Whenever I explore technology that's new to me, whether it be learning how decentralized apps work or what an open source tool does, it's seeing the technology in action that helps me understand whether or not it can impact me and my every day life. This is why every month at TBD, what better way to learn about our technology in action than from innovators using TBD's technologies today.
Have you ever watched a creator’s video and thought, "Where did she get that top?" or "I need that protein powder"? You scroll through the comments, only to see the infamous "link in my bio" comment. You rush to click the link, and you're hit with-page not found 😒. I remember once being so desperate that I took a screenshot of the item and reverse-searched it on Google Images. I found something similar but not what I wanted. SO frustrating. Eventually, I gave up and kept on scrolling.
The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) has introduced a new rule banning fake online reviews. This rule, which penalizes businesses and individuals involved in the sale or purchase of fake reviews, represents a much needed step in promoting trust online. But while enforcement is crucial, there's still a challenge of identifying which reviews are legitimate. This is where Verifiable Credentials (VCs) can provide a solution.
At the recent California DMV Hackathon, the Block team, represented by members from Square and TBD, won the Best Privacy & Security Design award for building a prototype of an instant age verification system. This solution utilizes mobile drivers’ licenses (mDLs) to provide secure, privacy-centric transactions for age-restricted purchases with Square’s Point of Sale (POS) system.
In this post, we’ll explore the core technical components behind our solution, which centered on using TruAge technology to enable seamless, secure age verification.
tbDEX is an open messaging protocol that enables liquidity seekers to connect with liquidity providers. This means that as a liquidity provider, your business can be the backend supplier in several payment applications.
Performing KYC on repeat customers every time they attempt to transact with you from a different payment app would be a pain. To avoid this, you will use the Web5 SDK to issue a Known Customer Credential (KCC) to a customer, Alice, who you have already completed KYC on. You will store the JWT representing the KCC in Alice’s Decentralized Web Node so that she can present it to your business from any payment app.
With October blazing through, we're greeted by pumpkin spices, the aroma of fall leaves drifting in the rain, and of course, the much-anticipated Hacktoberfest. Whether you're a seasoned contributor or new to open source, there's something for everyone.
At TBD, we are committed to building a decentralized future where users have greater control over their data and organizations can interact in a more open, trustworthy, and secure way. Open standards are the foundation of this vision, enabling the seamless collaboration and interoperability across systems.
Everything we do at TBD is enabled and strengthened by open standards. Our most notable projects, Web5 and tbDEX, are deeply rooted in these open standards. The frameworks for decentralized identifiers (DIDs), verifiable credentials (VCs), and the protocols that facilitate their sharing form the backbone of our work.
"Dap me up!" is a colloquial term followed by a gesture used in Western cultures to greet people or express solidarity. At TBD, we're adding a new meaning to this phrase with Decentralized Agnostic Paytags (DAPs), an open source approach designed to simplify peer-to-peer payments across various applications.
"Verifiable Credentials seems niche. Only a small group of technologists would be interested in this," a conference attendee declared after I enthusiastically described my company's work in the Global Payments and Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) ecosystem.
This comment gave me pause. Less than a year ago, I first encountered Verifiable Credentials (VCs) - a W3C standard for digital credentials that state specific facts about individuals, organizations, or entities. My initial reaction was similar to the conference attendee’s response. However, after interviewing SSI builders on a weekly livestream, my perspective changed dramatically.
While VCs are relatively new and primarily explored by SSI enthusiasts, their benefits extend far beyond this group. Many of the services and products you use today already rely on them – even if you don't realize it.
From healthcare to content creation, finance to travel, VCs are changing how we share and verify information. Here's a look at seven real-world applications of VCs that may surprise you:
Following the successful launch of tbDEX 1.0 in Rio de Janeiro, TBD embarked on a roadshow across Africa, visiting Accra, Nairobi, and Cape Town. Our mission was to engage with local developers and share tbDEX, an open source protocol for global payments.