Mobile ID World
Identification Revolution
June 10, 2022
The blockchain start-up Ahrvo Labs is trying to bring interoperable IDs to the cryptocurrency space. The company noted that cryptocurrency providers have historically tried to avoid Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations, but its leadership believe that that position will become increasingly untenable as the technology goes mainstream and more people start using crypto services.
With that in mind, Ahrvo is launching a new NFT ID solution that uses biometrics to link an individual to a token in the blockchain. Unlike collectible NFTs, Ahrvo’s NFT IDs are designed to be non-transferable, and can therefore be used as proof of identity with blockchain and non-blockchain entities alike.
“Most people outside the cryptocurrency industry associate NFTs with jpegs, scams, money-laundering, grifters, etc,” said Ahrvo Founder, CFA, and CEO Akporefe Agbamu. “In reality, NFTs have a lot of real-world applications across identity and payments, and our inventions at Ahrvo Labs use NFTs accordingly.”
The biometric NFTs can be verified with the Ahrvo Comply platform, a consolidated product that comes with document, identity, and transaction management capabilities in addition to a facial recognition utility. Ahrvo did not offer many details about that technology, stating only that it does not outsource any KYC procedures to a third party.
Ahrvo is ultimately hoping that its NFT IDs will serve as the foundation for an interoperable blockchain identity solution that extends across the crypto and fiat ecosystem. The company will reward users with Ahrvo Coins to encourage them to use their NFT IDs, and is planning to release an ‘Identity Oracle’ solution later in the year that will allow off-chain stakeholders (such as banks) to confirm the identity information stored in a blockchain token.
All of Ahrvo’s solutions are part of a broader Ahrvo Network, which is built to support payments as well as identity applications. The company will also be launching a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) to manage its identity registry. The company’s solution mints an NFT ID to the blockchain once an individual’s identity has been verified in a manner that is compliant with the latest KYC and GDPR regulations.
Ahrvo is not the only company trying to come up with new applications for NFT technology. Pfpid is similarly using the tech to provide people with secure identities, while WISeKey is using them to issue digital certificates that serve as proof of authenticity for luxury devices.
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