Decentralized Identity (DID) They promise to deliver a future where we take back control of our data and online identities. The potential is undeniable. Imagine a world without endless password resets, where you prove your age or qualifications without revealing your entire life story. Yet the road to such a future is fraught with technical complexity, and that’s where Kilt’s DID-as-a-Service (DaaS) comes in. The U.S. Treasury’s digital dollar plan – boon or bust? Is it the hero we’ve longed for, or yet another Web3 mirage?

DaaS: Truly Simple or Just Abstracted?

Kilt claims that DaaS makes integrating DID and verifiable credentials easier. It enables API developers to introduce these technologies with little to no programming. The full API suite does most of that substantial work for them. Sounds great, right? Let's be real: nothing in Web3 is ever as simple as it seems.

I've spent years wrestling with smart contracts and decentralized architectures, and I've learned one thing: abstraction layers can be dangerous. Sure, they make things easier initially. What happens when something goes wrong? What happens when you need to debug a complex identity flow and you're relying on a black box DaaS provider? You are at their mercy. The complexity hasn’t disappeared. It's just been shifted elsewhere. It's like outsourcing your car repairs to someone who speaks a language you don't understand. Sure, you save a lot of time at the outset, but you’re hosed when the engine starts coughing black smoke.

The only real audience with this post is the web3 developer. We don’t mean the typical user of a drag-and-drop website builder. We’re just asking these folks, mind you, who one would presume would already be comfortable with some level of technical complexity. Are we actually solving a problem so that it’s worth the effort, or merely making something worse?

Security Concerns: Centralized Identity?

Now, this is where my inner-libertarian goes insane. The entire purpose of DIDs is to decentralize identity, to take control from centralized authorities. Isn’t DaaS, by its very nature, a centralized service? You’re trusting Kilt’s infrastructure, Kilt’s APIs, and Kilt’s security protocols.

What happens if Kilt gets hacked? What happens if they decide to change their terms of service? Consider what happens when they are pressured or threatened by repressive governments to censor specific types of credentials.

All of a sudden, your promise of a decentralized identity starts to sound a lot less decentralized. It's like storing your gold in Fort Knox – secure, maybe, but you're still dependent on the US government to keep the doors open.

Oh, and did we mention the threat of vendor lock-in. Once you’ve built Kilt’s DaaS into your application, switching to a different provider is a huge pain. You’re taking a gamble if you think you can just ignore them.

All of this makes me think of the early days of cloud computing. Everyone believed in the potential for cost savings and scalability. They missed the strategic alarm bells that should have gone off over the dangers of relying on one provider. Fast forward to today, and we see companies rushing to diversify their cloud infrastructure so they don’t get held hostage by Amazon or Microsoft. Are we fated to make the same mistakes all over again with DIDs?

Hype vs. Reality: Real Web3 Adoption?

As much of a skeptic as I am though, Kilt’s DaaS definitely has some potential. With the EVM SDK, they are doubling down on this strategy with more pervasive identity solutions. Today, that includes Ethereum-compatible layer-2 blockchains like Base, Arbitrum, Optimism and Polygon. It extends its buyer to outside the Polkadot ecosystem. Kilt Pay is equally intriguing, providing a means to establish AML/KYC controls while still protecting user privacy.

Web3 adoption is lagging. The user experience is awkward, the technology is scary, and it’s often unclear what the benefits are. As a result, DaaS could greatly reduce the development barrier for developers. This may be key to informing how DIDs and verifiable credentials become broadly accessible to all.

It all comes down to execution. As Kilt moves forward, it will need to be clear about its security infrastructure, its data privacy approaches, and its roadmap for decentralization. First, they need to prove that they are trustworthy and build confidence with the developer community. They have to resist the urge to go big or go home, i.e., over-promise and under-deliver.

Kilt's launch of Clans, a mobile "InfoFi platform" that rewards users for creating and engaging with content on X, and Sporran 2.0, the identity super app, are bold moves. These products need to be rock-solid.

Kilt’s DaaS has to come good on its simplicity claim. Its ultimate success depends on its ability to achieve security and decentralization concurrently. We know, that’s a big ask, but if they can manage to do it, it will be a game-changing win for Web3. If so, it will avoid the fate of being just another footnote in the history of crypto hype.

Is Kilt’s DaaS really the key to Web3 adoption, or another overhyped buzzword? The jury is still out. One thing is clear: the conversation has just begun. What do you think?