What is the future of Ethereum?

Last week, Vitalik Buterin co-published a paper predicting Ethereum’s future.

I read the 37-page paper and interviewed its co-authors so you didn’t have to.

[🧵 THREAD]

The future according to @VitalikButerin revolves around soulbound tokens (SBTs).

SBTs are NFTs that can’t be transferred after they are received.

Once you receive an SBT, you hold it in a Soul wallet forever.

I interviewed paper co-author @glenweyl.

He predicts that SBTs will be available for early uses by the end of 2022.

He also said, “I suspect the 2024 up cycle will focus on them.”

But, wait – what’s the point of NFTs that can never be transferred?

Here’s 3 use cases.

Use case 1: Universities could give SBT degrees to their graduates.

If universities gave NFT degrees now, graduates could sell them to anyone online.

But if a graduates receives an SBT degree, he would not be able to transfer or sell it.

Use case 2: A company is trying to hire people who went to Conference X.

Because Conference X gave out SBT badges to its attendees, no one can buy a badge on an open market.

The company could then filter candidates for verified attendees of Conference X.

Use case 3: A DAO wants to build a community of environmentalists.

The DAO can airdrop SBTs to attendees of environmental conferences and graduates of environmental programs.

@vitalikbuterin calls this a “souldrop”.

Vitalik and his team call this world a “Decentralized Society”.

I believe this is the future of web3 and the broader online world.

With scammers and fakers galore, having real on-chain credentials is key.

What is the future of Ethereum?

Last week, Vitalik Buterin co-published a paper predicting Ethereum’s future.

I read the 37-page paper and interviewed its co-authors so you didn’t have to.

[🧵 THREAD]

The future according to @VitalikButerin revolves around soulbound tokens (SBTs).

SBTs are NFTs that can’t be transferred after they are received.

Once you receive an SBT, you hold it in a Soul wallet forever.

I interviewed paper co-author @glenweyl.

He predicts that SBTs will be available for early uses by the end of 2022.

He also said, “I suspect the 2024 up cycle will focus on them.”

But, wait – what’s the point of NFTs that can never be transferred?

Here’s 3 use cases.

Use case 1: Universities could give SBT degrees to their graduates.

If universities gave NFT degrees now, graduates could sell them to anyone online.

But if a graduates receives an SBT degree, he would not be able to transfer or sell it.

Use case 2: A company is trying to hire people who went to Conference X.

Because Conference X gave out SBT badges to its attendees, no one can buy a badge on an open market.

The company could then filter candidates for verified attendees of Conference X.

Use case 3: A DAO wants to build a community of environmentalists.

The DAO can airdrop SBTs to attendees of environmental conferences and graduates of environmental programs.

@vitalikbuterin calls this a “souldrop”.

Vitalik and his team call this world a “Decentralized Society”.

I believe this is the future of web3 and the broader online world.

With scammers and fakers galore, having real on-chain credentials is key.