Decentralized Society: Finding Web3’s Soul<\/a>. In this 37-page paper, he proposes the idea of creating \u2018Soul-bound tokens\u2019 or SBTs, which are a type of NFT that is non-transferrable and also revocable by the owner of the SBT. <\/p>\n\n\n\nTypically when we talk about a person’s on-chain digital identity, we are usually referring to an NFT that is unique, non-divisible, and cannot be exchanged one-for-one with another NFT. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The problem with using NFTs in their current state as a form of identity is that their ownership is transferable, which makes their ability to provide a reliable authentication of certain information limited. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, if a University decides to issue degrees in the form of NFTs to graduating students, there is no guarantee that each issued NFT will remain tied to the owner of the wallet that receives it. The owner of the wallet may receive a generous offer from someone to sell their NFT, or they might transfer it to a different wallet or lose access entirely if they are hacked. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In any of those cases, even if the NFT contains a unique identifier code and metadata, there is no way of verifying that the current owner of the NFT is also the one who minted or originally received it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Soul Bound Tokens or SBTs solve this problem by permanently tying a token to the wallet address that receives it, meaning that it cannot be transferred to another address once minted. In the same way that a person and their physical identity (or their \u2018soul\u2019) are intrinsically tied together, so is the case with an SBT and the original owner’s wallet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This permanent connection between the SBT and wallet address enhances one’s ability to exist as a real and identifiable person on-chain. SBTs can be used to represent real-world credentials, help online communities create better reputation systems, cut down on fraud due to the permanent association of one’s actions to their SBT, and more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The biggest benefit of all is the ability for real-world entities to represent themselves on-chain through wallet addresses that hold several SBTs, each serving a specific purpose (proof of credentials, proof of partnerships, proof of attendance to certain events, etc.). This also makes it possible for individuals and entities to begin to establish a new credit system on-chain, which would allow people to receive under-collateralized loans that are tied to their SBT. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
SBTs can also help DAOs and other types of online communities be more precise in who they choose to issue memberships to based on the verifiable track record of SBT holders. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When it comes to verifying the number of members or the level of decentralization of a particular crypto community, SBTs can make it possible to distinguish between unique wallets in a way that has not been possible before. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The obvious risk with SBTs is what happens if your wallet gets hacked. In this case, the methods for recovery include social recovery, community recovery, and revocability. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
With social recovery, the owner of an SBT can assign \u2018guardians\u2019 who will have the authority to change the private keys of their wallet. So in the event that they are ever hacked, the guardians (who would most likely be close friends or family) could change the keys to prevent the attacker from accessing the SBT or spending any other tokens in the wallet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
SBT recovery can also be handled through the voting consensus of a community. With this approach, you would need a majority consensus from members of your Soul community who know the person that was hacked to authorize the changing of their private keys. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
SBTs also have another valuable feature for solving this problem, which is revocability. The issuer of an SBT has the ability to burn a token and then re-issue it to a new wallet. This comes in handy in the event of a hack because the SBT can simply be removed from the hacked wallet and recreated in the original owner’s new wallet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n