This time around we are talking to Joseph Bara — Founder and CEO of IDZ.

Chris: IDZ Assets are digitizing the identity on the metaverse. What is the core idea behind the UID ecosystem?

Joseph: First of all, the ID ecosystem is not just about the metaverse. It is about something bigger than the metaverse. Let me try to explain. 

“If a butterfly flaps its wings in the Amazonian rain forest, it can change the weather half a world away”. This is a quote from the chaos theory highlighting how small things at the beginning can lead to a chain reaction to finally cause significant change later. If we take a moment to think about our daily activities please. We will reach a very important conclusion: any activity we do in life STARTS with establishing identity.

 So far, we use our email address, phone number or wallet address to identify to apps/companies/people so we can start “communicating” with them and use their services. In the tech world we are familiar with today, almost everything we use, all the problems we know, are based on these identities. For decades, companies tried to solve many tech problems and develop new technologies using the very same identities (e.g., tackling the privacy and security problems, developing AI and virtual assistants, etc.). I call this mentality “scratching the surface mentality”. If we really want to solve a problem, we need to go to its deepest root and fix it. By doing so, we cause a ripple effect that will change everything that is built using that root.

In IDZ, we believe users should own their data and be compensated for it as a human right. We believe the concept of identity goes hand-in-hand with the concept of ownership. In an optimal situation, you need an entity (call it an account or a wallet) that allows you to FULLY control ALL your data and assets. Once you achieve this state, it doesn’t really matter if the service or network is centralised or decentralised. It doesn’t matter if it is the metaverse or the real world. The new entity will allow you to own things by default. We call this new entity the ID.

Chris: Additionally, the users gain control of their assets, chats, files, and contracts. 

Joseph: You are your data. You are your assets. Think about it for a minute. You are the content you publish online, the music you listen to, the photos you take, the services you provide, etc. Psychologically speaking, all of these contribute to your real and digital self. We have studied the concept of “identity” for years to come out with 4 essential categories of assets: normal asset (e.g., structured data of any kind, an object, a ticket), a contract (e.g., an agreement, T&C of a service, a will), a chat (e.g., a text communication between you and a peer, voice call or video conference) and a file (e.g., a photo, music file, video file). All of these are data. We believe people should not only be able to read and write data but also should OWN their data and have full control over it. We strongly believe that anything you own can be an asset in your ID (e.g., your phone, your house, the services you provide, your cinema ticket, etc.).

It is important to note that in the ID ecosystem, we have built a new breed of assets which are different from the common “crypto assets”. We call them “identity assets”. Asset 0 is the first asset in the ID ecosystem. We have also built a new breed of contracts which we call “identity contracts”. You don’t need a developer to write them for you; instead, you can structure them in seconds using pre-defined modules and formulas.

Chris: It is interesting to note that asset zero also comes with a buyback guarantee. What exactly is the buyback scheme? 

Joseph: For years, we have thought about different ways to include our users in our journey so they can have exposure to our financial success. In terms of comparison, NFTs have similarities with identity assets. Asset 0 is currently available as an NFT on OpenSea. If you look at the NFT space today, you will notice that the value of almost all the NFTs in the current market is based on hype. Nothing is backing the valuation. We believe this bubble with soon burst and we will see a crash in most NFTs prices.

Asset 0 is the first asset in the ID ecosystem, so we thought to make it special. Its value is linked to the number of users in IDZ. As the number of users in IDZ increases, so does the value. Asset 0 minimum floor price is set by IDZ according to the following formula: Value of ASSET 0 = monthly active users in IDZ x $0.0005. As we expect all people to have a digital ID in the future, and hence we have plans to propel IDZ’s user growth by utilizing social media and marketplace services, we expect IDZ monthly active users to be significant.

So, we wanted to build an asset based on facts, not hype. While we anticipate the asset to trade peer-to-peer according to a much higher price than the floor price set by us, the formula guarantees the holder to find “liquidity” according to a pre-defined value whenever they want to sell after IDZ’s IPO.

Chris: More importantly, what are the exclusive benefits of the IDZ ambassador? How does one become an IDZ ambassador?

Joseph: You become an IDZ Ambassador when you buy one of the assets. If you believe in our vision and want to join us in our journey to have exposure to the appreciating value of Asset 0, you may want to consider buying the asset. In addition, as an IDZ Ambassador, you will play an active role in voting on our features and roadmaps, get access to online and in-person events and get exclusive benefits/discounts on ZCLOUD storge and IDZ enabled devices purchases.

Chris: So, what do the tokens of IDZ Assets look like? What are the key traits and characteristics?

Joseph: First of all, we envisage the ID ecosystem to be powered by all the ID clouds, not IDZ alone. So, for argument’s sake, say you have some assets with IDZ, but for some reason, you decide to take your ID or your assets/contracts away, you can simply migrate out of IDZ without affecting any of your business. We have built a secure zero-knowledge architecture and opened it up so people can verify its security and use it to build other ID clouds.

IDZ created Asset 0 to be first asset in the ID ecosystem. We also built 01 Watch to be the first physical asset which you can activate with your ID. In the future, we believe devices will become accessories to the most important thing you have: your ID. You can simply identify to activate your compatible devices in one click and wipe them out in one click. Any “device” or “service” will become a “subscription” you own with you ID.

Chris: Again, what will be the price of one token of the IDZ Asset NFT? How much will be gas fee?

Joseph: In the primary market, Asset 0 price is 0.3 ETH as we speak. It was priced at 0.25 last week. One of the characteristics of Asset 0 is that it increases in value progressively on a weekly basis until it is sold out. Asset 0 is minted on Polygon, so there is gas fee.

Chris: Finally, what are the plans for the future of the IDZ ? How does it plan to expand the user experience?

Joseph: We have been working for 5 years to enable this vision. The app (on 4 platforms: iOS, Android, Windows and macOS) and the 01 Watch are set to be released in Q3 2022. After that, our focus would be on finalising all the pending features of the app, and on Flap and Exchange. Our strategy is to drive the user base (and so the value of Asset 0) by providing social media and marketplace services (FLAP and EXCHANGE) that will be based on the new ID. We believe that “your assets are your business”, so any income you make out of your assets is 100% yours. Your posts are assets that you benefit from in Flap. Your services are assets that you sell in Exchange. You can post authentic content in Flap and play an active role in managing the community to ensure freedom of speech for all.

This is the beginning of a long journey for us. We do have long term plans which I can’t disclose now. I highlight that we are NOT building a product that will solve a problem. We are building an ecosystem that will disrupt everything we know today. A new era starts with new ID. To learn more about the project and its future, please visit our website or join our Discord & Twitter. We are looking forward to seeing you!