Coinbase is ‘thinking about’ identity tools that could potentially help people access and manage their metaverse identity and NFTs.
By Mercy Tukiya Mutanya
Updated
3 mins read
Coinbase is ‘thinking about’ identity tools that could potentially help people access and manage their metaverse identity and NFTs. This was revealed in a December 16 blog post by Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and Identity Product Lead Alex Reeve.
The post outlined, among other things, what the Metaverse is, some of its elements and who is currently working on the different elements. Armstrong and Reeve describe the Metaverse as “the distant evolution of Web3”. Similar to Web2, interactions with the Metaverse will, to varying degrees, be dependant on identity. Some components of Metaverse identity we can anticipate are:
“At Coinbase, we want to help pull all the pieces of identity together – essentially creating an identity on-ramp into the Metaverse. That’s the idea behind our work with ENS, which makes it possible to create a unique username NFT that resolves to a wallet. Eventually, this will allow users to carry a unique ID across different worlds in the Metaverse […] We’re also working on technology that will allow you to purchase your avatar, define and maintain your public profile, and establish trust. And we’re working on features like Sign in with [ETH/Coinbase], which could allow users to sign into every app in the Metaverse,” wrote the company.
Due to its popularity as a crypto exchange (third-largest by volume), this move by Coinbase puts it at risk of becoming the Facebook of the Metaverse. Of course unlike Facebook and other Web2 fixtures, the Metaverse, by its very nature, will be decentralized.
If Coinbase does end up becoming a service that the majority use to access and manage their metaverse identities they will have to be careful to avoid repeating the monopolizing practices for which Web2 has been known.
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Mercy Mutanya is a Tech enthusiast, Digital Marketer, Writer and IT Business Management Student. She enjoys reading, writing, doing crosswords and binge-watching her favourite TV series.
