tl;dr
Import your reputation within Nouns DAO from your public wallet to an announymous wallet using ZK badges
Description:
Web3 users are starting to use their wallets as an account log-in to applications. Applications fetch on-chain data related to the user wallets like ENS names and profile pictures. How can we enable Nouns DAO contributors to leverage their reputation in such apps?
Badges and ZK Badges
Badges are on-chain representations of previous activities and contributions - non-transferable and sometimes referred to as soulbound. ZK Badges or ZK attestations are a new primitive that enables users to import their reputation or ‘history’ to new wallets. Privacy preserving badges that do not create any link between the source account used to prove eligibility and the destination account that receives the badge - the generation process of such badges relies on zero-knowledge proofs (ZKP) and ensures user and data privacy.
Very simply, ZK badges enable the transfer and use of personal status and reputation in a privacy preserving way. Inside the Nouns ecosystem, we can generate a wide range of badges. The aim of this proposal is to deploy a first one. A Nouns Governor ZK Badge. Each eligible address, can mint one - and only one - Nouns Governor ZK Badge on a newly created wallet that can later be used to connect to any web3 application to prove Nouns DAO contributions without revealing the origin address.
Nouns Governor ZK Badge:
- Level 1 (Begginer): Voted 5 times in the Nouns DAO
- Level 2 (Learned): Voted 10 times in the Nouns DAO
- Level 3 (Grandmaster): Voted 50 times in the Nouns DAO
Zero Knowledge Proofs and ZK Minting
The minting process guarantees no one can trace back to the source account. Similar to the way tornado cash enables users to transfer assets privately, ZK badges enable users to transfer their data privately. The ZK Badge minting process involves 2 accounts:
- The source account used to prove the eligibility for the Badge (e.g an Address used to vote in Nouns DAO)
- The destination account that will receive the ZK Badge
- There will be no link between the source and the destination account
The use of ZK Badges opens up new possibilities for applications, such as sybil-resistant systems, private voting, private airdrops, and private group chats. They open up a new design space while also being a valuable historical piece of the Nouns’ narrative.
Team: @waterdrops /Artwork by @jackbutcher
Timeline: Deployment of the Nouns Governor ZK Badge ~ 1 week
Long-term Pledges:
- Continuously research use-cases
- Explore different types of attestations: “Voted YES on a specific proposal”, “Contributed to Github” or “Contributed to Nouncil”
External Links:
I appreciate all feedback and questions. Cross-posting for visibility and more discussion. This prop was submitted to PropHouse under Nouns DAO x Sismo ⌐◨-◨