Web3 Identity Solution Nametag Secures Seed Round Led by OKX Ventures and GSRV

Quick take:

Nametag has announced a $2 million seed round co-led by OKX Ventures and GSRV.
The company is building a web3 identity solution to help users manage their own identities online.
Web3 IDs leverage trustless communications to authorise transactions without parties having to reveal key personal information.

Nametag has become the latest web3 startup to jump on the decentralised identity train. The “social profile” provider is developing a web3 ID solution that will help users to transact online without revealing key personal information.

The company has accelerated the development of its decentralised ID solution with the announcement of a $2 million seed round backed by leading web3 venture firms.

OKX Ventures and GSRV led the round, with participation from Coinbase Ventures, Alchemy Ventures, Continue Capital, Mask Network, Project Galaxy, Cryptodog, Spencer Yang and Wesley Fei.

Launched in June 2021, Nametag describes itself as a “Social Profile” that people can use to showcase their digital collectibles and achievements across multiple platforms.

“We know that people have been collecting digital goods for a long time, and we’re proud to be the profile that lets them share those goods universally,” said Victor Cheng, co-founder of Nametag.

The solution helps people control their own digital identities, enabling them to choose what information to share on a particular platform without affecting their ability to use the platform.

The company claims to already have onboarded 50,000 users to its digital identity solution, which is offered as a web extension. According to Nametag, the company is poised to onboard up to 100 million new users into the world of crypto.

The solution has a gamified attribute that carries metadata including game rank, names of A-list followers and online activity.

The company thinks online platforms should focus on implementing multi-factor identities over passwords and multi-factor authentication. MFI goes beyond verifying devices, commented Nametag CEO, Aaron Painter, adding that it is common to know the actual identities of people online.

On the other hand, Jeff Ren, head of OKX Ventures commented: “By leveraging interoperability, creativity, and identity, Nametag is opening new doors for consumers to join the metaverse with decentralized social profiles. We look forward to helping Nametag scale to millions of crypto users.”

Nametag’s social profile tool joins a growing list of companies looking to offer privacy solutions for the next iteration of the web. In October, Notebook Labs wrapped up a $3.3 million seed round to build a web3 identity protocol powered by zero-knowledge proofs. Just a few days before, JPMorgan’s blockchain unit Onyx announced its web3 identity solution that aims to enable people to store, share and view all their digital assets in one place.

And in November, Carv completed a $4 million fundraising at a $40 million valuation to develop a web3 identity solution for web2 and web3 gaming markets. About a week earlier, IriTech teamed up with Indian software firm Integra Micro Systems and the South Korean Institute of Blockchain Technology (IBCT) to launch a decentralised smartphone wallet secured with iris biometrics.

The company said the wallet could be used as a proof-of-concept for securing personal data in web3.

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