Decentralization of personal data with Soulbound tokens (SBT)

Maciej Zieliński

29 May 2022
Decentralization of personal data with Soulbound tokens (SBT)

NFT and tokens are one of the most popular forms of indicating ownership rights or commercial products. For several years, this area of blockchain has been constantly evolving and has been used in art, gaming and finance. What can the new tokens proposed by one of the biggest crypto visionaries, Vitalik Buterin, bring to the market? What are Soulbound tokens? We're writing about it below!

Vitalik Buterin and SBT

The creator of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, pointed out some time ago that it would be a good idea to implement a new kind of tokens that will help to test the actions, achievements, antipathies and other factors among potential crypto users. Due to the fact that, according to Vitalik, they will be a sort of "look into the soul", the tokens were called Soulbound. These tokens are non-transferable NFT and are stored in special crypto portfolios called “Souls”. Vitalik points out that they can be used in many ways – from educational certification to credit assessment.

How does SBT work?

SBT will be a kind of medium for our information, which will facilitate the everyday lives of many people thanks to full automation and decentralization. For example, our SBT will gather information regarding CV, education, interests and other factors. Thus, if a university is interested in our potential application, the SBT will analyze all the information indicating whether we are a good candidate or not. It also works the other way around – with all the information regarding a particular University, the SBT will be able to assess if it meets our requirements. The decentralization of information will be outside the reach of all bureaucracy, major institutions and companies. Moreover, you do not need to create a database because it will be stored in a separate location – you will get an access key.

What to do if you lose the key to your SBT?

The lack of access to your wallet is one of the worst problems you can imagine in the cryptocurrency industry. What if you lose the keys to the SBT? Many people are now probably asking themselves whether all your information, certificates, university diplomas, etc., will disappear if the keys are lost. There will probably be a solution to this situation. If you lose your keys, you will be able to recover your wallet if you get the permission of the SBT community.

Spam – as a problem in SBT

Can other users smuggle content into your token? This question also appears among NFT users. The answer to it is simple: Vitalik proposed the possibility of hiding SBT keys from the public.

Is personal information stored using SBT safe?

Leaving aside the issue of spam, private key protection, and disclosure of critical information regarding our person - attaching all this to a public blockchain sounds intriguing! Unfortunately, if there's no way to hide these NFTs from other people, they could turn out to be dangerous. Someone with access to an entity's data will have the ability to influence it in many ways. Some point out that SBT is a bit like China's social credit system in China, which is used in a very negative way. It involves rating the public on a number of levels, from party affiliation to education to reporting on other citizens. For each action, the system accrues points. Those who have fewer points have poorer access to education, cannot buy better equipment, and their social situation constantly weakens. Without a doubt, this is simply a categorization of citizens. Nevertheless, SBT is not intended to categorize people, but to store data outside of central authorities and automate any bureaucratic process. 

SBT Safe

Can an SBT token be transferred to another person?  

Since we cannot trade our token or transfer it to other people, what can be done with it? Here are some examples of a potential SBT solution: 

  • DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) aims to create an environmental community. Attendees of environmental conferences and graduates of environmental programs can obtain SBT by airdrop from the DAO. 
  • Security of documentation - if universities will issue diplomas and certificates in the form of SBT, by the very definition - they cannot sell their documents or forge them thanks to blockchain technology. 
  • Experience verification - if, for example, a given IT company wants to hire programmers specializing in blockchain technology, it will check their experience, projects, and education automatically using SBT. After the initial data analysis, potential candidates can be invited for an interview. 

SBT tokens show a person's university affiliation, membership in academic programs, and qualifications. Additionally, this token will be able to represent the unique and individual characteristics of the subject. It is safe to say that this kind of token will help in building reputation and protecting identity. Vitalik himself indicates that we are moving towards a society that will be fully decentralized and independent of state bodies and entities. 

How to transfer SBT from one wallet to another?

What if a user wants to move all his assets (SBT) from one wallet to another? There are several solutions to this situation: 

  • Store the item at an address that is an abbreviation of the index, the recipient's address, and a secret belonging to the recipient. You can reveal your secret to the interface, which will then scan all possible items belonging to you, but no one without your secret will be able to see which items belong to you.
  • Publish a hash of multiple objects and give each recipient its Merkle branch.
  • If a smart contract needs to verify that you have an item, you can provide ZK-SNARK.

Transfers can take place over the network. The technique that is least complicated should be using ZK-SNARK. In this case, a transaction will be made that invokes a factory contract to make the old item invalid and the new item valid. Everything is done using ZK-SNARK, which makes the operation valid. According to Buterin - transferability mainly shows the money orientation of Web 3.0 and how it can hurt the long-term stability of the next generation. Vitalik also shows the advantage of SBT over NFT. According to him, you can buy and sell NFTs to support artists, charities, etc, but this kind of technology cannot be used for the Soulbound Tokens concept as it could create a wide scope for infringement. 

When will SBTs be created? 

Vitalik, claims that Soulbound Tokens (SBTs) will be available as early as 2022, and by the end of 2024, they will already be popular worldwide. Hopefully, this kind of new technology will greatly improve the transfer of information and protect it with a decentralized structure! 

Are SBTs the future of NFT? 

It is likely that SBTs can be used by institutions native to web3 - DAO. It is assumed that Stanford University will recognize degrees held in NFT in about 5 years. It may be that the university's blockchain program itself will offer SBTs and other solutions from NFT to graduates of its university. Let's look at the number of clerks, staff, faculty, and bureaucracy it takes to process a simple resume or graduate school document. Imagine all these solutions will be redundant with a single token that fully automates the entire hiring process. Without a doubt, SBTs are the future of NFT. 

Benefits of implementing SBTs

The potential benefits of decentralizing personal data could be:

  • reducing government service costs, 
  • improving the flow of capital within a company by automating the transfer of documents,
  • improving employee and student recruitment, 
  • increased security of workflows in the private and public sectors, 
  • a more practical system for a single person - all documents in one place - no paper accumulation. 
SBT vs NFT

Summary 

SBTs are tokens that can make all bureaucracy as well as documentation fully automated and digitized. Thanks to blockchain technology and the innovative design of the SBT token, many states and businesses will have the opportunity to reduce costs. In particular, such a solution will be helpful when recruiting employees, and students, transferring information between hospitals, or insurance. The possibilities of decentralizing information are endless!  What do you think about SBT? Let us know in the comments! 

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AI in Real Estate: How Does It Support the Housing Market?

Miłosz Mach

18 Mar 2025
AI in Real Estate: How Does It Support the Housing Market?

The digital transformation is reshaping numerous sectors of the economy, and real estate is no exception. By 2025, AI will no longer be a mere gadget but a powerful tool that facilitates customer interactions, streamlines decision-making processes, and optimizes sales operations. Simultaneously, blockchain technology ensures security, transparency, and scalability in transactions. With this article, we launch a series of publications exploring AI in business, focusing today on the application of artificial intelligence within the real estate industry.

AI vs. Tradition: Key Implementations of AI in Real Estate

Designing, selling, and managing properties—traditional methods are increasingly giving way to data-driven decision-making.

Breakthroughs in Customer Service

AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants are revolutionizing how companies interact with their customers. These tools handle hundreds of inquiries simultaneously, personalize offers, and guide clients through the purchasing process. Implementing AI agents can lead to higher-quality leads for developers and automate responses to most standard customer queries. However, technical challenges in deploying such systems include:

  • Integration with existing real estate databases: Chatbots must have access to up-to-date listings, prices, and availability.
  • Personalization of communication: Systems must adapt their interactions to individual customer needs.
  • Management of industry-specific knowledge: Chatbots require specialized expertise about local real estate markets.

Advanced Data Analysis

Cognitive AI systems utilize deep learning to analyze complex relationships within the real estate market, such as macroeconomic trends, local zoning plans, and user behavior on social media platforms. Deploying such solutions necessitates:

  • Collecting high-quality historical data.
  • Building infrastructure for real-time data processing.
  • Developing appropriate machine learning models.
  • Continuously monitoring and updating models based on new data.

Intelligent Design

Generative artificial intelligence is revolutionizing architectural design. These advanced algorithms can produce dozens of building design variants that account for site constraints, legal requirements, energy efficiency considerations, and aesthetic preferences.

Optimizing Building Energy Efficiency

Smart building management systems (BMS) leverage AI to optimize energy consumption while maintaining resident comfort. Reinforcement learning algorithms analyze data from temperature, humidity, and air quality sensors to adjust heating, cooling, and ventilation parameters effectively.

Integration of AI with Blockchain in Real Estate

The convergence of AI with blockchain technology opens up new possibilities for the real estate sector. Blockchain is a distributed database where information is stored in immutable "blocks." It ensures transaction security and data transparency while AI analyzes these data points to derive actionable insights. In practice, this means that ownership histories, all transactions, and property modifications are recorded in an unalterable format, with AI aiding in interpreting these records and informing decision-making processes.

AI has the potential to bring significant value to the real estate sector—estimated between $110 billion and $180 billion by experts at McKinsey & Company.

Key development directions over the coming years include:

  • Autonomous negotiation systems: AI agents equipped with game theory strategies capable of conducting complex negotiations.
  • AI in urban planning: Algorithms designed to plan city development and optimize spatial allocation.
  • Property tokenization: Leveraging blockchain technology to divide properties into digital tokens that enable fractional investment opportunities.

Conclusion

For companies today, the question is no longer "if" but "how" to implement AI to maximize benefits and enhance competitiveness. A strategic approach begins with identifying specific business challenges followed by selecting appropriate technologies.

What values could AI potentially bring to your organization?
  • Reduction of operational costs through automation
  • Enhanced customer experience and shorter transaction times
  • Increased accuracy in forecasts and valuations, minimizing business risks
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Want to implement AI in your real estate business?

Nextrope specializes in implementing AI and blockchain solutions tailored to specific business needs. Our expertise allows us to:

  • Create intelligent chatbots that serve customers 24/7
  • Implement analytical systems for property valuation
  • Build secure blockchain solutions for real estate transactions
Schedule a free consultation

Or check out other articles from the "AI in Business" series

AI-Driven Frontend Automation: Elevating Developer Productivity to New Heights

Gracjan Prusik

11 Mar 2025
AI-Driven Frontend Automation: Elevating Developer Productivity to New Heights

AI Revolution in the Frontend Developer's Workshop

In today's world, programming without AI support means giving up a powerful tool that radically increases a developer's productivity and efficiency. For the modern developer, AI in frontend automation is not just a curiosity, but a key tool that enhances productivity. From automatically generating components, to refactoring, and testing – AI tools are fundamentally changing our daily work, allowing us to focus on the creative aspects of programming instead of the tedious task of writing repetitive code. In this article, I will show how these tools are most commonly used to work faster, smarter, and with greater satisfaction.

This post kicks off a series dedicated to the use of AI in frontend automation, where we will analyze and discuss specific tools, techniques, and practical use cases of AI that help developers in their everyday tasks.

AI in Frontend Automation – How It Helps with Code Refactoring

One of the most common uses of AI is improving code quality and finding errors. These tools can analyze code and suggest optimizations. As a result, we will be able to write code much faster and significantly reduce the risk of human error.

How AI Saves Us from Frustrating Bugs

Imagine this situation: you spend hours debugging an application, not understanding why data isn't being fetched. Everything seems correct, the syntax is fine, yet something isn't working. Often, the problem lies in small details that are hard to catch when reviewing the code.

Let’s take a look at an example:

function fetchData() {
    fetch("htts://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts")
      .then((response) => response.json())
      .then((data) => console.log(data))
      .catch((error) => console.error(error));
}

At first glance, the code looks correct. However, upon running it, no data is retrieved. Why? There’s a typo in the URL – "htts" instead of "https." This is a classic example of an error that could cost a developer hours of frustrating debugging.

When we ask AI to refactor this code, not only will we receive a more readable version using newer patterns (async/await), but also – and most importantly – AI will automatically detect and fix the typo in the URL:

async function fetchPosts() {
    try {
      const response = await fetch(
        "https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts"
      );
      const data = await response.json();
      console.log(data);
    } catch (error) {
      console.error(error);
    }
}

How AI in Frontend Automation Speeds Up UI Creation

One of the most obvious applications of AI in frontend development is generating UI components. Tools like GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT, or Claude can generate component code based on a short description or an image provided to them.

With these tools, we can create complex user interfaces in just a few seconds. Generating a complete, functional UI component often takes less than a minute. Furthermore, the generated code is typically error-free, includes appropriate animations, and is fully responsive, adapting to different screen sizes. It is important to describe exactly what we expect.

Here’s a view generated by Claude after entering the request: “Based on the loaded data, display posts. The page should be responsive. The main colors are: #CCFF89, #151515, and #E4E4E4.”

Generated posts view

AI in Code Analysis and Understanding

AI can analyze existing code and help understand it, which is particularly useful in large, complex projects or code written by someone else.

Example: Generating a summary of a function's behavior

Let’s assume we have a function for processing user data, the workings of which we don’t understand at first glance. AI can analyze the code and generate a readable explanation:

function processUserData(users) {
  return users
    .filter(user => user.isActive) // Checks the `isActive` value for each user and keeps only the objects where `isActive` is true
    .map(user => ({ 
      id: user.id, // Retrieves the `id` value from each user object
      name: `${user.firstName} ${user.lastName}`, // Creates a new string by combining `firstName` and `lastName`
      email: user.email.toLowerCase(), // Converts the email address to lowercase
    }));
}

In this case, AI not only summarizes the code's functionality but also breaks down individual operations into easier-to-understand segments.

AI in Frontend Automation – Translations and Error Detection

Every frontend developer knows that programming isn’t just about creatively building interfaces—it also involves many repetitive, tedious tasks. One of these is implementing translations for multilingual applications (i18n). Adding translations for each key in JSON files and then verifying them can be time-consuming and error-prone.

However, AI can significantly speed up this process. Using ChatGPT, DeepSeek, or Claude allows for automatic generation of translations for the user interface, as well as detecting linguistic and stylistic errors.

Example:

We have a translation file in JSON format:

{
  "welcome_message": "Welcome to our application!",
  "logout_button": "Log out",
  "error_message": "Something went wrong. Please try again later."
}

AI can automatically generate its Polish version:

{
  "welcome_message": "Witaj w naszej aplikacji!",
  "logout_button": "Wyloguj się",
  "error_message": "Coś poszło nie tak. Spróbuj ponownie później."
}

Moreover, AI can detect spelling errors or inconsistencies in translations. For example, if one part of the application uses "Log out" and another says "Exit," AI can suggest unifying the terminology.

This type of automation not only saves time but also minimizes the risk of human errors. And this is just one example – AI also assists in generating documentation, writing tests, and optimizing performance, which we will discuss in upcoming articles.

Summary

Artificial intelligence is transforming the way frontend developers work daily. From generating components and refactoring code to detecting errors, automating testing, and documentation—AI significantly accelerates and streamlines the development process. Without these tools, we would lose a lot of valuable time, which we certainly want to avoid.

In the next parts of this series, we will cover topics such as:

Stay tuned to keep up with the latest insights!