You Can Now Get Digital IDs for the Republic of Palau on Solana

For $248, users on Solana can now mint their Republic of Palau digital IDs. Palau is expanding its partnership with decentralized identity protocol RNS.ID to offer digital residency IDs (DIDs) on the Solana blockchain.

This development, announced yesterday by RNS.ID, marks a significant milestone as it is reportedly the first time a sovereign nation has issued legal identity on Solana. Palau's digital residency program, which began in 2022, allows global citizens to obtain residency backed by Palau without requiring physical residence in the country. The nation issued its first Legal DID on Ethereum in September 2023, with Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin present.

Through RNS.ID, users can apply for a Palau digital residence card for $248. These IDs provide visa extensions of up to 180 days and offer anonymity for cryptocurrency users who might face restrictions based on their location.

George Harrap, co-founder of Step Finance, expressed enthusiasm about Palau’s adoption of Solana for their IDs, noting that the initiative is a continuation of their innovative approach.

The Palau government requires all applicants to undergo anti-money laundering and identity verification checks, which can take up to 10 days. Since September 2023, RNS.ID has issued 7,338 digital residencies.

Decentralized identity systems, including those on blockchain technology, are seen as having significant potential. Reports from May indicated that MicroStrategy is developing a decentralized identity system based on Ordinals-like inscriptions. Additionally, Shiba Inu developers are working on their own digital identity systems.

Worldcoin, a major player in this space with involvement from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, also announced a similar initiative in February. Worldcoin’s World ID aims to verify e-sport players’ identities through iris scans using a device known as the Orb, in partnership with the crypto-powered e-sports platform Community Gaming.

source: https://decrypt.co/242124/how-radquest-is-bringing-new-users-to-defi-with-gamification