What is the future of Ethereum?
Last week, Vitalik Buterin co-published a paper predicting Ethereum’s future.
I read the 37-page paper and interviewed its co-authors so you didn’t have to.
[🧵 THREAD]
The future according to @VitalikButerin revolves around soulbound tokens (SBTs).
SBTs are NFTs that can’t be transferred after they are received.
Once you receive an SBT, you hold it in a Soul wallet forever.
I interviewed paper co-author @glenweyl.
He predicts that SBTs will be available for early uses by the end of 2022.
He also said, “I suspect the 2024 up cycle will focus on them.”
But, wait – what’s the point of NFTs that can never be transferred?
Here’s 3 use cases.
Use case 1: Universities could give SBT degrees to their graduates.
If universities gave NFT degrees now, graduates could sell them to anyone online.
But if a graduates receives an SBT degree, he would not be able to transfer or sell it.
Use case 2: A company is trying to hire people who went to Conference X.
Because Conference X gave out SBT badges to its attendees, no one can buy a badge on an open market.
The company could then filter candidates for verified attendees of Conference X.
Use case 3: A DAO wants to build a community of environmentalists.
The DAO can airdrop SBTs to attendees of environmental conferences and graduates of environmental programs.
@vitalikbuterin calls this a “souldrop”.
Vitalik and his team call this world a “Decentralized Society”.
I believe this is the future of web3 and the broader online world.
With scammers and fakers galore, having real on-chain credentials is key.
What is the future of Ethereum?
Last week, Vitalik Buterin co-published a paper predicting Ethereum’s future.
I read the 37-page paper and interviewed its co-authors so you didn’t have to.
[🧵 THREAD]
The future according to @VitalikButerin revolves around soulbound tokens (SBTs).
SBTs are NFTs that can’t be transferred after they are received.
Once you receive an SBT, you hold it in a Soul wallet forever.
I interviewed paper co-author @glenweyl.
He predicts that SBTs will be available for early uses by the end of 2022.
He also said, “I suspect the 2024 up cycle will focus on them.”
But, wait – what’s the point of NFTs that can never be transferred?
Here’s 3 use cases.
Use case 1: Universities could give SBT degrees to their graduates.
If universities gave NFT degrees now, graduates could sell them to anyone online.
But if a graduates receives an SBT degree, he would not be able to transfer or sell it.
Use case 2: A company is trying to hire people who went to Conference X.
Because Conference X gave out SBT badges to its attendees, no one can buy a badge on an open market.
The company could then filter candidates for verified attendees of Conference X.
Use case 3: A DAO wants to build a community of environmentalists.
The DAO can airdrop SBTs to attendees of environmental conferences and graduates of environmental programs.
@vitalikbuterin calls this a “souldrop”.
Vitalik and his team call this world a “Decentralized Society”.
I believe this is the future of web3 and the broader online world.
With scammers and fakers galore, having real on-chain credentials is key.
Follow @iamjasonlevin
