Okay, let's be real. Online identity verification (IDV) is all over the place right now. We mean heavy, complicated document uploads, weird angles for selfies, and months of waiting with absolutely no updates. It’s 2024, and we’re still using processes that are the equivalent to sending your message by carrier pigeon. It’s slow, fraud-prone, and quite frankly, an awful user journey. Then comes along Hopae's hConnect...

Before we begin that deep dive, allow us to paint a picture that connects the dots. Just remember the early days of the internet. Remember dial-up modems? Painful, right? Now, picture trying to build the modern internet on top of that infrastructure. That’s exactly what we’re doing with today’s IDV techniques now that we’ve entered the age of DeFi. Legacy systems holding back innovation.

Enter Hopae's hConnect. They’re selling it as a global eID verification platform, the first ever. We know—that’s a pretty audacious statement! I do think it has the potential to really disrupt finance. This is increasingly the case in the fast-growing DeFi ecosystem.

eIDs Supercharge DeFi Adoption

DeFi is often heralded as a new frontier in which anyone, anywhere can tap into financial services without the need for intermediaries like banks. There's a catch: trust. In a decentralised, trustless blockchain world, how do you make sure that the people who are supposed to be are actually them? This is where eIDs come in. Think of eIDs as government-backed digital passports. They provide a sort of guarantee that today’s approaches just aren’t capable of delivering.

Today’s online ID verification (IDV) methods involve users having to upload physical documents and take video selfies. Besides being slow and extremely vulnerable to fraud, this method is just plain inconvenient. With Hopae’s hConnect, and other eID verification platforms, this will be a thing of the past.

Slay KYC/AML Headaches

Know Your Customer/Anti-Money Laundering (KYC/AML) regulations are a KYC/AML regulations are the swore upon the DeFi curse. They are certainly needed to combat bad behavior, but they introduce a lot of cost and friction into the consumer experience. hConnect, by using eIDs, can cut those expenses down significantly. Now picture being able to verify a user’s identity right away with a government-issued digital ID. No more ad hoc document-by-document reviews, no more torturous approval chains. Just seamless, secure onboarding.

Cross-Border Finance Unleashed

Cross-border transactions are notoriously slow and expensive. Each country has varying regulations, varying ID systems, and varying cultures. It's a bureaucratic nightmare. hConnect seeks to solve this by giving KYC a universal language, allowing for easy verification of identities across borders. This is potentially a major boon for companies big and small, exporters and importers, and business people who frequently make international payments. Think faster, cheaper, and more secure transactions.

Next-Gen Lending/Borrowing Emerges

DeFi is revolutionizing lending and borrowing. With platforms such as Aave and Compound, users can lend to and borrow from one another in crypto without ever stepping foot in a bank. These platforms still remain hampered by the perils of unreliable identity verification. hConnect can power new types of decentralized, non-custodial lending and borrowing that allows users to borrow against their real-world identities. In doing so, it has the potential to open up access to credit for millions of individuals who have been denied entry into the traditional financial system.

NFT Marketplaces Get Real Trust

While NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) have skyrocketed into the zeitgeist, the entire market for them is riddled with fraud and scams. It can be difficult to discern exactly whom you are going up against. hConnect can help add a much-needed layer of trust to NFT marketplaces. Just think how powerful it would be to know exactly who that buyer or seller is before you complete a transaction. This would be a major step toward deterring fraud and instilling confidence in the NFT ecosystem.

Now, I know what you're thinking. Government control! Privacy concerns! And you're right to be skeptical. Civil liberties aside, eIDs open up a Pandora’s Box of legitimate surveillance concerns. I think these challenges can be addressed through thoughtful implementation and strong security practices. As we move towards eID, we need to ensure they are built with privacy at the forefront. People need to be empowered to take control of their own data.

During his presentation, Hopae’s CEO, Ace Shim, shared an ambitious vision for hConnect. Their goal is to have global identity accepted at the speed of light and compliance burdens converted to conversion boosters at scale.

Here’s the real reality, though—the system isn’t changing because the system is already broken. It's slow, inefficient, and vulnerable to fraud. Digital eIDs can provide a way for everyone toward a more secure, efficient, and inclusive financial system. It’s not a decision that’s a complete silver bullet, but it is one that’s a major step in the right direction. Hopae’s hConnect could be the spark that finally gets eIDs moving into the mainstream. The underground tech event atmosphere is heavy on this one. Now we need to see them make it happen. For the sake of us all, I hope they don’t, because if they do, the disruption will be severe.