Ryder ID - The World's First Social Wallet
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My long time readers already know that Ryder is responsible for my initial foray into Stacks NFTs. Upon seeing this piece of hardware the first thing that came to mind was the iPod, and then it clicked. Where would Web2 be without the iPhone, and we wouldn't have the iPhone without the iPod. That is a long way of saying: When I saw the Ryder device, I saw the future.
The Ryder device is a hardware wallet used to store crypto currency. Crypto wallets being an essential piece of the crypto puzzle, and for some newbies this learning curve can be quite intimidating. Everyone knows a variation of the cautionary tale in which untold riches lay dormant on the blockchain due to misplaced private keys. This is for good reason, as there are literally billions of dollars worth of Bitcoin locked away in lost or stranded wallets. Ryder aims to make securing a users keys safer by allowing your keys to be retrievable via multiple wallets, and making crypto transactions as easy as using Apple Pay.
This much needed movement towards ease of use is a common goal amongst builders in the Stacks ecosystem. Security and ease of use continue to be stumbling blocks for the budding crypto enthusiast, as well as an intimidating barrier to entry for a large segment of the population. The team at Ryder has tasked itself with making this experience easier, more secure, and with a focus on the social component of Web 3. For now lets take a moment to help our own neophytes conceptualize some distinctions between Webs 2 and 3.
User owned identities for user owned content
The biggest distinction between Web 2 and Web 3, as far as I am concerned, is the idea of user owned data and identity. When I post something to Twitter the thoughts contained in those characters no longer belong to me. My Twitter handle is owned by Twitter, My email handle is not owned by me, its owned by Google. This is the reality of Web 2.
By contrast I own all of the content contained within this blog. Sigle is a Web 3 application that allows me to publish on the blockchain, it is unable to be removed by anyone but me. My Web 3 identity is jackbinswitch.btc. I own this identity because I registered it via the BNS smart contract. The bottom line here is that if Twitter and Google ever decide that jackbinswitch doesn't need to exist anymore, too bad. My blog is still here, and my identity secured by Bitcoin.
Web 3 is social
The social nature of Web 3 is still in its infancy stage, but we can already see types and shadows of what's to come. NFT communities are already bridging the digital and social worlds together via real life meetups (Ryder will make this easier as well, but we will discuss this later), and that's just the beginning. One day your resume will be an NFT, property deeds, membership within a physical town/city, etc. Yes, if you are reading this you are most certainly early.
With the social aspect of NFTs in mind, Ryder is releasing the Ryder Handles on August 17, 2022. The Ryder Handle will allow Web 3 users to have their own name associated with their favorite community. At release the following communities will have their own Ryder handles:
This not only allows the user to have their own ID registered to their favorite community via the BNS smart contract, but a portion of the sales are given to the respective communities to help fund further development. Additional functionality will be provided by the team at Xverse Wallet, as a user will be able to transfer funds/NFTs directly to a Ryder Handle via their Xverse Wallet. So what does all this mean?
Takeaways
Decentralized identities are an integral part of Web 3. Today there are over 4 billion email addresses worldwide. As of right now there are fewer than two million decentralized identities between ENS (Ethereum Naming Service) and BNS (Bitcoin Naming Service) - remember what I said about being early? As a first mover in the space Ryder continues to impress with identifying the needs of a growing ecosystem and meeting them. In the not too distant future our decentralized identities will be as vital to our personal/professional lives as our state issued identities are now. Having the ability to create community specific identities will not only allow for more options for NFT/ decentralized autonomous communities, but can even represent civic identities in the case of City Coins.
The Ryder hardware wallet will allow for easier and safer crypto transactions, but also has a user friendly approach for the storage and retrieval of private keys. A deeper dive into the Ryder device will be covered in a later piece, as Louise Nakamoto has kindly agreed to do an in depth interview with ole Jack. The future of the internet is Web 3, and Ryder is at the cutting edge of advances in Web 3 utilization. The Stacks ecosystem never ceases to amaze me, as the builders continue to construct the future right here in the now. I hope you enjoyed reading, and if you are new to crypto I strongly encourage you to continue learning. Until next time, Jack.
*The Ryder Handles will be available here on August 17, 2022 at 5pm CST. The Rider device is slated to release in 2023, check out their Discord to learn how to get a spot on the whitelist.
*The easiest way to DCA your Stacks here