With the increased popularity of Web3 in the last few years, the industry has seen a massive growth of various projects and platforms that have been developed to enhance the experience of the users. Gitcoin and its subsequent products, the Gitcoin Passport is one such venture that aims at creating a seamless as well as impeccable experience the Web3 aficionados.
In this article, we tell you everything about Gitcoin Passport and how you can use it to your advantage.
What is Gitcoin?
To begin with, let’s first have a look at the project that Gitcoin Passport is a part of- The Gitcoin protocol.
Gitcoin is a decentralised platform that aids developers in their Web3 creations and also facilitates communities to run their own grants program. Their open-source project funding has helped millions of users in reaching their perfect potential. It empowers the community members in order to finally grow the industry towards becoming efficient and flawless.
Gitcoin works on the principles of collaboration and community interdependency which eventually lead to many more opportunities.
What the products and services offered by Gitcoin?
The Gitcoin ecosystem has developed for the users, multiple projects and products that have helped improve the space in general. Some of these products are
- Grants: Grants are a Crowdfunding option for Open Source in order to empower other developers
- Passport: A passport is a Safe, reliable identity verification mechanism
- Bounties: Bounties are nothing but Development resources that are easy to understand and use
- Hackathons: Hackathons allow users to Build with the coolest Web3 project
What is Gitcoin Passport?
The Gitcoin Passport as mentioned above is a safe and reliable technique for identity verification. It is a digital ID for the users and employs verifiable credentials to confirm identity authentications. The Ceramic Network is the platform on which the Gitcoin Passport is built. Stamps, which are identity attestations, can be collected from web2 and web3 authenticators and stored in one place.
The ideologies behind Gitcoin Passport
The Gitcoin Passport was designed to make Sybil resistance easy for users. Many projects are vulnerable to Sybil attacks since they assume each user is a unique individual. In a Sybil attack, a negative entity can potentially illegitimize and hamper the system by creating several pseudonymous identities. The Gtocin Passport aims at combatting this very phenomenon. It is principled on the idea that private identity verification is a public good.
What are the benefits of Gitcoin Passport?
The Gitcoin Passport offers its users certain advantages that sets it apart from the rest in the industry. The benefits are:
- Privacy Preserving: Gtcoin Passport uses DID and VC, which are open web standards. This ensures that in the identification process, the user’s privacy is not compromised and also omits the storing of any personal information
- Cross-chain verification: Gitcoin Passport obtains a great advantage as it supports many blockchain networks. This allows data verification across multiple platforms to be a seamless process.
- Increase Sybil resistance: the best and the most highlighted feature as mentioned before is the ability of Gitcoin Passport to resist Sybil attacks.
What can the Gitcoin Passport be used for
The Gitcoin passport currently has many use cases. To list a few:
- It gives you a slight governing power by allowing a protection against bots and fraudulent users who could possibly hamper with the voting and decision-making system.
- Lets the resources reach authentic users only and not the scammers
- It lets you also establish certified ownership over “GitHub repositories, social accounts, and more.”
- It also maintains an on-chain record of all your accomplishments
- The branded onboarding grants you the option to customize the interface
How to create a Gitcoin Passport?
A Gitcoin Passport can be created in just a few simple steps. However, you must make sure that you already have an existing Gitcoin Account. If you don’t already, you’ll have to create one before you can start setting up and using a Gitcoin Passport
Step 1: Visit the Gitcoin website: Gitcoin – Build and Fund the Open Web Together
Step 2: Click on the profile icon in the top right corner
Step 3: Go to My Account
Step 4: Click on The Profile option
Step 5: Click the Trust Bonus tab
Step 6: Go on Create Passport to visit passport.gitcoin.co
Step 7: Click on Connect Wallet
Step 8: You will get a drop down box of wallet options and you can choose the one that suits you.
Step 9: you will see a signature request modal that you must read completely and then click on Sign.
Step 10: You will be led to the My Stamps page which means that your Passport was successfully created.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Ceramic?
Ceramic is a network that helps various developers provide unlimited data composability to their Web3 creations. It is the platform on which Gitcoin Passport is built.
What Are Stamps?
The verifiable credential that make up a Paspprt are called Stamps
How to unlink a Passport from a Gitcoin account?
Currently, there are not many provisions to unlink your Passport from the Gitcoin account. However, what you can do is overwrite your submitted Passport.
When should you update your Passport score?
You must make sure that you update your Passport score well in time before the end of the Grant round
Who can read the data stored on Ceramic?
The stored data can be read by everyone however the only person authorised to write it is you.
Why can you face technical issues with the Gitcoin Passport?
The technical issues could arise because of the following reasons
- Your Passport is not on Ethereum Mainnet and was created on another blockchain
- The page doesn’t respond due to probable blocking of JavaScript by your browser
- Absence of an associated ENS domain
To learn more about how to fix this issue visit: Troubleshooting Passport or Trust Bonus Technical Issues
