Ecosystem

Private Semantic Soul Bound Token Metadata: Lit x Relation

Debbie Ly

Feb 24, 2023 • 4 min read

Empower Personalized Social Network with Privacy-Preserving Module
We are excited to announce that Relation has integrated Lit's decentralized access control into Semantic Soul Bound Tokens (SBTs)!

What is Access Control?
With access control provided by Lit, access to encrypted content is granted based on on-chain conditions set by the content owner. These specifications to decrypt might be owning a certain NFT. The network provides decryption keys to users who meet the access control conditions. No single node in the network has full custodianship of the private key, making the process decentralized.
To encrypt content, the content owner generates a symmetric key which is distributed across Lit’s network. Rules are set for when and under what conditions the network should provision access to decrypt. When a user attempts to access the encrypted content, the network checks if they meet the conditions, and if they do, the decryption key is provisioned to unlock the content.

Integrations in Semantic SBT Protocol & Product
To help users build a personalized and privacy-preserving social network, Relation has utilized Lit to develop a privacy module in the Semantic SBT Protocol. This modules enables encryption and gated access to content in Semantic metadata.

There is a SBT template with the privacy module in the Semantic SBT Mint Tools, with which developers can directly deploy Semantic SBT contracts with decentralized access control. As soon as a Semantic SBT contract has been deployed, whitelisted users will be able to claim their SBTs in the SBT Bazaar and sign in to access the encrypted content on the SBTs.

With Semantic SBT Mint Tools powered by Lit, individuals and communities will be able to accurately manage and control their privacy settings based on their own social networks and interactions.

Permanent Storage on using Bundlr and Arweave
Relation utilizes Bundlr, a decentralized storage scaling platform that increases the number of transactions conducted on Arweave, to upload the encrypted metadata in SBTs to Arweave for permanent storage.

Thus, the Semantic Metadata in the SBTs is not only privacy protected with decentralized access control but also stored permanently on the chain, paving the way for broader, diversified and personalized applications of Semantic SBTs.

Demo of Semantic SBT Private Module
Here is the demo of how to deploy Semantic SBT contracts with the privacy module in the Mint Tools and how to decrypt the Semantic SBTs in SBT Bazaar. The privacy module is built using the decentralized access control SDK provided by Lit. Both Semantic SBT protocol and Mint Tools are in production. Check it out!

Building the DeSoc with Semantic SBTs
Semantic SBTs are programmable NFTs (non-fungible tokens) that are metadata-linked and interconnected in a way that is machine understandable and interpretable. A semantic SBT is a new type of SBT with semantic meaning written in the metadata which represents a statement with three attributes including a subject, a predicate and an object. The main difference between Semantic SBTs and other SBTs is that they are designed to provide a richer, more meaningful description of the data they represent. This is achieved by linking the SBTs to semantic ontologies, which define a set of concepts and their relationships, allowing machines to understand and interpret the relationships among different data sources.

In the context of building the Web3 Social Protocol, Semantic SBTs are used to provide a decentralized digital identity solution that is both self-sovereign and verifiable. By analyzing the social relations of individuals and communities in a decentralized way, Semantic SBTs can be used to represent proof not only of a person’s identity but also their friendships, affiliations, memberships, qualifications, and even employment on the blockchain. These Semantic SBTs are then collected into what are called “Soulbound Journals” (SBJs), which list all the identifying information of the account through its constituent Semantic SBTs. SBJs provide proof of attendance, proof of skillset, and proof of personhood, and they can be used to protect against Sybil cyberattacks, target-market services based on user interests and needs, and help with social recovery wallets.
Overall, Semantic SBTs and SBTs are important tools for advancing the capabilities of Web3, providing a new paradigm of identification and verification that balances the need for trust with the precepts of decentralization and anonymity.

How will Lit Expand the Application of Relation's Social Protocol & Products?
Some examples:
- Gated Social Club: Set access to a social club to only owners of a Semantic SBT.
- Access-Controlled Content: By setting requirements such as holding 0.1 ETH and holding a SBT, only people who meet the requirements will be able to access static content.
- Quick Adoption for R&D: Since the Semantic SBT Protocol and Mint Tools have integrated the Lit, it will be very easy for developers to utilize. More social dApps and scenarios are expected to pop up in the future!

Conclusion

Semantic SBTs opens up more possibilities for a more nuanced Web3 social experience with the inclusion of encryption and access control.

Relation Resources

Relation is building a Web3 social graph infrastructure that will host the next generation of billions of DApps, and empower souls and communities to co-build reputation and a better society on Web3 with SBTs and relationship data. Relation has launched Web3 social Dapp Relation ONE and the Semantic SBT standard which will create a chain native data layer that is easy to query, share and reuse with lower friction.