NFT as an alternative to qualified certificates. Finally a meaningful use of non-fungible token technology?
NFT as alternative to certificates?
I already briefly mentioned it in the previous post – in my opinion, NFT can realistically be an alternative to certificates from issued by trusted services providers.
Yes, the same NFT you probably know as images of gorillas, robots and other silly little pictures. The same NFT that were trending mainly last year.
The use of NFT in the field of electronic signatures is, in my opinion, one of the few meaningful forms of application that can really make sense.
An NFT as a set of data otherwise contained in certificates for e-signatures, recorded in a public blockchain, may easily reach the level of guarantee given to a certificate issued by a certification authority. An NFT would thus constitute a kind of "digital identity token" if sufficient identification preceded its issuance.
Imperfect solution in already imperfect system?
When it comes to e-signatures, there will always be the problem of verifying that person XY in the analog world is really person XY in the digital world as well.
As explained in my previous posts, qualified certificates issued by trusted authorities are primarily used for this purpose now.
For the discussed alternative to work, I can imagine that the credibility of the corresponding "entry in the blockchain" could be achieved, for example, by paying a certain amount for issuing the corresponding NFT.
By doing so, the signatory would demonstrate her skin in the game (or else "why would she pay for something that will not benefit her"). In an effort to prevent fraud, it would also be possible to differentiate in some way between the amounts of the corresponding fee depending on the relative seriousness of the action for which the signature is to be used.
Sure, it is not perfect.
For example, someone could pay in bad faith in order to deliberately impersonate a signatory.
On the other hand, the possibility of abusing the existing system certainly exists today as well. Moreover, in cases where it really matters that the identity of the signatory is verified beyond all doubt, the law usually requires a higher level of verification of the identity of the signatory anyway.
What do you think about NFT’s use in e-signatures? Also, do you have any NFT?
