proof of Personhood (PoP). This ensures the characteristics of decentralized identity while fully protecting user privacy.
How does ME ID achieve privacy protection during the KYC process?
First, ME Network provides the infrastructure that allows third-party certification agencies to issue identity credentials to specific addresses. The on-chain information is split into publicly recorded SBTs (Soulbound Tokens) and Verifiable Credentials (VCs), which are not stored on-chain. Since SBTs don’t contain any personal information, they do not pose a privacy risk.
Second, the KYC process is handled by the first Issuer under the ME ID system, rather than by ME Network itself. KYC Issuers are operated by node operators in collaboration with third-party identity verification agencies, under local regulatory frameworks. In this process, user identity data is collected by third-party agencies, which issue identity credentials to the user’s wallet address. ME DAO and node operators do not participate in the collection of user data.
Finally, ME Network offers the following privacy protection solutions to assist local third-party agencies in collecting and verifying identity data while safeguarding user privacy:
1. Homomorphic encryption algorithms: Users can locally encrypt sensitive biometric data, such as facial images and voiceprints, using homomorphic encryption algorithms (e.g., BFV encryption), generating irreversible ciphertext.
2. Granular data segmentation: KYC data is processed with fine-grained segmentation to extract only necessary features, minimizing the transmission of sensitive information.
3. Zero-knowledge proof: Assertion-based zero-knowledge proofs are applied in KYC data processing to further enhance user privacy.
4. Confidential verification: Verifiers can only perform operations on encrypted data, reducing the risk of data exposure without accessing plaintext.
Why do we need ME ID?
ME ID is a crucial piece of the Meta Earth ecosystem, designed to create a unique "identity card" for users on the blockchain, unlike the multitude of duplicate accounts in Web2 apps. With reliable identity management, new use cases and scenarios will emerge.
Reducing Costs with Verifiable Identities
Authenticity of NFTs: Whether in Web2 or Web3, there are numerous organizations engaging in scams through websites, links, and more, with fraudulent NFT minting and sales being a major area of concern. Through ME ID, creators can prove that the NFTs representing digital or physical assets are created by them, allowing buyers and sellers to verify the provenance of digital artworks.
Targeted airdrops: With ME ID in place, we and projects within the ME ecosystem can deliver airdrops more precisely to verified users, ensuring real users receive more rewards and benefits.
Building an RWA Credit System to Unlock the Next Chapter of DeFi
Unlike native on-chain assets, Real-World Assets (RWA) face a centralized bottleneck in off-chain asset custody. If off-chain assets are lost, damaged, or stolen, on-chain RWA tokens would become worthless. This raises concerns around security, privacy, and trust as traditional finance integrates with the crypto world. ME ID helps solve this problem by enabling a state of compatibility between encryption and regulation. It allows for regulatory oversight on-chain while protecting user privacy, supporting services like asset registration and transactions.
Additionally, ME ID can serve as a credit carrier for users, enabling scenarios like uncollateralized loans in the future. With the growth of ME ID-based identity verification, various lending-related actions will accumulate into positive or negative behaviors, eventually forming a credit scoring system. Protocols can then assess lending limits based on user credit scores, encouraging responsible on-chain borrowing and lending behavior.
Conclusion
Although the Meta Earth ecosystem is still in its early stages, as applications like DeFi, NFTs, and DAOs continue to mature and evolve, ME ID will undoubtedly become the “soul” of building the ME world. Ultimately, the data and identity management rights within the ME world will truly return to users.
