Numerous firms are developing decentralised IDs for the coming internet generation. Four former Tencent employees demand their offer. Similar to how emails and phone numbers were commonplace in web2, bit, an identity protocol built on the blockchain, aims to become the universal identification system in web3 while providing consumers control over their own data rather than letting it reside in the platforms they use.
.bit-powered identities take the shape of the domain name that bears their name. The process is as follows: Select a.bit alias, connect it to the addresses of your cryptocurrency or NFT wallets that.bit presently supports, and all the information and assets from those wallets will now be stored in.bit’s “data container” and shown on your.bit website.
Let’s say you require someone to send you cryptocurrency. You might offer them something as straightforward as claire.bit instead of giving them your 35-character wallet address.The Ethereum Name Service (ENS) is probably the biggest player in the blockchain naming system space today with .eth increasingly seen in Twitter names. While .bit sees ENS as its rival, it doesn’t bill itself as a domain service but rather as an identity solution provider.
Additionally, Tim Yeoh, one of the co-founders of.bit, said that his business offers a “neutral” and “chain-agnostic” solution in contrast to.eth, which only works with Ethereum.According to the founder, “.bit serves as the digital ID for all of your assets in the web3 world. In real life, your homes and financial holdings are all related to your unique ID number.”
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After one year of operation,.bit has registered more than 110,000 accounts with 38,000 associated cryptocurrency addresses. The identity protocol currently works with Polygon, Tron, Binance Smart Chain, and Ethereum; in the future, it hopes to add support for additional cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Dogecoin, Polkadot, Solana, and others. Nearly 100 wallets and dApps have all merged with the protocol.
The company operates on a straightforward business strategy whereby accounts, domain names, and other identity services are paid for on a yearly subscription basis. The plan received backing from investors.due to the fact that the business has completed a $13 million Series A funding round, which was sponsored by CMB International, a subsidiary of the Chinese conglomerate China Merchants Group, HashKey Capital, which is renowned for having invested in Ethereum early on, QingSong Fund, GSR Ventures, GGV Capital, and the crypto-specific investment firm SNZ.
The business intends to utilise the funds for hiring, growing its global user base, and establishing new collaborations, albeit it wants to maintain a lean crew. According to Yeoh, the company’s next goal is to encourage the adoption of.bit by decentralised autonomous organisations (DAOs). Each DAO member is given a.bit account, which they can use to cast votes for the organization’s decisions.
Tim Yoeh, Specer Shaw, Jeff Jin, and Kyle Wright are the startup’s four co-founders; the other eight work for Tencent and are dispersed throughout the United States, China, and Singapore.Its members already reside in over 180 different nations, but Yeoh wants the business to expand to Africa and South America where many people lack banking access owing to a lack of official documents.
The founder advised: “A person who doesn’t have a government-issued ID can obtain a.bit account, skip the government, and start using a variety of apps.” The record of a person’s contribution to a DAO may appear on their.bit profile. No longer required are certificates. Like.eth,.bit has been steadily gaining popularity among early users of cryptocurrencies on various well-known online platforms. People are adding the.bit suffix to their names on Jike, a social network beloved among China’s tech professionals, VCs, and web3 fans, even though they haven’t officially made an account with the website.
