The Optimist – Introduction To Clique - Revelo Intel

The Optimist – Introduction To Clique

In The Optimist’s Twitter Spaces, which took place on November 6, 2023, Subli, JPEG_Yakuza, and Jaden discuss onchain identity, Clique, their future plans, and RWAs. Read our notes below to learn more.

Background

Overview of Clique and Onchain Identity

  • JPEG_Yakuza says that Clique is focused on building identity infrastructure for various verticals, including DeFi and gaming. Clique has developed a new primitive called “identity oracles” that allows users to push their behavioral data from web2 sources onto the blockchain in a privacy-preserving manner.
  • He adds that they first deployed their solution on Optimism in January, starting with an Optimism Quest campaign. At that time, Optimism had just rolled out its station feature.
  • JPEG_Yakuza says that they have developed identity oracles, which enable users to push their behavioral data from web2 sources onto the blockchain while maintaining privacy.

Attestation Station and Reputational Data

  • JPEG_Yakuza says that the attestation station is a smart contract that allows multiple issuers to push data related to reputational information tied to a specific wallet. It eliminates the need for integrating with multiple solutions.
  • He adds that users participate by pushing their attestations on attestation stations, such as social media data. The pushed data includes information like account creation date, post impressions, tags of Optimism, and Clique‘s generated for tagging Optimism. Threshold parameters are set on the dashboard to determine who receives rewards based on their social data.

Chain Agnostic Approach

  • JPEG_Yakuza says that the technology is chain agnostic, meaning it can be implemented across different blockchain ecosystems. Many ecosystems are developing their own identity layers and registries.
  • He adds that currently, they have achieved market leadership in attestation share on Optimism, Linea, Mantle, and Ronin chains. 
  • Subli says that gaming chains like Ronin have significant potential for identifying and authenticating identities.

Benefits of Putting Identity Onchain

  • Jaden says that putting identity onchain allows for greater personalization in consumer experiences in DeFi use cases and gaming. Blockchain provides a built-in payment system that simplifies integrating identity with payment systems compared to traditional banks.
  • He adds that storing specific attestations onchain enables modular access to permission pools based on factors like credit score or user profile. Building identity onchain makes it easier to target specific users and create personalized experiences without rebuilding entire systems.
  • Jaden says that onchain identity is highly interoperable, allowing anyone to build protocols or reward systems based on shared data sets. Ownership of data sets is enhanced when stored on-chain, giving individuals control over who views and accesses their data.

Evolution of Onchain Identity Ecosystem

  • Jaden describes Verax as a public library where anyone can view but requires certain credentials or paywalls to access specific parts. Unlike self-sovereign identity protocols, Verax allows anyone to add modules to enhance privacy and unlock new possibilities for building on top of identity.
  • He adds that building use cases with identity in mind allows for more modular design and integration of identity into protocols. Infrastructure projects like Ceramics aim to build comprehensive decentralized identity systems. Traditional wallets host the entire on-chain history of a user’s wallet, but most users spend the majority of their time off-chain.
  • He adds that accessing off-chain data is crucial to capture a large user base. Identity oracles are designed to collect user profile and behavior data from various off-chain platforms such as X, Instagram, TradingView, and Discord.
  • Jaden says that privacy preservation is essential when handling user behavior or profile data. Identity oracles use cryptographic primitives like zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs), trusted execution environments (TEEs), and multi-party computation (MPC) to ensure privacy while pushing useful data sets onto the blockchain.

Privacy-Preserving Attestation

  • Subli says that privacy-preserving attestation ensures that access to wallets is restricted, even if desired. He assumes that the word “attestation” is chosen because it signifies confirming wallet actions without revealing all the evidence.
  • Subli adds that by using cryptographic primitives and zero-knowledge proofs, data extraction from platforms like Twitter and Discord can be done quickly while maintaining user privacy.
  • Jaden says that the design of cryptographic primitives matches the security needs of different data sets, resulting in optimized proof times. Proof times are faster than traditional centralized storage methods but still vary depending on the environment.

Current State of Onchain Identity and Problems

  • Jaden says that various protocols have emerged with different solutions for onchain identity, some excelling at zero-knowledge proofs or handling large amounts of data. However, many protocols still rely on trusted and centralized servers for hosting data and issuing proofs.
  • He adds that data silos exist in Web2 platforms where each platform owns its users’ data, making interoperability difficult unless centralized servers are used. To address these issues, an open-source public good attestation standard like Verax is needed to create a more widely adopted standard for Ethereum and the crypto community.
  • Jaden says that existing on-chain identity solutions suffer from a lack of indexing and sorting capabilities for millions of badges. Different protocols use their own standards (e.g., ERC-721 or ERC-1155) and generate credentials differently, leading to fragmentation. Ethereum and the larger crypto community require a more public, open-source standard that allows contributions, evolution, and building upon existing data sets.
  • He adds that the goal is to create an extensive library-like system where anyone can contribute or build upon existing data sets.

Mapping Clique’s Achievements with Examples

  • Jaden says that Clique is currently deployed as the number one identity issuer on multiple chains including Optimism, Mantle, Linear, and Ronin. They plan to deploy on other layer-2s and layer-1s soon. Every category in various ecosystems requires identity solutions. Identity plays a crucial role in user profiles, personalized UX, targeted advertising, etc., across industries.
  • He adds that gaming is an example where Clique has been working with Ronin and other gaming chains to build users’ gaming identities. This enables sophisticated use cases such as proving gameplay hours or specific user targeting for game studios and publishers. Jaden says that DeFi is another area of focus for Clique. They aim to achieve product maturity step-by-step to enable under-collateralized lending and work with decentralized underwriters. 

Tokenizing Real-World Assets

  • Jaden says that tokenizing real-world assets involves digitizing various assets for easier ownership transfer. In traditional markets like commodities trading, tokenizing gold requires a rigorous KYC process.
  • He adds that in DeFi, there is a desire for openness and accessibility while complying with regulations in different jurisdictions. To match the permissionless nature of DeFi protocols, decentralized and robust KYC processes are needed for tokenized real-world assets.

Lessons Learned from the ICO Boom

  • Jaden says that blockchain technology enables individuals to do anything, but it doesn’t mean everything is right for everyone. Lessons learned from the ICO boom highlight the need for caution and consideration when utilizing blockchain technology.
  • He adds that some jurisdictions are strongly opposed to DeFi or RWA. Striking a balance between giving users access and protecting them within these jurisdictions is essential.

Revenue Generation Model for On-chain Identity Protocol

  • Jaden says that Clique‘s revenue model is similar to other protocol-based structures. Users can claim their own data sets and resell them to different protocols or users.
  • He adds that smart contracts within Clique‘s protocol charge a small fee, in addition to gas fees, for these transactions.
  • Jaden says that Clique is still optimizing fee structures for different types of attestations. Different attestations may have varying computational costs.
  • He adds that Clique aims to create more ways for users to monetize their claimed attestations. The goal is to provide sustainability for both users and the protocol.

Upcoming Grant Campaign

  • Jaden says that Clique has received a $100k $OP grant from the Optimism Foundation.
  • JPEG_Yakuza adds that the focus is on rewarding and recognizing power users. The goal is to consolidate everyone’s useful information into one place.
  • JPEG_Yakuza says that offchain identity, along with onchain information, is crucial for businesses and protocols. Partnerships have been formed with various protocols across different sections such as DEXs, bridges, swaps, and lending. The campaign aims to identify and reward both past and future power users based on their contributions.
  • He adds that each category (cross-chain, DEXs, lending protocols, trading platforms) will feature multiple protocols. Users are not limited to a single protocol but have equal opportunities across all featured protocols. Protocols can incentivize more individuals by providing protocol-specific rewards or sponsoring their own prize pool.

Onchain Attestations

  • JPEG_Yakuza says that blockchain is a public ledger, but sourcing historic contribution information is challenging. Onchain attestations are introduced to validate contributions made by users to a protocol. Attentions include the amount of fees contributed as proof of participation.

Value of Personalized Consumer Experience

  • JPEG_Yakuza says that current protocols lack personalization in consumer experiences. Tracking user contributions and allowing recognition can improve consumer experience.
  • He mentions that they are rolling out a new solution that enables scraping data from front ends built on top of their identity oracles. This solution ensures anonymity while providing insights into user behavior.
  • JPEG_Yakuza says that bridging the gap between CEX profiles and the permissionless world is crucial. Foundational blocks of data will represent a holistic view of users. Improving consumer experience by bridging this gap.

Operation Red Warth Start Date and Duration

  • JPEG_Yakuza announces that Operation Red Warth is expected to go live on November 20th. 
  • He mentions that it will last for three weeks and include a referral program to drive DeFi activations on Optimism.

Roadmap for 2024

  • Jaden says that they are not planning an appchain. Cross-chain messaging is a key component for connecting chains together. Mapping Verax across multiple chains is feasible in the short term (6 to 12 months).
  • He adds that they will focus on gaming partnerships in the coming months. They will focus on identity solutions and deeper integrations with attestations.

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Show Information

  • Medium: Twitter Spaces
  • Show: The Optimist
  • Show Title: Clique <> The OptimistOperation Red Wars
  • Show Date: November 6, 2023