In this article, we will learn about what TBD is and how they are planning to revolutionize the Web 5.0 space.
Web 5.0
Web 5.0 is intended to be a decentralized web platform that allows developers to construct decentralized web apps with verified credentials and decentralized web nodes. This platform's goal is to restore control and ownership of user data.
To read more about Web 5.0, read What is Web 5.0?
TBD
TBD (The Block Head) is a newly formed platform that is regarded to be Block, Inc.'s bitcoin-focused subsidiary. Web 5.0 will, according to TBD, bring data storage and decentralized identification to apps that users own wholly.
The platform will also enable developers to create exceptional user experiences while ensuring that each user retains ownership of their data and identity. TBD thinks that third parties now possess personal data and identity and that this ownership just moves to new third parties when it comes to Web 3.0.
Pillars/Components of Web 5.0
Source: TBD official website
Web 5.0 comprises the following
- Decentralized Identifiers (DID)
- Verifiable Credentials
- Decentralized Web Nodes
Decentralized Identifiers (DID)
Nowadays, governments and commercial companies have the ability to block or restrict your access, or even prohibit you from using any of their services; hence, we need to decentralize the IDs, reducing the need for centralized authorities to authenticate and represent us.
Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) are a W3C proposal with a defined structure that essentially ties to you and your data.
Proposed Structure of DIDs
Source: TBD official website
They are a long string of text that consists of three parts:
- the URI scheme identifier, which it did
- the identifier for a DID method
- the DID method-specific identifier
DIDs are the only Web5 components that interact with a blockchain, which is typically limited to anchoring the keys/endpoints associated with the ID.
Verifiable Credentials
They are a fully certified W3C standard that works in tandem with Decentralized Identifiers to enable trust-less interactions, which means that two parties do not need to trust each other in order to participate, but statements made about a DID topic may be validated.
Source: TBD Official Website
Given above is how TBD describes verifiable credentials.
Suppose Alice must demonstrate that she has a bank account at Acme Bank. Acme Bank generates a cryptographically signed Verifiable Credential that is kept in Alice's identity wallet. The credential includes the issuer Acme, the subject Alice, and the claims, which include Alice's account number and complete name. When asked for evidence of banking, Alice shows the Verifiable Credential, which is cryptographically signed by both Alice and her bank.
Decentralized Web Nodes
An entity that satisfies the requirements of the DIF Decentralized Web Node specification for decentralized personal and application data storage and message relay nodes. Data replication across users' numerous nodes is possible.
Given below are some of the features of DWN
Source: TBD Official Website
Decentralized Web Nodes (DWN, DWeb Nodes) are a developing standard for data storage and relay that enables entities of any kind (people, organizations, etc.) to send and store encrypted or public messages and data, enabling a wide range of decentralized apps and protocols to be built on top.
Stakeholders of Web 5.0
Stakeholders are those who have an interest in the result of your project. They are often project team members, project managers, executives, project sponsors, customers, and users. Stakeholders are people who will be impacted by your project at any stage of its life cycle, and their feedback can have a direct influence on the result. To collaborate on the project, strong stakeholder management and ongoing communication are required.
In the case of web 5.0, we have the following stakeholders:
- Wallets
By allowing identification and data connections, wallets operate as agents for individuals or institutions. - Decentralized Web Nodes (DWNs)
These are the personal data stores including both public and encrypted data. - Decentralized Web Apps (DWAs)
These are web applications with decentralized identification and data storage capabilities.
Self-Sovereign Identity Service
The Self-Sovereign Identity Service (SSIS) is a one-stop shop for everything related to DIDs and Verifiable Credentials. The SSIS core functionality includes, but is not limited to, interacting with standards related to Verifiable Credentials, Credential Revocations, requesting Credentials, exchanging Credentials, data schemas for Credentials, and other verifiable data, messaging using Decentralized Web Nodes and using Decentralized Identifiers. Using these basic standards, the SSIS offers strong functionality to permit all verifiable transactions in varying degrees of complexity, such as establishing, signing, issuing, curating, requesting, revoking, trading, validating, and verifying credentials.
Source: TBD official website
Self-Sovereign Identity SDK
This SDK, known as ssi-sdk, contains a set of standards relevant to Self-Sovereign Identity. The ssi-sdk aims to provide modular functionality based on a set of standards-based primitives for developing decentralized identity applications.
Source: TBD official website
Note: The SDK's vision is depicted in the graphic above. Standards may be added or withdrawn at any time. The standards themselves are in the process of being developed and, as such, are susceptible to change. When feasible, we try to specify the versions or revisions of standards we are basing our implementations on.
The SDK has not been subjected to any rigorous security assessment or audit, therefore use with caution.
Conclusion
Hope you got an idea about what is TBD and how their version of the Web can revolutionize the coming future.
To know more about TBD, please feel free to connect at the following:
Twitter: @TBD54566975
Discord: https://discord.gg/hNkRpZp7fe
GitHub: https://github.com/TBD54566975