Key Takeaways
- Firms argue that a KYC solution with “strong privacy protection “does not exist in the Web3 space.
- Equifax and Oasis Labs will build a KYC solution by issuing “anonymous KYC-ed credentials” to Web3 users’ wallets.
Leading credit reporting company Equifax has partnered with cloud computing blockchain company Oasis Labs to build a Web3 Know Your Customer (KYC) solution. As per the official statement, Oasis will build a decentralized identity management and KYC solution for Web3 on the Oasis Platform, utilising Equifax cloud-enabled Application Programming Interfaces (APIs).
Both firms state that the latest move was triggered by the lack of a KYC solution with “strong privacy protection “not currently existing in the Web3 space. Equifax and Oasis labs will work together to build a KYC solution by issuing “anonymous KYC-ed credentials” to Web3 users’ wallets.
As per the official announcement, the anonymous KYC credential will be continuously updated. Oasis claims its “privacy-preserving capabilities” will ensure data is processed in confidence while maintaining a trail on the company’s blockchain.
The official statement points out that the Equifax Compliance Data Center will power watchlist screening and ongoing monitoring to support KYC checks and help identify bad actors.
“We are working to not only build a better, more efficient decentralized identity and on-chain KYC solution but to help accelerate the adoption of Web3 and bring more trust to the industry,” Oasis Labs founder Professor Dawn Song said in a press release.
Commenting on the latest development, Joy Wilder Lybeer, U.S. Information Solutions Chief Revenue Officer and Senior VP of Global Partnerships at Equifax, said, “As the web3 economy continues to evolve, so does the need to expand further and evolve identity management and KYC solutions to help reduce risk and instill confidence in on-chain transactions”.
Despite the move being widely regarded as a necessary step towards making KYC more privacy-focused, it has worried many crypto enthusiasts. The present concern is triggered by the infamous 2017 Equifax data breach, which resulted in the private records of 147.9 million Americans and approximately 15.2 million British citizens, along with 19,000 Canadian citizens, being compromised, making it one of the largest identity theft-related cybercrimes.
The data breach into Equifax was primarily through a third-party software exploit that had been patched, and Equifax failed to update its servers with it.
