The Anima vision

Anima functions as a bridge between different aspects of digital identity, allowing users to effectively manage all facets of their identity to fulfill diverse requirements. This unlocks new use cases and contributes to the development of trust-based communities in the Web3 ecosystem.

Identity in web3 

In the Web3 ecosystem, identity represents an overlooked but fundamental element. It has the potential to unlock new use cases and foster collaboration among users and communities. With the rapid growth of web3 and the emergence of new innovative projects, the need for a universal identity and reputation solution that is accessible to everyone becomes increasingly apparent. Such a solution would enable users to establish their credibility and trustworthiness across different projects and platforms, without having to repeatedly verify their identity or build a new reputation from scratch for each new interaction.

Yet the topic of identity in the crypto space remains complex and fragmented. It can encompass various needs, including completely privacy-preserving verification of one's personhood, as well as traditional ID checks to access regulated services.

A global self-sovereign model that strikes the right balance between privacy and transparency is needed to build trust-based communities in the industry. Such a model could be used for any identity need and form the foundation of reputation-based trust in the Web3 ecosystem.

Anima

Anima is the bridge between all the different identity aspects. The protocol allows its users to handle all the fragments of their identity to adapt to all uses: from the most privacy preserving to the most regulatory requirements. 

To cater all identity use cases, Anima is also a technology-agnostic protocol designed to collaborate with any blockchain and wallet. This versatility makes it possible to create a universal model that can benefit the entire industry.

Empowering web3 communities through the Anima Protocol

With Anima-powered protocols, identification requirements can be customized based on communities’ specific needs.

As an example, this might encompass the validation of anonymous claims to ensure that a user meets the minimum age requirement for accessing a service. Additionally, it could entail verifying that community members are genuine individuals to combat sybil attacks, or validating users' official identity documents for regulatory compliance reasons.

Depending on the need, some DAOs may opt not to retain any data to guarantee privacy, while regulated platforms may be forced to do so to comply with ongoing regulations. 

Anima is capable of handling all of these scenarios. In the end, the protocol ensures that users fully comprehend the information they are about to share and with whom. It is entirely their decision whether to authorize the sharing or not.

Bot-free communities can be achieved through Anima's streamlined authentication system, which will foster the emergence of trust-based communities that encourage innovation.

Leveraging the best technology for a global self-sovereign model

At Synaps, we acknowledge the existence of various approaches to digital identity verification, including Verifiable Credentials (VCs) and Soulbound tokens (SBTs), which we view as complementary solutions that cater to different requirements.

VCs are encrypted and kept confidential, which means that the information they contain can only be accessed by decrypting them through an issuer such as Synaps. In contrast, SBTs are stored on the blockchain, making them publicly accessible to anyone who wishes to inspect them. An example of how these two solutions can be used together is in the context of reputation management. VCs can help establish the uniqueness of a user by providing verifiable proof of qualifications, while SBTs can be used to track on-chain actions and build a user's reputation. Although certain details within VCs may be considered sensitive, such as nationality or educational background, other information such as on-chain actions can be utilized to improve a user's reputation.

With an open mind, we aim to explore the most effective ways to leverage these methods and develop a system that can meet future demands. We believe that working alongside these technologies will generate fresh use cases for decentralized identity.

Unlocking a new paradigm for crypto

Anima represents a crucial foundation for a Web3 ecosystem based on reputation, providing a solution to the current challenge of distinguishing trustworthy users from malicious actors. By addressing this obstacle, we anticipate a shift towards a new paradigm that prioritizes individuals, with reputation playing a pivotal role in the emergence of an alternative economic system.

This user-centric system will not be solely based on economic power but mainly on reputation. We are convinced that Anima will unlock this alternative, and we stand by it not only because prioritizing individuals is a benevolent approach, but because it is the most effective way to encourage mass adoption. With more participants in the ecosystem, there will be a greater diversity of ideas and innovations, which in turn contributes to a more resilient crypto industry.