Masa Finance launches soulbound Web3 identity protocol for Ethereum

cointelegraph.com:

Masa Finance has launched the first soulbound identity protocol for the Ethereum mainnet, according to a Jan. 17 press release shared with Cointelegraph. The protocol will allow for standardized soulbound tokens to be minted on Ethereum for Know Your Customer verification, credit scores and other use cases.

Soulbound tokens are tokens that cannot be transferred from one wallet to another. The concept was popularized via a blog post from Vitalik Buterin, who argued that these tokens could be used to signify governance rights for decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols or to prove that a person has attended an event.

Speaking to Cointelegraph, Masa Finance founders Brendan Playford and Calanthis Mei argued that soulbound tokens will expand opportunities for DeFi users to build credit and get loans. Mei explained it as such:

She emphasized that Masa soulbound tokens are not merely attached to a traditional credit score. The protocol goes beyond traditional finance to incorporate both Web2 and Web3 activity. Mei said that over 10,000 data points are used in a Masa credit score, including a user’s FICO score, Plaid transaction data for credit and debit cards, Web3 wallet transaction history, centralized exchange balances, and other data.

Mei believes this system will lead to “risk-based underwriting” in DeFi, which she says has previously not been possible due to the lack of identity protocols on blockchain networks.

The founders also said there is one other use cases currently available for the protocol. Aside from representing a credit score, the second use case for the protocol is .soul domain names. These are similar to ENS names, but with the added benefit that they can be linked to various Masa identity characteristics.