The Killer Blockchain App

Please be aware that the viewpoints presented in this post are personal and should not be considered financial advice.

I have been intrigued by blockchain technology since I first heard about it around 2015–2016. The underlying technology is ingenious — it acts as a decentralized ledger that enables trustless peer-to-peer transactions without the need for a middleman.

In the early days, much of the excitement around blockchain focused on the rising prices of crypto tokens and coins. But I was more interested in the real-world problems this technology could solve. An obvious initial application was payments — a logical choice given blockchain’s ability to facilitate trustless transactions with minimal fees. However, legal roadblocks, especially concerning cross-border payments, tax evasion, and money laundering, have hindered its widespread adoption. The user experience, particularly the on-ramp and off-ramp to the blockchain, remains less than optimal.

Another early application I found promising was decentralized data storage. Blockchain’s distributed nature makes it resilient against localized failures or attacks. But economies of scale make centralized cloud solutions far cheaper for most applications today. The decentralized approach remains appealing primarily to those skeptical of tech giants.

Yet, amidst these applications, one crucial problem remains unsolved by Web 2.0 — ID verification. In our era of rampant data breaches, every online signup implies surrendering information that may end up in a leak. What if we could shift the narrative? Imagine a non-custodial or hardware wallet housing your identification details — name, date of birth, address, etc. Only you, armed with the private key, can access and initiate transactions.

Entities you trust provide verification keys (ex. DMV driver license verification), enabling you to selectively share information without exposing unnecessary details. For example, you could share just your age to confirm you can enter a website, rather than your full birthday. Or you could share a verification of your credit score for a loan application rather than your social security number. You can also prove that you are human without exposing any other information.

Blockchain-based ID verification hands control back to individuals, eliminating the need to overshare. This trust system not only empowers users but also streamlines transactions, making them faster, easier, and more cost-effective. In my perspective, identification verification emerges as the killer blockchain app.