Unlocking Trust: Exploring Attestation as a Service on Ethereum

Introduction

In an increasingly digital world, trust is the foundation upon which all interactions are built. Whether it's verifying identities, ensuring product authenticity, or enabling secure financial transactions, trust is the glue that holds it all together. In the realm of Web3 and blockchain technology, a fascinating concept known as "Attestation as a Service" is revolutionizing how we establish trust, particularly on the Ethereum blockchain.

Understanding Attestation

Attestation, in its simplest form, is the act of confirming or verifying something. In traditional Web2 applications, it often relies on centralized authorities, but the age of misinformation demands a more reliable approach. EAS, the Ethereum Attestation Service, steps in as a standard and base layer where any entity can make attestations about anything. This primitive and ledger of attestations will help us decentralize more than just money and assets; it opens the door to coordinate and build reputation systems, voting systems, governance systems, decentralized social media, provenance of goods, knowledge and social graphs, and much more.

Attestation in Web3 vs. Web2

Web3 introduces a paradigm shift in how attestation functions. Trust is no longer solely vested in centralized entities. Instead, it's distributed across a network of nodes, secured by cryptography and consensus algorithms. EAS plays a pivotal role in this shift by enabling anyone to make attestations onchain or offchain about anything. You simply register a schema (or use an existing one) about any topic and make attestations referencing that schema.

Attestation as a Service on Ethereum

EAS operates on two elegantly simple smart contracts: one for registering attestation Schemas and another for attesting with them. It doesn't box users in with presumptions, offering a foundation adaptable to myriad applications. EAS is open source, permissionless, tokenless, and free to use, built by the community for the community. As a public good, EAS prioritizes impact over profit, ensuring neutrality and preventing manipulation at the protocol layer.

• Smart contracts: Smart contracts are used to define the attestation schemas and to store the attestation data.
• Oracles: Oracles are used to provide off-chain data to the smart contracts. For example, an oracle might be used to provide a person's name and date of birth to verify their identity.
• Decentralized identity (DID) solutions: DID solutions are used to provide a decentralized way to identify and authenticate users.

Key Things to Know About EAS

• The architecture is elegantly simple: EAS operates on two smart contracts for registering schemas and making attestations, with the option to add resolver contracts for advanced use cases.
• It doesn't presuppose anything: EAS provides a base layer adaptable to various applications without presuming specific schema structures, empowering users to tailor it to their needs.
• EAS is a public good: It's open source, permissionless, tokenless, and free to use, emphasizing impact over profit and neutrality.
• Attestations aren't tokens: EAS attestations are a new primitive, facilitating digital signatures on structured information, and enhancing composability and interoperability.

Real-World Use Cases

While identity is a key use case for EAS, its flexibility extends far beyond. EAS enables entrepreneurs and developers to build applications for identity verification, reputation networks, supply chain solutions, voting and governance systems, and more. The possibilities are vast, and EAS is a foundational tool in creating a more trustful and transparent world. These are just a few examples of how Ethereum-based attestation is reshaping industries.

• Identity verification: Attestation as a service can be used to verify a person's identity, such as for the purposes of opening a bank account or applying for a loan. Consider a scenario where a DeFi lending platform requires users to prove their creditworthiness without revealing sensitive personal information. With Ethereum's attestation services, users can cryptographically prove their credit score without sharing the actual score.
• Academic credential verification: Attestation as a service can be used to verify a student's academic achievements, such as for the purposes of applying to a job or graduate school.
• Product provenance: Attestation as a service can be used to verify the provenance of a product, such as to ensure that it is ethically sourced and sustainable.
• Supply chain management: Attestation as a service can be used to track the movement of goods through a supply chain and to ensure that they meet quality standards.

Some interesting attestations that are being adopted are below:

• Proof of Attendance: The popular POAP tokens not only represent poof of attending events, but also a digital keepsake from a memorable time. It is an on-chain attestation.
• Attestation Ticketing: Proof from the event organiser stating the identity of the ticket holder. It can be used in digital world to mint NFTs, claim perks from 3rd parties as well as in real life transactions such as to claim merchandise and right of admission.
• Email Attestation: Proof that an email belongs to a user with a particular wallet address. This allows the user to associate their Web3 ID with the most ubiquitous ID of Web2.
• Proof of Reserves: Proof that an exchange has the reserves for the assets that it holds on behalf of its customers.
• MagicLink Attestation: Attestation that is encoded as a URL, which can be opened in a browser to generate and store attestation securely
• Soul Bound Tokens: Even though not be directly considered as an attestation, soul bound tokens can be used as attestations for attributes in some occasions.

Commercial Considerations

From a commercial perspective, attestation as a service on Ethereum offers diverse business models. Service providers can charge fees for verifying identities, certifying products, or ensuring data accuracy. Individuals and organizations can earn rewards for participating in the attestation process, incentivizing network participation and trust establishment. Some providers also offer additional services, such as reputation scoring and risk assessment.

Key challenges for attestation as a service providers include:

• Adoption: Attestation as a service is a relatively new technology, and it is important to build awareness and adoption among potential users.
• Regulation: The regulatory landscape for attestation as a service is still evolving. It is important for providers to stay up-to-date on the latest regulations and to ensure that their services are compliant.

Attestation Market

The attestation market is still relatively new, but it is growing rapidly. According to a report, the global attestation market is expected to grow from USD 1.7 billion in 2021 to USD 5.3 billion by 2027, at a CAGR of 24.3%.

The attestation ecosystem is made up of a variety of different players, including:

• Attestation providers: These companies provide attestation services to businesses and individuals. Some examples of attestation providers include Attest, Verisart, and Chainalysis.
• Blockchain infrastructure providers: These companies provide the infrastructure that is needed to support attestation on blockchain, such as Ethereum and Polygon.
• Smart contract development companies: These companies help businesses to develop and deploy smart contracts that can be used for attestation.
• Oracles: Oracles provide off-chain data to smart contracts. This data can be used to verify the authenticity of claims that are being made in attestations.

The key players in the attestation market today include:

• Attest: Attest is a decentralized attestation platform that provides a number of features to help businesses build and deploy attestation solutions.
• Verisart: Verisart is a blockchain-based platform that provides attestation services for digital assets.
• Chainalysis: Chainalysis is a blockchain intelligence company that provides attestation services for cryptocurrency transactions.

Other notable players in the attestation market include:

• Proof of Trust: Proof of Trust is a decentralized attestation platform that provides a number of features to help businesses and individuals build and manage attestations.
• Everledger: Everledger is a blockchain-based platform that provides attestation services for diamonds and other precious gemstones.
• Provenance: Provenance is a blockchain-based platform that provides attestation services for supply chains.

The attestation market is still in its early stages of development, but it has the potential to revolutionize the way that trust is established and verified in the digital world. As the technology continues to mature and adoption grows, we can expect to see the market grow significantly.

Conclusion

In the era of Web3, trust is being reimagined, and attestation as a service on Ethereum is at the forefront of this transformation. It liberates individuals from relying on centralized authorities, putting control back in the hands of users. As the technology stack evolves, and more use cases emerge, the potential for attestation as a service is limitless. It's a testament to the power of blockchain technology in creating a more transparent, secure, and trustful digital world.

Reference:

For more details on Ethereum Attestation as a service, please review the references below:

https://attest.sh/

Understanding Attestation: A Key Component of Web3 | by Sunil Tom Jose | Smart Token Labs | Medium