We at Mojoflower, are avid believers of web3. We believe that web3 thinking will change how we as users interact with technology and each other. We believe it will cause a shift, an upgrade of infrastructure and what we as users will be able to do. One of those changes is how blockchain addresses can replace e-mail addresses as blockchain addresses are more versatile.

Blockchain addresses can be used to interact with smart contracts and make smart transactions. We can use blockchain accounts as an authorisation method. We can use blockchain addresses to receive payments, securely and unequivocally. We can also use blockchain addresses to maintain public records, claim ownership of assets and hold certificates. Something that an e-mail address is just not built to do.

Public records + Blockchain can secure identities and prove ownership.

Where email is a private exchange of records, blockchain is a public exchange of records. People and computer software can use them to verify the identity of entities by using multiple independent sources in a trustworthy manner, making it almost impossible to forge.

This identity can serve us and be used when entering business agreements.

Examples include use cases for KYC, KYB, and AML, thus eliminating the need for repetitive and tedious tasks. That process gets replaced with secure historical records and established identities that become more trusted over time.

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You can think of this new digital identity being similar to how we as persons build character. Past events shape us, and sometimes it reveals our character and you can draw conclusions. A bodybuilder has certain traits that a ballerina does not. Just by looking at them, we are able to understand a rich history and we safely assume that they have spent much time developing their skills.

A new web3 identity serves a similar purpose. As it holds a permanent record of past events that contribute to the identity. In the same way that we humans can draw certain conclusions by just looking at people, programs will be able to draw certain conclusions as well and will steer impostors away. This can make the digital journey safer, and more enjoyable for everyone.

To elaborate with an example. As you know that you know your friend is your friend on Facebook, you rely on multiple independent sources to prove who they are.

Let’s say you received a friend request from Roger. You might look at the name photo, and then subconsciously, you might look at mutual friends and scroll through the wall to verify that this internet identity is controlled by the real world Roger. You see that this is a typical roger, you see photos with his friends.

So you put these multiple proofs together and conclude that Roger is Roger.

This conclusion becomes harder when dealing with virtual public identities when you don’t have a personal relationship and convictions that you can use to validate.

Public entities and identities have more of a non-personal relationship that is transactional and is often selective of what they choose to put on display. For example, a company may maintain a website with information about the company. However, they are the only ones that curate that site and can easily misinform readers.

The blockchain address can provide proof of identity through a history of multiple inputs to verify their identity. For example, linking public records like Company registry certificates, trademark certificates, co-validation (company vouches for one company), liquor licenses, business licenses. We can start to build a netted network of entities that begin to have unquestionable authority over a single identity.

Issuing Certificates:

Public offices, like company registers, can thus use Blockchain more efficiently than e-mail on matters of public record by publicly dispersing licensing using blockchain as the standard rails.

As information stored on public blockchains can be verified independently by anyone, we have a method to certify the origin and the identity of the recipient. The Agency we know or trust sends the certificate to the Company with a direct link, and that tells us two things.

Our Trusted party issues the Certificate we know and sent to the party we don’t know. As more Trusted parties begin to interact with the party, we become more confident that this address is the actual and active one. This makes digital communication more interwoven and allows for making more enlightened decisions.

For a simple example, we can use “Coca-Cola”. We can be reasonably safe to assume that they own their Trademark “Coca-Cola.” However, today it’s hard for us to verify that information because we are verifying two independent statements.

Coca-Cola Company is the registered owner of the Coca-Cola Trademark.
The Company I am talking to is Coca Cola Company.

They can make claims on their websites, and we can look up in public databases; they can share with us .pdf printouts of that document, but we don’t have a record of the Government saying.

The two statements no longer need to be independent in a blockchain world. The blockchain makes the statement support each other and tells you two things simultaneously.

The Coca-Cola Company is the Registered owner of the Coca-Cola Trademark.

AND

The Company I am speaking to is Coca-Cola since they are the owner of the Coca-Cola trademark.

So you must be talking to the Coca-Cola company.

Thus both statements reinforce each other, making it hard, almost impossible to forge. If you add second, third, and more independent records to this mix, the identity becomes more secure over time.

Insights

Will blockchain addresses replace e-mail?

Ólafur Páll Torfason

Co Founder / CEO