Binance users' KYC on-chain proof? BNB Chain trials soul-bound token "BAB"

The public chain BNB Chain announced that it will issue the token "Binance Account Bound (BAB)" for Binance users. This unique token cannot be traded and represents that the user has completed KYC verification. This may be the first large-scale adoption event since Ethereum founder Vitalik proposed the concept of "soul binding".

Binance Account Bound BAB

BAB will be the first Soulbound Token, SBT, issued on the BNB Chain. According to the announcement, BAB has the following features:

• Non-transferable, non-tradable.
• Option to choose current or new address.
• Only users who have completed KYC verification can mint and revoke.
• BAB will prove the user's verification status and can be used for third-party protocols.

1. Soulbound Token

The announcement mentions that Soulbound was proposed by Vitalik at the beginning of this year, with the non-transferable feature making tokens less financialized. Vitalik believes that governance tokens, including POAP, on-chain certificates like driver's licenses, diplomas, etc., and even governance tokens should be achieved through Soulbound:

If governance power can be easily transferred, then governance mechanisms will go very wrong. You should be skeptical of transferable governance power because governance power is very likely to flow from docile people to troublemakers and vested interests who desire power.

The BNB Chain announcement also points out concerns about the tradability of governance tokens in general, where the initial distribution of governance rights should be done properly, but the transferable feature means that someone could acquire a large amount of governance rights for funds, which does not align with decentralized interests.

2. Third-Party Access

In the initial stage, BAB will be implemented through a pilot project and can only be accessed through the Binance App, while third-party protocols can verify the identity of BAB holders for any purpose, which the announcement states will help prevent common airdrop issues like Sybil Attacks and malicious bots.

3. Future of BAB

In addition to providing third-party verification, different dApps can also use Soulbound Tokens in the future to confirm user interactions, activity levels, etc. For example, users completing specific tasks will be able to earn different BAB, opening up another possibility for project community management.

Note: This announcement was released by BNB Chain, and as of the deadline, Binance and founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) have not made any official statements or comments on this.