**Blockchain technology lacks robust use cases to attract mainstream adopters. But that might change very soon. Cardano's sustainability lead, Alexandre Maaza, believes decentralized identity (ID) solutions is the key.
He shared his views during a panel at the Web3 Corporate Innovation Day.
Maaza stated that Web3 still needs a "killer, scalable use case" relevant to businesses and individuals. He suggested digital identity for people, products, data, and documents could fill this gap.
Web3 decentralized IDs offer privacy-oriented solutions. They require minimal information for verification. Users can withdraw their data via seed phrases, as identities are stored in crypto wallets.
Blockchain needs non-speculative applications to attract mainstream users. Maaza emphasized this point. He said millions of non-speculative blockchain representations could bring the technology to the forefront.
Ton Foundation's Justin Hyun agrees. He believes onboarding the next 500 million users requires simple, usable apps. Hyun suggested blockchain-based Telegram Mini Apps as a potential "Trojan horse" for mass adoption.
Hyun told Cointelegraph that abstracting complexity is crucial. Their goal is to onboard half a billion users by 2028. This requires blockchain interactions that are invisible to users.
Decentralized ID development isn't profit-generating for most companies. However, it could save costs by preventing data breaches. Maaza explained this potential benefit.
He noted that digital identity could be lucrative for data-harvesting businesses. For others, it's a cost center. Protecting customer data is crucial. Breaches can lead to significant damage control expenses.
Cardano is developing a non-custodial digital identity wallet. Other blockchain networks are pursuing similar projects. The technology is still in its early stages.
Some countries are exploring decentralized IDs. Istanbul is using Omchain's proof-of-identity (PoI) to enhance data privacy. This system operates without database queries during authentication.