Web3 Breakdowns Ep 65 - Itai Turbahn - The Evolution of Online Identity
Primer: Are our wallets our identity? What is the future of wallets? Is it a winner-take-all market? Let’s learn about wallets and identity from Itai Turbahn of Dynamic Labs in this episode of Web3 Breakdowns.
Background
Co-Founder and CEO of Dynamic Labs
Have worked at various blue-chip institutions in his career
Project Manager For The Israeli Defense Force
Worked within Army intelligence
He would work with customers and develop products for them
Going Into Crypto
He and his co-founder knew about Bitcoin in 2013. Thought that they were late to Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana
Have been passionate about crypto
What About Crypto Captivated Him?
The rule of thumb for frontend developers is that you cannot trust the end user
For the first time with crypto, you can have verification of ownership
NFTs and membership made them realize the importance of identity
What Is A Wallet?
A wallet is a user interface on top of a private key
In his opinion, a wallet is a hybrid of a credit card, Dropbox storage device, and Apple/Google wallet
It lets you pay and store information in a seamless way, where everyone has to deal with the same standards
Dynamic Labs
How It Started
Had 2 hypotheses:
Wallets will be the future of how people log in to the internet
Everyone will want to be a wallet. Hence, the need for a company that abstracts away authentication for developers
How They Connect Platforms Together
They are different from regular authentication where the user logs in and they are done
With wallets, there can be access-based memberships, storing information with decentralized identifiers and verifiable credentials
Dynamic tackles not just authentication, but everything that happens afterward
Which Chains Do They Prioritize For Integration?
They are customer-obsessed
Repeated asks from customers get prioritized for short-term goals
Mid/long-term prioritization is a combination of customers and fundamental beliefs that they have
Their Top 3 Asks
People who do not have a wallet
Multi-chain
What happens after certification
Do They Spend Time With Web2 Companies?
Starting to see more Web2 companies
The Future Of Authentication
In 5 years, most of your authentication will be biometric authentication
Will have a shift from a closed authentication method to an open authentication method
Example of the former: If you log in with Google, you are constrained by the type of information Google lets you store and share with a website you log into
Does Google/Fb/Twitter Make Money From Logins?
Their incentive is to become the identity layer of the internet
They don’t make money directly from it
“But it turns their products into much more powerful because whoever controls your identity on the web has significant power, for better or worse.”
- Itai Turbahn
Segregation Of Information In Apps
Today, wallets share too much information
His hypothesis is that people will have separate wallets for different parts of their life (e.g. gaming, socials, financials, etc.)
Wallets are more of a technology than a single app on your phone
There needs to be a lot of input into what you share and how that information gets transferred
Real Estate And Title Insurance
Title insurance is expensive and shows up as a line item when you buy a house
The homeowner gets a piece of paper that is hopefully updated in the local jurisdiction
The entire title industry is based on not being able to trust these pieces of paper without verifying them, requiring people to buy insurance on that lack of trust
The Wallet Wars
Think that it will be a winner-take-all market with one or two wallets
At that point, their focus will be on adding new features and providing value
Wallets could also become something like credit cards. You have multiple wallets, each optimizing for a particular expense (e.g. travel, restaurants, etc.)
The Burden Of Too Many Wallets For The End User
There might be an all-in-one wallet
Think that the integrations will be abstracted away and users will be prompted as to whether they want their information shared with other apps
Users do not need to know about verifiable credentials, soulbound tokens, etc.
Thoughts On Economic Models
Google will be part of our day-to-day interaction on identity for a long time because they create great products
It is more important for other companies to start competing in creating identity-related experiences with different business models
Owning And Monetizing Your Search History
Crypto enables you to tie your money to the internet
With the proper incentives, it could work
Most Excited To Build?
Over the next 6 months: Make sure their customers are happy and onboarding users who do not have a wallet
Over the next 6 years: Multiplayer experiences across different wallets
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