Introducing Data Guardians

Data is the new TVL

Feb 26, 2024

Beyond zkKYC: What is a Data Guardian?

Just like Galactica’s KYC Guardians, Data Guardians will play a pivotal role within the protocol; you can think of them as the bridge between your Web3 presence and your broader Web2 and real-world footprint — your data, in your control, and providing tangible benefits to your on-chain-self.

Consider: Your off-chain data is currently being monetized by almost every private entity you interact with — so why shouldn’t you benefit from it as well?

With Data Guardians, you can leverage your Web2 history to gain Web3 perks such as bespoke airdrops and in-dApp benefits, all based on reputational data you already have!

Already a power-user of Binance?
— Great; a Binance competitor might choose to entice you to their own platform with a substantial sign-on bonus based on your Binance trading volume!
You’ve been interacting a lot with a project or community-leader on your favorite social platform?
— Wonderful! They can now easily target you for an airdrop on-chain without any loss of privacy on your part.

Data Guardians represent another brick in the wall of the private, real-world Web3 being powered by Galactica.com.

The Basics: Make Your Data Work for You

Data Guardians require you to first prove ownership of external accounts through secure methods like OAuth or wallet-based signatures. Additionally, your zkCertificates are tied to your KYC-verified Galactica address, ensuring only you have the power to utilize them within the ecosystem.

The process goes something like this:

Import your Web2/Off-chain data
— Data Guardians connect to various external platforms where you have an established history — this could be social media, launchpads, forums, and other relevant sources.
Verify with Zero Knowledge
— Once imported, the Data Guardian analyzes and verifies this off-chain data without exposing the raw information, which is not made public on-chain.
Generate zkCertificates — Your on-chain, privacy-preserving credentials:
— The result is a zero-knowledge certificate (zkCertificate) that acts as a cryptographic “passport”, and is a verifiable attestation of your online and financial activity that does not compromise your privacy.

Data Guardians are an extension of Galactica network’s commitment to both privacy and verifiable reputation; they build upon the tech behind our zkKYC framework and go even further, enabling you to securely import and verify your activity across a range of platforms and protocols.

How Data Guardians Transform Your Web3 Experience

Data Guardians allow you to give meaning to your Web3 identity. They can connect to any external sources like social networks, wider service economy (Uber or Airbnb), and other blockchains to gather and verify relevant data that can, in turn, be used on-chain without compromising your privacy.

You can think of Data Guardians as specialized oracles, but with a privacy twist — they turn your verified data into zkCertificates which act as cryptographic credentials verifying aspects of your activity without revealing the data itself. By establishing your off-chain data footprint (reputation) via a Data Guardian, you can access exclusive dApps and protocols, get preferential loans based on your social history, targeted airdrops for active community members, and enhanced rewards as a proven project supporter. Projects can use Reputation Root Contract to build custom reputation functions taking these data as inputs — that’s the real power of Galactica Network — the flexibility and decentralization of the design of this system is hardly matched elsewhere. And remember — ZKPs allow for zero privacy compromise.

Imagine a world where local businesses and global brands alike can offer you personalized benefits and experiences without compromising your privacy. That’s just one of the use cases that Data Guardians enable; using verified location data, your favorite restaurants could offer exclusive promotions just for you, and luxury brands could target their outreach based on your recent financial activity on supported blockchains. BMW, for example, would be able to target Toyota drivers who have recently expanded their wealth through a successful trade on Binance — the possibilities are endless.

Data is the new TVL.

Data Guardians enable this level of personalization while still preserving your privacy. You retain full control over what information is shared, and with whom, allowing for tailored experiences and rewards without compromising your identity within the Web3 world.

What Can Data Guardians Verify?

Here are some initial examples of data categories supported by Data Guardians:

Financial Activity: Link your banking history, centralized exchange data, or track record on other blockchains.
Social Footprint: Demonstrate your engagement on Twitter, Discord, Reddit, and relevant forums.
Proprietary Data: Specific app/service activity from the Data Guardian itself can be proven on chain without compromising your privacy.

The potential of Data Guardians is vast, and we believe they represent a key building block for a Web3 where trust and reputation rule within a private environment.

Galactica’s First Data Guardians

The Galactica.com team is currently working on a (semi) public SDK for Data Guardians.

However, already now we are ready to work with any reputable team willing to build and maintain one of these uniquely private data oracles. If you’d like to pioneer this space, please reach out to us on Discord, our contact form, or established private channels.

We are already in preliminary talks with several potential Data Guardians; each with the potential to connect your established history on various platforms with new opportunities in Web3, while freeing your data for your own benefit with no loss of privacy.

By importing and verifying social data (like Twitter, Discord, and Reddit activity), you demonstrate your value and credibility, which in-turn unlocks reputation-enhanced DeFi, targeted airdrops based on genuine engagement, and more.

Beyond Data Guardians, Galactica.com is entering a new stage of rapid development, and we look forward to showing you all what we’ve been working on recently — so make sure you stay up-to-date with the latest developments by following us on our social pages!

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