To facilitate identification on the Web3, Synaps has developed the decentralized identity protocol Anima. Launched on April 12, this decentralized identity brings a major innovation on the protection of personal data and can be used to instantly validate your KYC when registering to platforms.
Synaps presents its decentralized identity protocol Anima
Anima is a protocol for creating a decentralized digital identity (dID). It can be used endlessly on different services requiring identification or a Know Your Customer (KYC) process.
This Web 3.0 protocol is developed by the French company Synaps, itself already specialized in the provision of KYC solutions.
Synaps has many customers such as the French Just Mining and Deskoin and accompanies many launchpads such as Polkastarter, Solanium, Solstarter, Starterra or BHero to take only these few examples.
We will therefore see how Anima saves time and provides additional comfort of use when interacting with blockchain applications. Moreover, thanks to encryption and decentralized storage, this protocol offers protection to our personal data and respects our privacy.
The current KYC problem
Current KYC checks are not pleasant for the user or the service provider.
They represent a cost for the application that has to implement this control. A cost of operation certainly, but above all an additional cost of customer acquisition. Indeed, having to constantly repeat this procedure of sending identity documents, proving one’s place of residence and taking a selfie to confirm that one is human can scare people away.
Once this is done, you will then have to wait for the whole process to be validated before you can fully interact with a protocol.
Moreover, as a user, we can quickly feel spied on and legitimately wonder what will be done with our data, even though Web 3.0 is supposed to give us back control over them.
And all these constraints could become even more pronounced as the regulatory framework around blockchain and crypto-currencies becomes stricter.
The solution provided by Anima
A significant time saving
Anima is a decentralized identity based on KYC requirements. This certified identity can thus be used to instantly validate KYC and not have to go through it again. The first advantage of Anima is therefore a considerable time saving.
To use the example of Florian Le Goff, CEO of Synaps, it is as if we only had to pass one airport checkpoint for our entire activity on Web 3.0. In other words, one could also see one’s Anima as the bracelet, which is provided to us at the entrance of a festival and then clears us from a new ticket control.
By creating your Anima, you create your own digital double representing your identity on the Internet.
This brings comfort to the user who will no longer have to redo all the steps of KYC verifications with each new protocol. As Anima is the authentication tool, decentralized applications remain in conformity with the regulations, without scaring away potential customers.
Secure data
The other aspect of Anima, and certainly the most important one, is data security and by extension, regaining control over it.
First of all, it should be noted that Synaps, developing the Anima protocol, does not have access to our decentralized information. Indeed, they are encrypted with the public key of our wallet and can only be decrypted with its private key so that only we have access to them. This encrypted information is then stored on the decentralized storage network Aleph.im.
Anima is created on the Ethereum blockchain (ETH), but there is no need to worry about any gas charges, as it is only signatures and not transactions.
As we can see above, the data we provide is effectively encrypted and the only way to access it is to make a signature with our wallet.
Reveal only what is necessary
In the continuity of this data security, Anima acts as a protection overlay between our personal information and the various applications we use. Thus, we only reveal what is necessary.
To take a concrete example, token launchpad platforms are closed to citizens of certain countries. In this case, we are obliged to perform a KYC by transmitting our identity documents to prove that we reside in a country authorized by the platform.
With Anima, this is no longer mandatory, because without having to reveal our nationality, a signature of our private key allows us to authenticate that we are not a resident of such and such a country, because this verification has already been done beforehand.
Beyond the blockchain and cryptocurrency aspect, this is an innovation that can be exported in many fields. The restriction to certain countries is indeed not the prerogative of our ecosystem and we think, for example, of access to websites where a majority is required to access them.
Conclusion on Anima and its technology
In view of a future token launch, Anima has also set up affiliate links to encourage users who have already decentralized their identity to share this novelty with their network. This will generate a count that will be considered in an upcoming airdrop.
As we have seen, the Anima solution, powered by Synaps, is a real innovation. If it is accepted by the different actors of the sector, it will offer a real comfort of use in front of the current KYC.
Moreover, it could be one of the ambassadors of decentralized identity solutions offering us control over our personal data, in the exact opposite of what has been done on the Internet until now.
Anima is first and foremost a way to reconcile privacy and compliance to allow everyone to share only what is necessary.
