By the name alone you could assume that a Soulbound token has something to do with taking your soul from your body and trapping it in the metaverse. But no, actually, that is not the case here.
Vitalik Buterin introduced the idea of “soulbound tokens” (SBTs) as the next step for Non-fungible tokens (NFTs). According to Vitalik, A soulbound token is stored in a “Soul” wallet and is a unique token that identifies and keeps record of someone’s accomplishments.
However, this isn’t a new concept as the multiplayer online game, World of Warcraft (WOW), already has soulbound items as a feature in the game. In WOW, these soulbound items cannot be distributed to other players; They are earned through completing certain tasks in the game. Similarly, SBTs will also be untradeable as they will represent specific achievements obtained by an individual.
How It Can Be Used
Let’s say that I just passed my driving test and I was going to be issued a driver’s license. Well, instead of being given a physical driver’s license, the licensing center would issue me a token that would serve as my driver’s license instead. Or let’s say you graduated from an educational program, instead of being issued a certificate, you are given an SBT as proof that you completed the program.
Vitalik is taking this concept a step further by indicating that we could end up using SBTs as our resume in the future. In lieu of us submitting paper resumes when we apply for a job, employers can instead take a peek at our soul wallet to confirm our employment history and education in order to verify our identities.
What are the Pitfalls of SBTs?
Soulbound tokens sound great and all but, in my opinion, they reduce the identity of a person to the tokens they have attached to their soul wallet instead of the kind of person someone is. When we apply for a job, our resume shows more than just our employment history and what school we graduated from. It also shows the skills we have and what we’ve learned over the years. For example, how would this concept showcase an employee’s soft skills such as communication, critical thinking, leadership, work ethic and teamwork?
If an employer were to base the hiring of an employee solely on their SBTs, they could end up overlooking an employee who would be a perfect fit for the company solely because that employee didn’t have a certain accomplishment.
We as humans are complex creatures and it will be impossible to determine the true character of a person based on certain SBTs we have attached to our name. I’m interested to see how SBTs are used in the future and how NFTs will continue to shape our world.
