In May of 2022, Vitalik co-authored a paper titled “Decentralized Society: Finding Web3’s Soul”  where the concept of “soulbound” tokens (SBTs) were introduced.  SBTs would be a new standard similar to ERC-20 (cryptocurrencies) and ERC-721 (NFTs) but are more similar to NFTs.

Unlike NFT’s, soulbound tokens would be bounded to one wallet, and digital identity, and cannot be sold, transferred or destroyed. Think of them as a digital resume that can be looked up to verify you have completed a course, degree program, have a valid work history, or are actually a member of a DAO.

There are ethnical and privacy concerns with this new standard but there is time for the community to shape it as it isn’t expected to be adopted until 2024.

The full paper can be downloaded and read below: