September 9, 2025 • 23 mins
What if you could truly own your digital identity instead of just renting it? Every major shift in internet history has fundamentally been about identity - and Web3 is poised to deliver the most transformative change yet.
In this fascinating deep dive, I explore how our digital identities have evolved from the static Web1 era (where owning a .com meant credibility) through Web2's social usernames (which platforms ultimately control) to today's emerging on-chain identities that nobody can take away from you.
The current system is fundamentally broken. We're juggling dozens of usernames and passwords across platforms, building our digital lives on rented land where one hack, ban, or missed renewal can erase years of online presence. Web3 flips this power dynamic completely by making your wallet your universal identity - carrying not just access, but your assets, history, and proof of who you are.
This blockchain-powered identity revolution enables powerful features like token-gating (access based on what you own, not subscriptions) and human-readable Web3 domains that transform cryptic wallet addresses into branded digital names. As major companies like Shopify, Amazon and PayPal enter the space, we're witnessing the accelerating transition from traditional logins to wallet-based authentication.
The distinction is profound: online identity is borrowed, on-chain identity is owned. Online identity is controlled by corporations, on-chain identity is controlled by you. This isn't just a technological upgrade - it's a freedom upgrade that puts you back in control of your digital self.
Ready to secure your place in this new digital landscape? Start by registering your Web3 domain and experiencing what it feels like to truly own your identity. The future isn't just online - it's on-chain.
Be your own .ANYTHING! Earn unlimited income with your own customized Web3 TLD from Freename.
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.
Want to LEARN more about Web3 Domains and Digital Identity?
My name is Marcus Andrews aka” WenAirDrop”, founder of IHeartDomains LLC, and since 2022 we have been a leading resource for News, Innovations, Education, Alpha and Business Development in the Web3 Domain & Digital Identity space.
If you're interested in Web3 domain insights, development, and news, don't miss our upcoming TECH Talk episodes featuring industry builders. Join our live discussions on Twitter/X spaces and engage with our community on platforms like Warpcast and Link3 for real-time updates and valuable ALPHA. Your journey into the future of digital identity begins with us!
LINKS
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
Thank you.
Thank you, gm, gm, and welcometo our Tech Talk podcast.
This is a live bi-weeklydiscussion that we record here
on X, where we highlight news,innovation, education, alpha and
business development in the webthrough domain and digital
identity space.
I am your host, marcus akaWynne Airdrop, founder of iHeart
(02:30):
Domains.
We are your number one resourcefor unbiased Web3 and
blockchain domain educationalcontent, with over 150 of these
recorded Tech Talk episodes andYouTube videos produced and
archived over the past threeyears and Tech Talk episodes and
YouTube videos produced andarchived over the past three
years.
You can search our entirepodcast archive for all prior
(02:53):
recordings in an easy-to-readblog overview of each of our
episodes directly on our websiteat iHeartDomainscom.
Also, all prior recordings arealso available in podcast form
that you can listen to on anymajor podcast player.
It includes Apple Podcasts,spotify or iHeartRadio, and
that's easily reachable attechtalkcom, so you can simply
just go to the reader or thepodcast player that you like.
(03:15):
It'll pull our channel right onup.
Before I get into the main topicand I'm going to actually keep
this one kind of brief, but I doreally look forward to getting
into the topic of discussion butbefore I'm going to start off,
like I typically do, with just acouple of openers.
I do want to remind anyonewho's listening to this, both
(03:35):
live and listening back to it onthe podcast later on, that our
eight module self-pacedcertification course for those
looking to build a career orbase level knowledge in Web3 is
currently live at learnweb3.xyz.
This is, again, a self-pacedcourse that you can take on your
own time and I'll take youthrough all the fundamentals of
(03:57):
blockchain, cryptocurrency,identity, what all these things
mean, and kind of positioningyou to figure out how to place
yourself in the future to come,whether you're an individual
builder you know, want to getinto the space really just as an
investor or a collector, or ifyou're looking for a full-blown
career change and you need thatkind of skill set or prove that
(04:20):
type of skill set.
We built this course for you.
At the end of it, you'llreceive an on-chain
certification, so basically anNFT graduation certificate that
you'll obviously be able to useto prove to anyone that you've
gone through this course andthat you have that basic level
of education and obviously thefact that it in your on-chain
resume is on-chain and as an NFT, it's kind of proof enough.
(04:43):
But yeah, learnweb3.xyxyz andagain, the name of the course is
the fundamentals of web3 anddigital identity, and that is
now my uh.
Lastly, uh, for any of you whoare looking for your permanent
web3 digital identity, you know,looking for the perfect,
perfect Web3 TLD to mint yourdomain on.
Registrations are currentlyopen for dgen exchange, defi
(05:10):
wallet and the .88888, which is5-8 TLDs.
These are TLDs that are onFreename.
You mint one should own forever.
A lot you can do with themcurrently, now and in the future
and we'll have to top off onthat in a little bit during the
spaces, uh, but you can use themright now to send and receive
crypto using metamask snap soyou can grab your nameggen or
(05:34):
mydefi wallet orsyncryptoexchange.
Again.
At iheartdemandscom, right onthe home page, you'll be able to
see the registration info.
You click and it'll take youdirectly where you can pick the
name of your choice.
Well, all right, all right.
I'm going to get into the maindiscussion at hand.
Again.
(05:54):
The topic of today's podcast isgoing to be online versus on
chain identity.
Every big shift in the internetalways really comes down to one
thing, in some form of afashion it's identity, whether
it's personal identity orbusiness identity.
(06:14):
That's been pretty much thenarrative of every new shift in
the internet.
In web one, identity meantowning a com.
This was your online home, thiswas your storefront.
If you owned a good one, youwere instantly credible.
That's pretty much still thecase today.
In the web one or what we callthe web two world, which has
(06:36):
transitioned into, they have asaying that com is king and ai
is slowly creeping up behind it.
But again, in Web 1, thosestatic assets or those kind of
you know, those older assets,the traditional assets, the NS
assets your com was basicallyhow you represented your
(06:56):
identity.
Web 2 introduced a slight shift.
So now, suddenly, in additionto your website or in lieu of a
website, your identity could nowalso be potentially your handle
.
It could be your username onTwitter or on Instagram or on
TikTok.
Now we're entering into a worldwhere usernames become your
(07:20):
brand.
You know your presence.
The platforms that you're ableto build or the community that
you're able to build becomesyour brand.
But here's the problem youstill don't own it right.
Those platforms own it and forall sorts of reasons, we've seen
examples of peopleunfortunately losing you know
anything that they built on someof these
platforms.
(07:40):
And now here we are in this newthing called Web3.
Now, this time, identity isbigger than just how people find
you.
Identity in Web3 is moreinteractive.
It acts as your login, it'syour wallet, it can be your
membership card, it's proof ofwho you are and what you've
(08:01):
earned.
And the biggest difference isthat, unlike web one and web two
, you can actually ownit.
So let's kind of talk about howthe old world of identity works
.
So, right now, the way we login is functionally broken.
I mean, like, how many loginsdo you have?
Some of us have five, 10, 20,50, maybe even 100 different
(08:26):
logins, each one with its ownusername password.
You might have to add in atwo-factor code, et cetera.
Some are tied to an email, someare tied to Google, some are
tied toApple.
You get my point, and theproblem with that is that that's
extremely fragile.
If your email gets hacked, yourwhole online identity goes down
(08:47):
with it.
If Facebook bans your account,your identity can vanish
overnight.
If you don't renew your dot com, I mean, well, it's gone Right.
So think about that for asecond.
We build our digital livescurrently on rented land.
We build our digital livescurrently on rented land the
usernames, the logins, even thedomains that we think we own.
(09:08):
They all sit on servers that wedon't actually control.
And once you realize that, youthen start to see why we might
need something new, and that'ssomething new is on-chain
identity.
This is where we enter Web3 andwe enter wallets.
When you log into DApps, whichare decentralized applications
(09:32):
same as any other app, and whenyou log into DApps like MetaMask
, phantom or Coinbase Wallet,you actually aren't using a
username or password.
You're using your wallet andyour wallet is your identity.
It's one universal key thatpretty much works everywhere in
Web3, and it carries more thanjust access.
It also carries with it any ofyour assets, your history and
(09:57):
your proof.
So you don't just say I'm amember.
You get to show that actualmembership token in your wallet.
You don't just say I'm a member.
You get to show that actualmembership token in your wallet.
You don't just say I paid.
The blockchain re-verifies andshows it.
It's permissionless.
There's no middleman, there'sno password resets, no forgot my
login, just you, your key andyour identity.
(10:18):
Your online identity in thiscase is truly yours.
It's not leased, it's notrented and, most importantly,
it's not at risk of being shutdown by a
corporation.
And so, now that you're able tobring your identity on chain,
well, there are several uniqueways that you can use it, all
powered now by the blockchain.
(10:38):
We've talked about this inseveral different episodes and
I've talked about this inseveral different other settings
, but there's a lot of bigfeatures that are exclusive to
Web3 and blockchain that enhancethe way that you're able to use
identity in a way that'sdifferent from Web2.
One of those first things beingtoken gating, aka access
without asking so.
(11:00):
In Web2, axie asking so.
In Web 2, access is controlledby usernames and subscriptions.
You pay Spotify and then theyflip a switch and they turn it
on.
You subscribe to Netflix andthen you're able to get in, but
they also can revoke it at anytime.
Again, miss a payment, anyreason, violation of account
(11:22):
these things can be shut downand, all of a sudden, your
username and password doesn'twork.
Well, in Web3, access lives inyour wallet.
You simply need to hold thetoken that's required to get in
and you're in.
If you don't hold the token,you're out.
It's really as simple as that.
Now imagine it'stransactionally
(11:43):
right.
When people think of NFTtechnology and how it can be
used, token gaining is probablyone of the best examples that
you can give.
Imagine something like an NFTticket that now allows you to to
control the treasury or to makedecisions or to participate in
(12:06):
governance rights in acompletely in a business, a
nonprofit or whatever it is.
Imagine holding a membershiptoken that unlocks a private
discord or gated content.
Maybe a mastermind group, maybesomething with there actually
was a Discord I used to belongto that did private Blender
classes and I mean these areclasses that and you got to
(12:29):
download the software.
They had some way that they hadcopied the software where
anyone who was a member also gotto download Blender software
for free, and that was prettybig
value.
If that's what you'redeveloping with or building or
creating art with right, you'renot asking for permission
anymore in these cases.
You're just proving yourbelongs with what you hold in
(12:49):
your wallet, and that flips theentire power dynamic.
You own the access and youessentially carry it with you.
Another way that blockchainempowers identity is it makes it
extremely usable in this worldof Web3 by connecting it to a
wallet.
And again, this is another way,that another value proposition
(13:11):
that will become bigger andbigger and bigger as more people
come into the space.
I just read today, I believe,that Shopify is introducing a
stable coin, introducing astable coin.
So more and more large entitiesare looking at the rails of
Web3 to improve their paymentprocesses, to raise money, to
improve their experiences,whatever.
At some point, hundredsthousands, millions, hundreds of
(13:36):
millions, billions and thewhole world will have some
exposure to Web3 or crypto,whether they want to or not.
And that exposure, as we allknow, when you first into
cryptocurrency, is yourwallet.
That wallet, for most people,starts off exactly the same and
looks kind of exactly the same,which is a big random mess of
jumbo numbers or whatever, butit usually, if you're talking
(13:58):
about an EVM wallet, it startswith a 0x and it's a
42-character string.
Well, the problem is thatnobody wants to and most people
don't trust, and not only justdon't trust the string, they
don't trust themselves to get itright, but most people don't
trust themselves to sendanything funds to something like
(14:19):
0x, 7a, blah, blah, blah, blahblah.
This is where Web3 domains stepin.
They make on-chain identityhuman readme.
So, instead of sendingsomething to 0x, blah, blah,
blah, we're talking about nowbeing able to send things to
places like Marcusdj orpurchasecrypto or even something
(14:41):
custom like iHeartDomainsdefiwallets, and it's more than just
cleaner.
Web-through domains arepermanent, and this is where we
bring on-chain identity intoplay.
Nobody can delete your name.
When it comes to identity, Imean, imagine your name, your
real name.
You go by every single day, oneday being changed or being
(15:02):
different and nobody everreferring to you that anymore.
I mean that would be a prettydevastating experience, and
that's the same thing that canliterally happen if you build
your house on rented ground, ifyou build something on a social
platform that can take your name, if you build something on a
website that can get shut down.
Not to say that you still don'thave to do these things, but as
we start looking into thefuture and what things may be
(15:25):
possible, you have theopportunity right now to prepare
yourself for it, or maybe evenbe the person that develops the
technology that replaces the oldecosystem, so that you're
helping more than justyourself.
But in addition to beingpermanent in Web3, it is also
portable.
So one of the beautiful thingsabout Web3 is that it is a
decentralized public ledger,meaning that anything that has
(15:49):
the capability to read andresolve the information that's
on the blockchain couldessentially read anything or any
identity or any domain name.
As we know right now, it's kindof the integration game, but in
essence, every single thingthat's ever mentioned in the
blockchain, every record, everysingle piece of your on-chain
identity is accessible andtherefore portable.
(16:10):
In order to access anotherD-app, or access or import your
information into another D-app,you just simply got to connect
your wallet.
It doesn't take the sameprocesses in Web 2.0.
Like even right now, I just gotmy Solana phones right Finally,
after so long of waiting forthose
things.
But one of the processes thatit gave is it gave the ability
(16:31):
to import any of your info froman old phone or old device, such
as an old Android or an iPhone.
You're able to import that intothis new thing so that it
starts off on familiar groundright, whatever apps are
compatible with it.
You're going to get anexperience that is similar to
the one that you just left.
That's a physical process.
(16:54):
You have to put the phones nextto each other, you've got to
use username and password,you've got to wait for one thing
to download the other.
And again, even though it'sconvenient and it exists and we
all take advantage of it, thereare faster and decentralized
processes that will eventuallystart gaining steam, and then,
of course, with anything that ispermanent and that is portable.
(17:15):
It is also now branded.
This can now become yourdigital brand or your calling
card, because it is, again,something that you're not going
to lose.
It's something that you areable to use.
You're not going to lose, it'ssomething that you are able to
use.
So now think about sendingmoney to yourfriendeth instead
of copying and pasting a42-character string.
(17:36):
That's usability and thatcreates an identity that people
will actually need to use andwill want to use.
Now we are early, but that ischanging extremely fast as new
companies and industries enterWeb3.
As I've mentioned a bunch oftimes before, we're really in a
transition.
(17:56):
Right now.
We're at a crazy intersectionwhere there is multiple
technologies kind of convergingand changing the way that we
think and deal with anything.
We've got Web3 on one end andwe've got AI on the other end,
and they both complement eachother Right
now.
The current reality is thathalf of the internet is still
logging in with emails andpasswords, and then you've got
(18:19):
us on the other half that areexperimenting with wallets and
domains.
It's a little bit messy, kindof just like the early days of
the internet, when some peoplewere on AOL, some people were on
Yahoo and some were trying tobuild their first dot com.
But, like I mentioned earlier,with the entrance of people like
Shopify, people like Amazoncoming into the space, walmart
(18:42):
coming into the space we've gotPayPal into the space this tide
is starting to shift.
More apps are starting to letyou connect to wallet instead of
log in.
I'm seeing a lot more examplesof that.
More companies are launchingstable coins or thinking of ways
to get into the space andeither bring their finances or
(19:02):
the way that you pay them, oreven your experiences themselves
on chain.
More and more communities arestarting to realize what you can
do with nfts and are startingto use token gated experiences
instead of white lists and emaillists, and more people are
starting to register web throughdomains instead of just relying
on traditional handles.
Again, if you're already in thespace and in web 3, this
(19:25):
concept has clearly landed withyou
already.
Most people in the Web3 spaceunderstand the value of a Web3
domain.
Most people in the Web3 spaceunderstand the value of
ownership and howtransformational these
particular assets can be.
Again, this is alreadyhappening and when this
transition flips fully, on-chainidentity will soon feel just as
(19:49):
normal as logging in withGoogle does today, except this
time, when we're talking abouton-chain identity, we're talking
about identity that is notrented but is owned.
So, to kind of wrap this up andtie it all together, online
identity is about convenience.
On-chain identity is aboutconvenience.
(20:11):
On-chain identity is aboutownership.
Online identity, unfortunately,is borrowed, but this new
concept of on-chain identity ispermanent.
Online identity is controlledmostly by the companies and the
apps that you use to log into,and your on-chain identity is
controlled and is curated by you.
We are moving into a futurewhere your wallet is both your
(20:35):
universal login and youruniversal identity.
Your tokens, your POAPs, yourtransactions, all of these
things.
These are your memberships.
Your Web3 domain is your name,it's your brand and it's the
highway that people can use tosend and pay you, and no
platform, no company and nogovernment will be able to take
(20:56):
that away once it's minted andbuilt on Web3.
This isn't just a technologicalupgrade.
This is a freedomupgrade.
So a challenge to you is don'tjust keep using the same
username and passwords becausethey're familiar.
Again, as the space existstoday, certain processes have to
be had, but it's just like thetransition from checks to credit
(21:18):
cards.
You had some people that, eventhough they saw the writing on
the wall, he still held on Right.
Well, you still got to embracethe writing on the wall to an
extent, so that you don't getleft behind.
You still got to embrace thewriting on the wall to an extent
so that you don't get leftbehind.
So you've got your username andpasswords, but experiment more
with logging in with yourwallet.
If you don't already have aWeb3 domain, get your first and
(21:39):
get that experience of feelingwhat it feels like to build an
identity on chain.
Add a couple of POACs, add someNFTs that represent a little
bit of you.
Mint a couple of things.
Right, you can upload using Iforget the name of the like.
There's R-Weave and et cetera,but there's other exact apps out
there where, if you're anartist, you can mint your art.
If you're a poet or if you'rewriting essays, if you're
(22:02):
writing articles, you canactually mint.
These things sit inside of yourwallet and will become part of
your on-chain resume and howpeople see and identify
you.
Again, experience what it feelsto own your identity and not
just rent it, because the futureisn't just online, the future
(22:22):
is on-chain.
I told you guys I would keepthis one nice and brief, but
hopefully locked in with a lotof different value Again, as we
start looking into the future,and sometimes it's hard to see
because you're looking at whatit looks like right now, but
just follow the signs.
Right, the news points exactly.
You know all these differentnews things and updates that we
see here on X.
They're pointing the pictureand they're leading dots to an
(22:45):
on-chain world.
An on-chain world and again, itdoesn't have to be a huge
on-chain world, but as long asyou can position yourself early
for it, there's bound to be somesort of
success.
On the other side, again, youcan listen back to this episode
and any past episodes of ourTech Talks here directly on X or
on your favorite podcast playerby going to techtalkhost and
(23:07):
choosing the one of your liking.
Again, you can listen to thison Apple Spotify.
Pretty much every major podcastplayer on these episodes, past
and present, will be on.
Also, you can visit our websiteat iheartdomainscom.
In addition to the recording ofthis episode, there's always,
always, always also a nice blogoverview as well, just in case
(23:29):
you'd like to consume yourcontent that way.
Thank you, guys all, for takingthe time out of your Friday to
tap into our Tech Talk.
Happy, demanding.
Focus on your mission, not yourcondition.
We'll talk to you guys in acouple weeks.
See you soon, thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you, gm, gm, and welcometo our Tech Talk podcast.
This is a live bi-weeklydiscussion that we record here
on X, where we highlight news,innovation, education, alpha and
business development in the webthrough domain and digital
identity space.
I am your host, marcus akaWynne Airdrop, founder of iHeart
(02:30):
Domains.
We are your number one resourcefor unbiased Web3 and
blockchain domain educationalcontent, with over 150 of these
recorded Tech Talk episodes andYouTube videos produced and
archived over the past threeyears and Tech Talk episodes and
YouTube videos produced andarchived over the past three
years.
You can search our entirepodcast archive for all prior
(02:53):
recordings in an easy-to-readblog overview of each of our
episodes directly on our websiteat iHeartDomainscom.
Also, all prior recordings arealso available in podcast form
that you can listen to on anymajor podcast player.
It includes Apple Podcasts,spotify or iHeartRadio, and
that's easily reachable attechtalkcom, so you can simply
just go to the reader or thepodcast player that you like.
(03:15):
It'll pull our channel right onup.
Before I get into the main topicand I'm going to actually keep
this one kind of brief, but I doreally look forward to getting
into the topic of discussion butbefore I'm going to start off,
like I typically do, with just acouple of openers.
I do want to remind anyonewho's listening to this, both
(03:35):
live and listening back to it onthe podcast later on, that our
eight module self-pacedcertification course for those
looking to build a career orbase level knowledge in Web3 is
currently live at learnweb3.xyz.
This is, again, a self-pacedcourse that you can take on your
own time and I'll take youthrough all the fundamentals of
(03:57):
blockchain, cryptocurrency,identity, what all these things
mean, and kind of positioningyou to figure out how to place
yourself in the future to come,whether you're an individual
builder you know, want to getinto the space really just as an
investor or a collector, or ifyou're looking for a full-blown
career change and you need thatkind of skill set or prove that
(04:20):
type of skill set.
We built this course for you.
At the end of it, you'llreceive an on-chain
certification, so basically anNFT graduation certificate that
you'll obviously be able to useto prove to anyone that you've
gone through this course andthat you have that basic level
of education and obviously thefact that it in your on-chain
resume is on-chain and as an NFT, it's kind of proof enough.
(04:43):
But yeah, learnweb3.xyxyz andagain, the name of the course is
the fundamentals of web3 anddigital identity, and that is
now my uh.
Lastly, uh, for any of you whoare looking for your permanent
web3 digital identity, you know,looking for the perfect,
perfect Web3 TLD to mint yourdomain on.
Registrations are currentlyopen for dgen exchange, defi
(05:10):
wallet and the .88888, which is5-8 TLDs.
These are TLDs that are onFreename.
You mint one should own forever.
A lot you can do with themcurrently, now and in the future
and we'll have to top off onthat in a little bit during the
spaces, uh, but you can use themright now to send and receive
crypto using metamask snap soyou can grab your nameggen or
(05:34):
mydefi wallet orsyncryptoexchange.
Again.
At iheartdemandscom, right onthe home page, you'll be able to
see the registration info.
You click and it'll take youdirectly where you can pick the
name of your choice.
Well, all right, all right.
I'm going to get into the maindiscussion at hand.
Again.
(05:54):
The topic of today's podcast isgoing to be online versus on
chain identity.
Every big shift in the internetalways really comes down to one
thing, in some form of afashion it's identity, whether
it's personal identity orbusiness identity.
(06:14):
That's been pretty much thenarrative of every new shift in
the internet.
In web one, identity meantowning a com.
This was your online home, thiswas your storefront.
If you owned a good one, youwere instantly credible.
That's pretty much still thecase today.
In the web one or what we callthe web two world, which has
(06:36):
transitioned into, they have asaying that com is king and ai
is slowly creeping up behind it.
But again, in Web 1, thosestatic assets or those kind of
you know, those older assets,the traditional assets, the NS
assets your com was basicallyhow you represented your
(06:56):
identity.
Web 2 introduced a slight shift.
So now, suddenly, in additionto your website or in lieu of a
website, your identity could nowalso be potentially your handle
.
It could be your username onTwitter or on Instagram or on
TikTok.
Now we're entering into a worldwhere usernames become your
(07:20):
brand.
You know your presence.
The platforms that you're ableto build or the community that
you're able to build becomesyour brand.
But here's the problem youstill don't own it right.
Those platforms own it and forall sorts of reasons, we've seen
examples of peopleunfortunately losing you know
anything that they built on someof these
platforms.
(07:40):
And now here we are in this newthing called Web3.
Now, this time, identity isbigger than just how people find
you.
Identity in Web3 is moreinteractive.
It acts as your login, it'syour wallet, it can be your
membership card, it's proof ofwho you are and what you've
(08:01):
earned.
And the biggest difference isthat, unlike web one and web two
, you can actually ownit.
So let's kind of talk about howthe old world of identity works
.
So, right now, the way we login is functionally broken.
I mean, like, how many loginsdo you have?
Some of us have five, 10, 20,50, maybe even 100 different
(08:26):
logins, each one with its ownusername password.
You might have to add in atwo-factor code, et cetera.
Some are tied to an email, someare tied to Google, some are
tied toApple.
You get my point, and theproblem with that is that that's
extremely fragile.
If your email gets hacked, yourwhole online identity goes down
(08:47):
with it.
If Facebook bans your account,your identity can vanish
overnight.
If you don't renew your dot com, I mean, well, it's gone Right.
So think about that for asecond.
We build our digital livescurrently on rented land.
We build our digital livescurrently on rented land the
usernames, the logins, even thedomains that we think we own.
(09:08):
They all sit on servers that wedon't actually control.
And once you realize that, youthen start to see why we might
need something new, and that'ssomething new is on-chain
identity.
This is where we enter Web3 andwe enter wallets.
When you log into DApps, whichare decentralized applications
(09:32):
same as any other app, and whenyou log into DApps like MetaMask
, phantom or Coinbase Wallet,you actually aren't using a
username or password.
You're using your wallet andyour wallet is your identity.
It's one universal key thatpretty much works everywhere in
Web3, and it carries more thanjust access.
It also carries with it any ofyour assets, your history and
(09:57):
your proof.
So you don't just say I'm amember.
You get to show that actualmembership token in your wallet.
You don't just say I'm a member.
You get to show that actualmembership token in your wallet.
You don't just say I paid.
The blockchain re-verifies andshows it.
It's permissionless.
There's no middleman, there'sno password resets, no forgot my
login, just you, your key andyour identity.
(10:18):
Your online identity in thiscase is truly yours.
It's not leased, it's notrented and, most importantly,
it's not at risk of being shutdown by a
corporation.
And so, now that you're able tobring your identity on chain,
well, there are several uniqueways that you can use it, all
powered now by the blockchain.
(10:38):
We've talked about this inseveral different episodes and
I've talked about this inseveral different other settings
, but there's a lot of bigfeatures that are exclusive to
Web3 and blockchain that enhancethe way that you're able to use
identity in a way that'sdifferent from Web2.
One of those first things beingtoken gating, aka access
without asking so.
(11:00):
In Web2, axie asking so.
In Web 2, access is controlledby usernames and subscriptions.
You pay Spotify and then theyflip a switch and they turn it
on.
You subscribe to Netflix andthen you're able to get in, but
they also can revoke it at anytime.
Again, miss a payment, anyreason, violation of account
(11:22):
these things can be shut downand, all of a sudden, your
username and password doesn'twork.
Well, in Web3, access lives inyour wallet.
You simply need to hold thetoken that's required to get in
and you're in.
If you don't hold the token,you're out.
It's really as simple as that.
Now imagine it'stransactionally
(11:43):
right.
When people think of NFTtechnology and how it can be
used, token gaining is probablyone of the best examples that
you can give.
Imagine something like an NFTticket that now allows you to to
control the treasury or to makedecisions or to participate in
(12:06):
governance rights in acompletely in a business, a
nonprofit or whatever it is.
Imagine holding a membershiptoken that unlocks a private
discord or gated content.
Maybe a mastermind group, maybesomething with there actually
was a Discord I used to belongto that did private Blender
classes and I mean these areclasses that and you got to
(12:29):
download the software.
They had some way that they hadcopied the software where
anyone who was a member also gotto download Blender software
for free, and that was prettybig
value.
If that's what you'redeveloping with or building or
creating art with right, you'renot asking for permission
anymore in these cases.
You're just proving yourbelongs with what you hold in
(12:49):
your wallet, and that flips theentire power dynamic.
You own the access and youessentially carry it with you.
Another way that blockchainempowers identity is it makes it
extremely usable in this worldof Web3 by connecting it to a
wallet.
And again, this is another way,that another value proposition
(13:11):
that will become bigger andbigger and bigger as more people
come into the space.
I just read today, I believe,that Shopify is introducing a
stable coin, introducing astable coin.
So more and more large entitiesare looking at the rails of
Web3 to improve their paymentprocesses, to raise money, to
improve their experiences,whatever.
At some point, hundredsthousands, millions, hundreds of
(13:36):
millions, billions and thewhole world will have some
exposure to Web3 or crypto,whether they want to or not.
And that exposure, as we allknow, when you first into
cryptocurrency, is yourwallet.
That wallet, for most people,starts off exactly the same and
looks kind of exactly the same,which is a big random mess of
jumbo numbers or whatever, butit usually, if you're talking
(13:58):
about an EVM wallet, it startswith a 0x and it's a
42-character string.
Well, the problem is thatnobody wants to and most people
don't trust, and not only justdon't trust the string, they
don't trust themselves to get itright, but most people don't
trust themselves to sendanything funds to something like
(14:19):
0x, 7a, blah, blah, blah, blahblah.
This is where Web3 domains stepin.
They make on-chain identityhuman readme.
So, instead of sendingsomething to 0x, blah, blah,
blah, we're talking about nowbeing able to send things to
places like Marcusdj orpurchasecrypto or even something
(14:41):
custom like iHeartDomainsdefiwallets, and it's more than just
cleaner.
Web-through domains arepermanent, and this is where we
bring on-chain identity intoplay.
Nobody can delete your name.
When it comes to identity, Imean, imagine your name, your
real name.
You go by every single day, oneday being changed or being
(15:02):
different and nobody everreferring to you that anymore.
I mean that would be a prettydevastating experience, and
that's the same thing that canliterally happen if you build
your house on rented ground, ifyou build something on a social
platform that can take your name, if you build something on a
website that can get shut down.
Not to say that you still don'thave to do these things, but as
we start looking into thefuture and what things may be
(15:25):
possible, you have theopportunity right now to prepare
yourself for it, or maybe evenbe the person that develops the
technology that replaces the oldecosystem, so that you're
helping more than justyourself.
But in addition to beingpermanent in Web3, it is also
portable.
So one of the beautiful thingsabout Web3 is that it is a
decentralized public ledger,meaning that anything that has
(15:49):
the capability to read andresolve the information that's
on the blockchain couldessentially read anything or any
identity or any domain name.
As we know right now, it's kindof the integration game, but in
essence, every single thingthat's ever mentioned in the
blockchain, every record, everysingle piece of your on-chain
identity is accessible andtherefore portable.
(16:10):
In order to access anotherD-app, or access or import your
information into another D-app,you just simply got to connect
your wallet.
It doesn't take the sameprocesses in Web 2.0.
Like even right now, I just gotmy Solana phones right Finally,
after so long of waiting forthose
things.
But one of the processes thatit gave is it gave the ability
(16:31):
to import any of your info froman old phone or old device, such
as an old Android or an iPhone.
You're able to import that intothis new thing so that it
starts off on familiar groundright, whatever apps are
compatible with it.
You're going to get anexperience that is similar to
the one that you just left.
That's a physical process.
(16:54):
You have to put the phones nextto each other, you've got to
use username and password,you've got to wait for one thing
to download the other.
And again, even though it'sconvenient and it exists and we
all take advantage of it, thereare faster and decentralized
processes that will eventuallystart gaining steam, and then,
of course, with anything that ispermanent and that is portable.
(17:15):
It is also now branded.
This can now become yourdigital brand or your calling
card, because it is, again,something that you're not going
to lose.
It's something that you areable to use.
You're not going to lose, it'ssomething that you are able to
use.
So now think about sendingmoney to yourfriendeth instead
of copying and pasting a42-character string.
(17:36):
That's usability and thatcreates an identity that people
will actually need to use andwill want to use.
Now we are early, but that ischanging extremely fast as new
companies and industries enterWeb3.
As I've mentioned a bunch oftimes before, we're really in a
transition.
(17:56):
Right now.
We're at a crazy intersectionwhere there is multiple
technologies kind of convergingand changing the way that we
think and deal with anything.
We've got Web3 on one end andwe've got AI on the other end,
and they both complement eachother Right
now.
The current reality is thathalf of the internet is still
logging in with emails andpasswords, and then you've got
(18:19):
us on the other half that areexperimenting with wallets and
domains.
It's a little bit messy, kindof just like the early days of
the internet, when some peoplewere on AOL, some people were on
Yahoo and some were trying tobuild their first dot com.
But, like I mentioned earlier,with the entrance of people like
Shopify, people like Amazoncoming into the space, walmart
(18:42):
coming into the space we've gotPayPal into the space this tide
is starting to shift.
More apps are starting to letyou connect to wallet instead of
log in.
I'm seeing a lot more examplesof that.
More companies are launchingstable coins or thinking of ways
to get into the space andeither bring their finances or
(19:02):
the way that you pay them, oreven your experiences themselves
on chain.
More and more communities arestarting to realize what you can
do with nfts and are startingto use token gated experiences
instead of white lists and emaillists, and more people are
starting to register web throughdomains instead of just relying
on traditional handles.
Again, if you're already in thespace and in web 3, this
(19:25):
concept has clearly landed withyou
already.
Most people in the Web3 spaceunderstand the value of a Web3
domain.
Most people in the Web3 spaceunderstand the value of
ownership and howtransformational these
particular assets can be.
Again, this is alreadyhappening and when this
transition flips fully, on-chainidentity will soon feel just as
(19:49):
normal as logging in withGoogle does today, except this
time, when we're talking abouton-chain identity, we're talking
about identity that is notrented but is owned.
So, to kind of wrap this up andtie it all together, online
identity is about convenience.
On-chain identity is aboutconvenience.
(20:11):
On-chain identity is aboutownership.
Online identity, unfortunately,is borrowed, but this new
concept of on-chain identity ispermanent.
Online identity is controlledmostly by the companies and the
apps that you use to log into,and your on-chain identity is
controlled and is curated by you.
We are moving into a futurewhere your wallet is both your
(20:35):
universal login and youruniversal identity.
Your tokens, your POAPs, yourtransactions, all of these
things.
These are your memberships.
Your Web3 domain is your name,it's your brand and it's the
highway that people can use tosend and pay you, and no
platform, no company and nogovernment will be able to take
(20:56):
that away once it's minted andbuilt on Web3.
This isn't just a technologicalupgrade.
This is a freedomupgrade.
So a challenge to you is don'tjust keep using the same
username and passwords becausethey're familiar.
Again, as the space existstoday, certain processes have to
be had, but it's just like thetransition from checks to credit
(21:18):
cards.
You had some people that, eventhough they saw the writing on
the wall, he still held on Right.
Well, you still got to embracethe writing on the wall to an
extent, so that you don't getleft behind.
You still got to embrace thewriting on the wall to an extent
so that you don't get leftbehind.
So you've got your username andpasswords, but experiment more
with logging in with yourwallet.
If you don't already have aWeb3 domain, get your first and
(21:39):
get that experience of feelingwhat it feels like to build an
identity on chain.
Add a couple of POACs, add someNFTs that represent a little
bit of you.
Mint a couple of things.
Right, you can upload using Iforget the name of the like.
There's R-Weave and et cetera,but there's other exact apps out
there where, if you're anartist, you can mint your art.
If you're a poet or if you'rewriting essays, if you're
(22:02):
writing articles, you canactually mint.
These things sit inside of yourwallet and will become part of
your on-chain resume and howpeople see and identify
you.
Again, experience what it feelsto own your identity and not
just rent it, because the futureisn't just online, the future
(22:22):
is on-chain.
I told you guys I would keepthis one nice and brief, but
hopefully locked in with a lotof different value Again, as we
start looking into the future,and sometimes it's hard to see
because you're looking at whatit looks like right now, but
just follow the signs.
Right, the news points exactly.
You know all these differentnews things and updates that we
see here on X.
They're pointing the pictureand they're leading dots to an
(22:45):
on-chain world.
An on-chain world and again, itdoesn't have to be a huge
on-chain world, but as long asyou can position yourself early
for it, there's bound to be somesort of
success.
On the other side, again, youcan listen back to this episode
and any past episodes of ourTech Talks here directly on X or
on your favorite podcast playerby going to techtalkhost and
(23:07):
choosing the one of your liking.
Again, you can listen to thison Apple Spotify.
Pretty much every major podcastplayer on these episodes, past
and present, will be on.
Also, you can visit our websiteat iheartdomainscom.
In addition to the recording ofthis episode, there's always,
always, always also a nice blogoverview as well, just in case
(23:29):
you'd like to consume yourcontent that way.
Thank you, guys all, for takingthe time out of your Friday to
tap into our Tech Talk.
Happy, demanding.
Focus on your mission, not yourcondition.
We'll talk to you guys in acouple weeks.
See you soon, thank you.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist
It’s 1996 in rural North Carolina, and an oddball crew makes history when they pull off America’s third largest cash heist. But it’s all downhill from there. Join host Johnny Knoxville as he unspools a wild and woolly tale about a group of regular ‘ol folks who risked it all for a chance at a better life. CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist answers the question: what would you do with 17.3 million dollars? The answer includes diamond rings, mansions, velvet Elvis paintings, plus a run for the border, murder-for-hire-plots, and FBI busts.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com