💡Our Infrastructure

Identities

Mercle offers a balanced approach to digital identity by bridging the gap between Self-Sovereign Identity Tokens (SBTs) and Verifiable Credentials (VCs). Leveraging the widespread adoption of NFTs, while retaining the core principles of decentralized identity, our aim is to deliver a solution that is efficient, user-friendly, and most importantly, truly decentralized. This identity model ensures gasless storage and updating of all claims.

Our Profile Architecture combines a "Two-Part Storage" system, consisting of:

1. Soul Bound Identity: This component uses a did:<walletaddress> format to store identity data. It serves as a comprehensive ledger of a user's interactions and activities across various communities, encapsulating a range of actions from social engagements (such as Twitter or Discord interactions) to complex on-chain activities (like staking, trading, or voting). This consolidated record forms a holistic depiction of a user's identity.

2. Utility Profile: This segment of our storage system comprises verifiable proof of the rewards users earn from their actions. Rewards range from social recognitions or badges (which enhance a user's standing within the ecosystem) to financial benefits like discount airdrops or locked tokens. This concept mirrors the reward structures prevalent in Web2 platforms.

The primary focus of these profiles is to provide communities with a suitable solution that acknowledges and incentivizes user engagement. By examining these profile components in detail, we offer a comprehensive understanding of our innovative identity architecture.

On Chain Verification

In the beta phase, Mercle serves as the sole verifier and issuer of proofs, certifying users’ actions on the platform. However, the goal is to decentralize this process, similar to software development platforms where contributors receive recognition.

To achieve decentralization, Mercle introduces the “CLAIM_ISSUER_ROLE” in their smart contracts. This role allows whitelisted community administrators to approve users’ submitted proofs, distributing the validation process across multiple admins.

Proofs and claims data are stored as IPNS datasets accessible from any IPFS provider, enhancing data resilience and availability. Mercle ensures compatibility across platforms by signing proofs using the EIP-712 data signing standard, usable for both on-chain and off-chain purposes.

The verified proofs unlock rewards for users in the form of either NFTs. These rewards are stored on-chain with the identifier ‘did:<tokenId>’, where ‘did’ stands for Decentralized Identifier.