Metaverse and self-sovereign identity (SSI): new superpower?

We'll hear a lot about metaverses in the coming years. Though metaverse-related initiatives are in the early stages, they are quickly expanding their use of technologies like Blockchain and augmented realities, the Internet of Things, digital twins, and artificial intelligence to redefine our digital world's capabilities.

Metaverse initiatives aim to build digital places that users can identify as their own, an experience that holds real value to the user's life, be it as a place to work, pleasure engaging, social interactions. In this regard, the metaverse initiatives will have to concentrate on the most important aspect of identity for users and the authentication it provides. Furthermore, since the metaverse concept is based on the idea of multiple digital universes, authentication of identity is essential for facilitating users' transition between different worlds, similar to how it is necessary for moving from one place to another or from one country to another.

What's the significance of metaverse identity?

While not a brand-new idea, it gained popularity when Facebook has changed its name from Meta as well as Mark Zuckerberg shared a video detailing the metaverse they're building; in terms of the metaverse, who could say that we've barely scratched the surface, and the possibilities are limitless. So, what is the metaverse? Is it like everybody sitting at home using VR headsets to connect with the metaverse? The video that Mark Zuckerberg presented suggests a future that resembles this; however, at the moment, there isn't any kind of metaverse.

The metaverse concept goes beyond the prevalent paradigms of game tech and social media. Instead, it's about re-creating the physical world in the digital space and enabling interactions identical to daily ones.

Modern metaverse projects are mainly gaming platforms. They are immersive and provide players with a sense of presence by utilizing 3D modeling and animation. Functionally, they offer more engagement with features like advanced UX and community building, trading in-game assets, and opportunities to earn money playing. Additionally, the metaverse may be centralized or decentralized. This research focuses on decentralized metaverses, in which SSIs play a larger function to perform.

Metaverse adoption is not restricted to gaming; other metaverse-related projects focus on other topics, including platforms for buying as well as trading online digital currencies, social media and making friends, experiencing various lifestyles and cultures, and creating tokenized products for businesses, starting new ventures, and exploring the realm. In the metaverses, players can discover an entirely new kind of virtual experience far beyond the normal perception of internet-based interactions. However, for the ultimate success of the metaverse, a crucial necessity is identity authentication. This is the reason why identity authentication in the metaverse is crucial.

• Virtual experiences of all kinds are provided by multiple metaverse platforms which exist as siloed spheres. Metaverse allows repleting using avatars live events, currencies, and big-brand marketing; however, it currently does not allow for hopping from the two metaverses; as an example, you aren't able to travel between Decentraland into Axie Infinity.
• Metaverse platforms have a strong focus on interoperability, which helps make a metaverse project more valuable and meaningful for users. Metaverse projects that are siloed or fragmented platforms cannot give users a seamless experience as users require different avatars or identities specific to the various platforms. In addition, the value in their assets digitally is limited to one metaverse. They could also have to track multiple coins or wallets, depending on the compatibility of the systems.
• To ensure a consistent experience, users should easily move between various worlds(metaverses). They require authentication to keep the same identity and avatar across all platforms to do this.
• A system of identity that is tailored for the world of metaphysics is essential to assure that avatars are authentically who they proclaim to be. To stop impersonators from forming identities, verifiable credentials could assist in regulating identity crises, as well as frauds involving transactions.

What is self-sovereign identification?

Verified and interoperable data will become essential in the metaverse at different levels, whether verification of identity during creating a profile or verification when transactions are made. Verifiable credentials to the metaverse toolbox can help build confidence in avatars, profiles, and things. In this case, Self Sovereign Identity in Metaverse (SSI) are preferred over other authentic credentials since SSIs are managed by the users themselves and can be used only with their approval. This helps to limit the accidental sharing of personal information.

Self-sovereign identity (SSI) is a digital identity managed by the users themselves, without recourse to any third-party service providers. The users create and manage their identities with crypto-wallets in the SSI platform. The identities are validated with public-key cryptography and anchored on blockchains or distributed ledgers. Self-sovereign identities are not verified by any central third party but through public identifiers on an uncentralized network. This is a way to not keep personal data on a centralized database. Therefore, SSI can tackle privacy and security issues. This trusted decentralized confidence is essential to fusing data elements to create an open and cohesive metaverse.

What self-sovereign identity concepts relate to the metaverse?

Self-sovereign identities generally can be used to identify cards and driver's licenses and degrees, and certificates. However, in Metaverses, self-sovereign, verifiable credentials may be used in coupons, loyalty cards, and various other membership cards. Self-sovereign identities help improve the flow of metaverse traffic, increase the onboarding process for new users, and increase user loyalty users.

SSI system can be applied to metaverse the same way it does to the crypto games, DeFi, or NFT-based galleries. Below are some suggestions that explain how who can apply SSI authentic credentials to the metaverse ecosystem

1. SSI verifiable credentials as non-fungible tokens may facilitate the exchange of identities.

Decentralized applications embrace blockchain-based decentralized identity platforms, also known as decentralized identifiers(DIDs), which provide technology to eliminate password-centric authentication. However, the concept of identity in decentralized applications such as metaverses is currently isolated within closed systems. DID implies that only one organization can access authentication and identity in a closed ecosystem.

With an eye on the future, the decentralized metaverse requires DIDs which can transcend the limits of a single organization or ecosystem. To overcome the current barriers of closed and siloed platforms, ecosystems of the metaverse require interoperable identities that transfer across ecosystems.

The increasing rate of NFT adoption is pushing the idea of interoperability. NFTs are being used to verify the authenticity and identify digital goods by creating them in the Blockchain. The value of NFTs expanded to self-sovereign identity could enable interoperability between identities.

SSI credentials function similarly to NFTs. While NFTs define an identity, SSI defines what an identity is. A crypto wallet powered by SSI and has cryptographic keys will be able to work with metaverse with decentralized identifiers.

2. SSI credentials permit the metaverse as an entity to have access to the customer's data subject to their consent.

Metaverse platforms are decentralized. They provide ecosystems that let users manage their data but do not have details about their clients. Privacy of the users might not be a problem; however, uncertainty is. Users might have their real identities kept secret in a metaverse. However, they must be authenticated before they can enter the metaverse.

Also, some verification of the user's data or activities could be required at various levels in the metaverse. Consider the case of crypto transactions that are stored on the Blockchain. KYC data is reconciled to an address on the Blockchain, assuming that the wallet belongs to the individual conducting the KYC; however, it is impossible to connect the KYCs data provided by a user to the wallet address. This assumption-based method can cause errors or fraud. The benefit of decentralization, which blocks platforms from accessing their customers' data, could have negative effects.

Self-sovereign identity can address this issue by cryptographically affixing users' data with a cryptocurrency wallet address. Additionally, using SSIs, users always have the power to choose when the transfer all or some of their information into the service. Thus, the security of the data of users is always guaranteed.

3. SSIs aid in the development of business and traffic on the internet by making it easier to count on brands from the real world without compromising the privacy and security of users' data. Sovereignty.

To ensure the ultimate success of the metaverse, it is vital at some point to link the actions occurring in the metaverse to actual things. In this case, we're discussing the establishment of information exchange networks between the decentralized ecosystem and real-world businesses and brands. However, this linkage of a decentralized platform to real-world central sources raises the risk of divulging users' information to other users.

Self-sovereign identity can be helpful here since the information stored by SSI verified credentials allows you to trust authentic companies or partners. Real-world partners can give or provide data about users to third parties with the consent of users.

What are the potentialities offered by SSI technology in the metaverse?

It is believed that SSI concepts and techniques have the potential to add a lot to decentralized software, Web3 applications, and even metaverse. The main benefit of self-sovereign identity to the metaverse and other internet 3 applications is its capability to connect user information through cryptography to an account in a crypto wallet.

• Metaverse users with cryptocurrency wallets with SSI functions can use their avatar's name. Users can use the wallet to gain their experiences within one metaverse community and gain advantages in other games of the metaverse.
• In the same wallet, the user could create marketing strategies based on real-world brands and boost traffic to the metaverse. Connected to SSI features the crypto wallet could provide coupons to attract new users or even be a part of a loyalty card or program.
• SSI-enabled crypto wallets enable the metaverse platform to operate decentralized affiliation programs. For instance, an organizer of an event that takes place in the real world may offer participants in the metaverse the chance to win a coupon discount when they purchase an artifact from a game by scanning their SSI-powered crypto wallets. The wallet's back-end synchronization to the metaverse can send the coupon into the Metaverse Platform in real-world form. In this case, the user was given the sole authority to determine which data was passed.
• With cryptocurrency wallets that carry SSI verified credentials, users can conveniently log in to several metaverse platforms. The authentic SSI credentials are then transferred to the metaverse application providing users with secure login to the metaverse platform.
• Crypto wallets may serve as a repository for the user's data that is accessible to use in a different domain, need more security, or aren't easy to manage in a decentralized setting.

Conclusion

Self-sovereign identities have developed precisely because of the use of blockchain technology in identity data. SSI can store customers' information from metaverse and web3 apps and make the data operational concerning users' sovereignty and ensures security.

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