Onfido Tech Supports Decentralized Governance in Web3

Onfido’s selfie-based identity verification technology is being used in Web3 infrastructure. The company’s partner 0xKYC leveraged Onfido’s tech in a plugin, called “1VOTE”, designed for Aragon, a framework that allows a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) to create a Non-Transferable Token that represents an end user’s membership in the DAO and their right to vote.

DAOs are a kind of democratized corporation built on blockchain technology; the idea is to use blockchain technology to enable decentralized governance among members, who are often afforded voting rights along with the occasional share of cryptocurrency. Aragon is a kind of infrastructure platform upon which DAOs can be built, with a strong focus on helping developers to mint and distribute crypto tokens and set governance rules without having to write extensive code.

0xKYC is a small, pre-seed startup registered in Delaware whose mission is to build a blockchain record that doesn’t require end users to provide their name, while also ensuring that they are over 18 years of age. Its 1VOTE plugin is designed specifically for Aragon, bringing this functionality to the DAO framework.

Onfido’s tech is therefore instrumental in helping these platforms achieve their goals. 0xKYC used Onfido’s Motion solution to let end users confirm their identity by uploading a picture of their photo ID along with a photo or video of their face. Onfido’s facial recognition technology matches the two together, thereby verifying the user’s identity and age. From there, 0xKYC can generate what it calls a “Soulbound Token” that attests that the user has been verified and checked against fraud databases.

“Thanks to Onfido’s suite of products, we’re able to create a robust KYC and AML solution,” said 0xKYC CEO Adam Zasada. “By extending this capability to the blockchain, we’re able to offer a permissionless way that allows protocols that use Aragon OSx or any other system to verify if their DAO users are unique and eligible for a vote in a decentralized organization.”

According to the companies, 1VOTE is already being embraced by DAOs, and is also being used by Web3 gaming companies to fight duplicate accounts.

Onfido’s 1VOTE news comes in the same month of its announcement that its selfie-based identity verification tech had been integrated into the DocuSign platform, demonstrating its reach as an identity verification vendor across both Web3 and the ‘traditional’ internet.

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August 23, 2023 – by Alex Perala