Civic is an identity verification platform that allows users to securely manage and share personal information, with CVC tokens powering access.

Blockchain-based identity verification (IDV) offers secure, low-cost, and on-demand solutions for managing personal data. By leveraging decentralized technology, it enables verified information to be securely stored and accessed without repetitive background checks, reducing costs and enhancing privacy. Individuals retain control over their data, sharing it only with trusted parties, and ensuring privacy. This approach benefits sectors like finance, healthcare, and e-commerce, where fast, reliable verification is essential. Civic is working to build such a system, allowing users to transact IDV services through its ecosystem using the CVC token.

What is Civic (CVC)?

Civic, co-founded by Vinny Lingham and Jonathan Smith in 2015, emerged as a decentralized identity management platform initially designed as an anti-fraud solution. Embracing a philosophy that centers on identity as a fundamental human right, Civic aims to broaden access to critical social and financial rights through a secure, self-sovereign identity. Early on, Civic focused on blockchain-based identity verification, but as the Web3 landscape evolved, Civic expanded its scope to support additional identity-related services.

In 2017, Civic conducted an Initial Coin Offering (ICO), raising $33 million to fuel its development. The Civic token (CVC) powers transactions within its identity ecosystem, allowing users to access ID verification services. In 2021, Civic transitioned from Ethereum to the Solana blockchain, enhancing scalability and affordability for its growing user base. This move facilitated Civic’s implementation of Proof of Personhood (PoP), verifying unique human identities to ensure each person is linked to a single wallet.

Under the leadership of Lingham, Smith, and CEO Chris Hart, Civic continues to advance its mission. Its long-term vision is to redefine identity management by integrating personality and individual expression, making decentralized digital identities a cornerstone of the Web3 economy.

How Does Civic Work? Architecture and Identity Ecosystem

Civic’s architecture is designed to deliver secure, on-demand identity verification through a decentralized platform, which combines blockchain technology with biometrics to enhance privacy and security. At its core is the Civic Secure Identity Platform (SIP), which enables users to create a fully verified digital identity stored on their device rather than on a centralized server. Users enter their Personally Identifiable Information (PII) into the Civic app, which is encrypted and secured with high-level encryption and biometrics, such as fingerprint or facial recognition, ensuring that only the user can access it.

Once verified by Civic’s validators, attestations of this identity data are recorded on the blockchain. This blockchain-based attestation system means that third parties can verify the authenticity of the data without accessing or storing the underlying PII, allowing users to maintain full control over their information. Civic’s Proof of Personhood (PoP) feature links each verified identity to a unique wallet, verifying that the identity belongs to a human user. Civic also issues Civic Passes, non-transferable tokens tied to verified wallets, which help decentralized applications (DApps) ensure that wallets belong to genuine users rather than automated bots.

Using smart contracts in Civic’s architecture is key to enforcing transparency, ensuring that identity verification and data-sharing processes follow a set, auditable structure. This decentralized approach eliminates the need for traditional intermediaries in identity verification, offering a streamlined, more secure, and privacy-focused alternative to traditional identity systems. By securing PII on users’ devices and only storing attestations on the blockchain, Civic minimizes the risk of large-scale data breaches and enables a more efficient way of managing digital identity.

Source: civic whitepaper

Identity Ecosystem

The Civic identity ecosystem comprises three main participants: users, validators, and service providers. Each plays a distinct but interconnected role in ensuring seamless, secure identity verification. This ecosystem aims to empower users to control their own identity data, reduce verification costs for businesses, and establish a decentralized, trust-based framework for digital identity.

Users wish to create a verified digital identity through the Civic platform. They download the Civic Secure Identity app, where they input personal information such as their name, address, and government-issued ID details. This data is encrypted and stored on the user’s device, safeguarded by biometric security. Once Civic validators verify the identity, the app allows users to share their identity verification status with third parties without exposing the actual PII. This setup provides users with control over who accesses their data, enhancing privacy and ownership of personal information.

Validators are responsible for verifying the authenticity of the identity data submitted by users. They cross-check the data against reliable sources, such as public records or financial databases, to ensure that the identity details are genuine and accurate. Once verified, validators generate attestations—proofs of verification—which are stored on the blockchain. These attestations serve as a reference for the authenticity of the identity without revealing underlying PII. Validators are rewarded in Civic tokens (CVC) for their services, incentivizing them to perform thorough and accurate verifications.

Service Providers are businesses or entities that require verified identities for regulatory compliance or security reasons, such as KYC (Know Your Customer) or AML (Anti-Money Laundering) requirements. Instead of conducting costly and repetitive identity checks themselves, service providers can request attestations from validators in the Civic network. This process is facilitated by Civic’s smart contracts, which ensure that service providers pay validators in CVC for their verification services. This streamlined system not only reduces operational costs for service providers but also ensures data integrity and compliance.

Source: civic whitepaper

Civic’s smart contracts govern the interactions between these entities, enforcing transparency and fairness. These contracts include mechanisms like escrow, ensuring that validators receive payment once the service providers obtain attested data. The contracts also define pricing and usage conditions, helping to establish a fair marketplace within the Civic ecosystem. Validators can set their prices for verification services, allowing service providers to choose based on cost and reputation.

By decentralizing identity verification, Civic’s identity ecosystem fosters a secure, efficient, and scalable identity solution. This approach significantly reduces the need for intermediaries, enhances user privacy, and opens up possibilities for trusted, on-demand verification across industries—from finance to healthcare. The ecosystem is designed to be compatible with various blockchain protocols, making it adaptable to a wide range of applications and reinforcing Civic’s mission to create a universal, user-centric digital identity framework.

Civic Use Cases

Civic provides versatile use cases through its Civic Pass, allowing developers to integrate secure identity verification into various Web3 applications. With over 500 customers and millions of verifications processed, Civic Pass is designed to help prevent fraud, protect against bots, and ensure compliance across numerous platforms. Below are four key use cases that demonstrate the value Civic can bring to decentralized ecosystems:

• Airdrop Protection: Civic Pass enables fair and secure token distributions by preventing bots, Sybil attackers, and airdrop farmers from accumulating tokens unfairly. With features like Uniqueness Pass and ID Verification Pass, Civic ensures that only unique, verified individuals can participate, maintaining integrity and equitable token distribution in airdrop events.
• DAO Governance and Voting: Civic Pass supports decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) by enhancing voting security. By ensuring that each participant is a verified human, Civic Pass minimizes risks of Sybil attacks, manipulation, and voting fraud. Additionally, it facilitates quadratic voting, allowing members to express vote strength, which supports fairer, more representative governance.
• Gaming and GameFi: In Web3 gaming, Civic Pass helps enforce player uniqueness to prevent cheating and Sybil attacks. Through video selfie verification and one-person-one-wallet checks, Civic ensures that each gaming account represents a unique individual, thereby protecting in-game economies and creating a fairer environment for players.
• Real-World Asset (RWA) Tokenization: For applications involving real-world assets, Civic’s ID Verification Pass provides a compliant and secure way to manage asset ownership on-chain. By verifying user identities, Civic enables businesses to meet regulatory requirements while maintaining privacy, allowing only verified participants to interact with assets like tokenized real estate or securities.

These use cases highlight Civic’s commitment to building a robust identity ecosystem, offering flexible, secure, and compliance-ready solutions that empower applications across the blockchain space.

Civic Main Features

Civic offers a comprehensive suite of features that simplify identity verification, user authentication, and digital identity management within the decentralized ecosystem. Civic’s tools empower businesses to create a safer Web3 environment while prioritizing user privacy and ease of integration. Below are some of Civic’s main features, each offering unique functionality to meet diverse user and business needs.

Civic Pass

Civic Pass is an advanced solution for on-chain identity verification, allowing businesses to securely issue privacy-preserving tokens that represent verified identities. This tokenized identity system is multichain-compatible and provides highly customizable access restrictions, making it ideal for diverse applications across sectors like DeFi, gaming, real-world assets, and digital communities. Civic Pass enables developers to enforce specific criteria, such as age, nationality, or location, to regulate user access, thereby safeguarding communities from bots, Sybil attacks, and fraudulent activities. With seamless integration, comprehensive documentation, and minimal setup, Civic Pass streamlines the identity verification process, ensuring robust security and ease of use for both businesses and users. Users retain complete control over their information, promoting trust, privacy, and compliance while enhancing the overall security and trustworthiness of decentralized applications.

Source: civic.com

Civic Auth

Civic Auth provides a streamlined user authentication and onboarding experience, catering to both Web2 and Web3 users. This feature allows users to sign in using familiar options like email, Google, or passkeys, with an option for embedded wallets. Civic Auth enhances accessibility by creating wallets for users who don’t have one, enabling them to engage with blockchain benefits without managing private keys. With multichain support and minimal setup, Civic Auth ensures secure and privacy-preserving user management. Its flexible onboarding makes it ideal for dApps seeking to attract a broad audience without compromising security or user experience.

Source: civic.com

Civic ID

Civic ID is an identity system designed to prevent fraud and address challenges like deepfakes, catfishing, and sim swaps. It encompasses three components: a physical Civic ID card, digital identity, and mobile wallet integration. The Civic ID card, introduced in March 2024, is available in over 190 countries and combats AI-driven identity fraud. It can be customized for institutional use, ensuring a secure verification solution for both digital and real-world scenarios. Civic ID gives users control over their identity data, helping establish trust across Web3 platforms.

Source: civic.com

Civic Wallet (CVC)

Civic Wallet, powered by the CVC token, facilitates secure identity verification and information sharing. Civic’s protocol enables users to verify and manage their identity information privately and securely, with tokens used to interact within Civic’s ecosystem. Running on the Solana blockchain, Civic Wallet ensures a user-friendly experience by enabling straightforward CVC transactions. Zengo, a keyless wallet, provides enhanced security for managing CVC, with 24/7 live support and simple navigation. Civic Wallet allows users to buy, send, receive, and manage their tokens with ease, supporting safe and compliant digital interactions.

Source: civic.com

Civic Case Studies

Civic’s identity verification solutions are increasingly becoming essential in web3 and gaming environments. By helping to secure user authenticity and prevent abuse, Civic’s tools support projects aiming to maintain integrity and trust in their ecosystems. The following case studies demonstrate Civic’s impact on reputation scoring and gaming projects.

Passport XYZ: Enhancing Web3 Reputation with Biometric Verification

Passport XYZ is a web3 reputation and identity tool designed to authenticate real users while defending against bots and Sybil attacks. Civic Pass, with its unique biometric-based verification, enhances Passport XYZ’s reputation scoring by adding a reliable layer of proof of humanity. This integration enables projects using Passport XYZ to set higher reputation thresholds for genuine users, making the scoring process efficient. With Civic Pass, Passport XYZ effectively filters out bots, ensuring only real users engage with dApps, thus reinforcing user trust and security within the web3 ecosystem.

Source: civic.com

Honeyland: Ensuring Fair Gameplay with Civic’s Uniqueness Pass

Honeyland, a play-and-own strategy game, needed a solution to prevent players from creating multiple accounts to exploit in-game rewards, a risk that threatened their game’s economy. By implementing Civic’s Uniqueness Pass, Honeyland could link each player to a single wallet, preserving the integrity of its reward system without complicating the user experience. Civic’s off-the-shelf verification was integrated swiftly, allowing Honeyland’s team to maintain focus on game development. This integration sustains a balanced gaming economy by ensuring fair play and enhancing user engagement as Civic-verified players gain access to exclusive rewards.

Source: civic.com

What is the CVC Coin?

CVC powers Civic’s identity verification system, enabling secure, on-chain identity verification transactions. Its total supply counts 1 billion units, all already in circulation (November 2024).

Within the Civic ecosystem, CVC serves as a versatile utility token primarily used for payments and rewards. Service providers, known as Identity Requesters, use CVC to compensate Validators for verifying user identities. This payment system incentivizes Validators to maintain high standards and accuracy, as they are rewarded in CVC for trustworthy data validation. To reinforce the commitment to quality, Validators must also stake a minimum amount of CVC tokens, aligning their financial interests with the network’s overall integrity.

Additionally, CVC tokens play an essential role in encouraging user participation. Civic rewards users with CVC for engaging in ecosystem activities such as signing up for identity services, sharing their verified identity data, or introducing new users. These incentives help create a dynamic, participatory environment that strengthens the ecosystem’s growth and reliability. Service providers can further leverage CVC to access specialized identity services, including background checks, blockchain notary services, dark web monitoring, and peer-to-peer identity verification, broadening the ecosystem’s utility.

Source: civic whitepaper

CVC tokens were distributed as follows: 33% were sold during the initial token sale, 33% were retained by Civic, and the remaining 33% were allocated to incentivize ecosystem participation. This controlled supply, combined with Civic’s decentralized framework, supports CVC’s stability and reliability within the identity verification space, positioning it as a secure, efficient medium for facilitating identity-related transactions across various jurisdictions and use cases.

Is CVC a Good Investment?

CVC’s value lies in Civic’s robust architecture, designed to streamline identity verification on the blockchain. Civic creates a well-rounded ecosystem that addresses the growing need for secure, decentralized identity solutions by incentivizing Validators and providing a range of identity-related services. The platform’s incentivization model also adds to its appeal, fostering user engagement and reliability. However, one potential downside is that the project’s success depends on widespread adoption; if demand for decentralized identity solutions doesn’t grow, CVC’s utility may be limited.

How to Own CVC?

To own CVC, you can use the services of a centralized crypto exchange. Start by creating a Gate.io account and get it verified and funded. Then, you are ready to go through the steps to buy CVC.

News on Civic

On October 29, 2024, Civic announced a partnership with Paydece, a decentralized P2P platform for stablecoin trading on its official blog. Through Civic’s ID Verification Pass, Paydece will verify user identities using government-issued IDs, enhancing trust and compliance with anti-money laundering regulations. This collaboration empowers Paydece to secure its community from fraud and scams while maintaining a decentralized, user-driven model. To encourage adoption, Paydece will cover verification costs for the first 200 users. This initiative underscores Civic’s commitment to providing seamless, secure identity solutions for web3 platforms.

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