In this episode of Understanding Crypto James Burtt and Paul Abercrombie predict the future of digital wallets. “A lot of futurists are saying it's going to become like your user name and password; that's what your wallet is going to become,” says James. They talk about the future development of NFTs and why digital wallets may become the primary method of digital identification. Paul thinks that the digital wallet has the potential to give people back control over their own data.

 

The Gateway 

The digital wallet is the entry point to the world of web3, Paul says. It’s similar to your email and password in Web 2.0. People aren’t responding to or being influenced by emails as much as before, so Web 2.0 marketers are looking for more effective ways to communicate with their customers. Furthermore, data silos continue to commercialise users’ information. Web3 technology has the potential to remedy these problems. A digital wallet gives you the power to determine what the 3rd party user is privy to, giving you back ownership of your data. 

 

The fact that blockchain technology powers digital wallets also means that the technology has a lot of potential. “NFTs can be used for proof of education, proof of jobs, for your CV, your medical records, your driving license - which will live on a blockchain and will connect to a digital wallet.” They also discuss the possibilities for the employment market to target pre-qualified candidates for job opportunities. James anticipates potential privacy violations, but he believes that they will be fixed in the near future. Digital wallets will become a personalized data silo that allows the owner to link and authorize third-party services. To ease the transition, Paul thinks that potential users should be educated about the possibilities. [Listen from 2:27]

 

Potential Applications 

Paul thinks that blockchain technology can transform the loyalty card model. Attached to an NFT, it can become a loyalty ID and stored in a digital wallet. If present inter-portability problems are resolved, the loyalty ID can become compatible with multiple companies across platforms. He also foresees the possibility of connecting data files to a digital wallet. This will allow doctors to view a client's medical history and decide how to treat them based on their most recent purchases. There’s also great potential in the education sector. “All it takes is for the education system to say, ‘From now on every single GCSE certificate that's issued on your child's education record is going to live on an NFT’,” says Paul. Digital wallets are the next logical step in technological progression and the change is happening swiftly. 

 

Data inter-portability remains the major roadblock to be resolved. Paul comments, “Blockchains have trouble speaking to each other; there's no inter-portability between a Polygon network and Solana. It's like two people speaking different languages.” James and Paul acknowledge that, despite this drawback, if these forecasts come to pass, it will be a powerful tool for business owners. “You can set the criteria to segregate your own audience based on behavior of people's wallets or based on different criteria.” They challenge listeners to try out the digital wallet because it is the way of the future. [Listen from 12:41]

 

Key Takeaways

• For web3 users, digital wallets may eventually replace other forms of identification.
• The adoption of digital wallets will give users the power to control their data.

 

Resources

James Burtt on Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram | Clubhouse

Paul Abercrombie on Website | Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram