Sign Co-founder Yan Xin: Blockchain Reshapes the Underlying Logic of Global Trust

Sign, as a leader in on-chain verification systems, is committed to enabling verifiable identity, protocol, credit, and other information globally, with the Sign Protocol at its core. This article delves into Sign's vision, technological breakthroughs, and future plans, revealing how Blockchain is reshaping trust mechanisms and promoting the on-chain of public services.

The Establishment and Development of Sign

Sign was co-founded by Yan Xin and two partners in 2021. After four years of development, Sign Protocol has become a leader in global verification systems, allowing identity, protocol, and credit information to be verified globally like Blockchain transactions. In 2024, the company's revenue reached 15 million USD. It is worth mentioning that Sign is the only company that has received investments from Sequoia in the United States, India, and China, and it is also the first investment project after a certain investment institution changed its name.

The core goal of Sign is to migrate the most important scenarios and public services in the world onto the Blockchain. They view the Blockchain as the most powerful world ledger, with real-time, accurate, and auditable characteristics. Sign is committed to enabling more information, qualifications, and identity data to be directly verified on-chain, achieving an efficient and simple verification process globally.

Redefining Trust in the Blockchain Ecosystem

Although Blockchain is essentially a trustless network, decision-making in the real world is still based on trust. Sign's vision is to bring the trust mechanism of the real world onto the chain, paving the way for more complex real-world applications on Blockchain. By deploying smart contracts on multiple Blockchains and designing a unified format, Sign enables various organizations, individuals, and institutions to verify through on-chain systems.

Sign Protocol: On-chain Notary

The Sign Protocol can be likened to an "on-chain notary." In real life, we rely on authoritative institutions such as notary agencies, banks, or governments to verify the authenticity of information. In the world of blockchain, the Sign Protocol takes on a similar role, providing a proof mechanism across the entire chain, ensuring that every piece of on-chain information and transaction is endorsed by a verified identity, guaranteeing its authenticity and validity.

For ordinary users, the core value of the Sign Protocol lies in the transparent and secure verification of user identity and information through Blockchain technology. An on-chain identity is not just a wallet address, but represents a "person" with a complete social credit and background. This identity has a higher credibility, providing users with more convenience in participating in the Web3 world and establishing a higher level of trust in various decentralized applications.

The Importance of Verification and Its Integration with the Real World

In today's society, there are many scenarios that require verification but are inefficient. For example, when Chinese citizens apply for a U.S. visa, they need to provide various proofs, and this process usually takes weeks to complete, while technology can fully enable it in just a few minutes. Sign Protocol is dedicated to improving the efficiency of these verification processes.

The Sign Protocol does not exist in isolation, but rather needs to cooperate and be compatible with existing systems. Blockchain, as a powerful system, can only realize its true application value through collaboration.

Technological Innovation and Privacy Protection

Sign Protocol extensively uses zero-knowledge proofs (zk) at the technical level but has not yet involved fully homomorphic encryption (FHE). Their design philosophy is to verify only the necessary information without needing to compare or chain sensitive information, which aligns with practical needs as well as data protection regulations such as GDPR.

EthSign: Legal Applicability of Smart Contract Signatures

EthSign is the application of the Sign Protocol in the field of electronic agreements. Compared to traditional electronic signature platforms, EthSign's advantages include free verification worldwide, no subscription, no spam, and permanent encrypted storage. EthSign is designed based on the U.S. Electronic Signature Law, which is widely recognized internationally.

SignPass: Global Identity Verification System

SignPass is a new identity verification system launched by Sign, which is currently supported in some countries and regions. In response to the varying identity management regulatory requirements around the world, SignPass adopts a dual-track approach that includes both technological compliance and policy compliance:

1. Technical Compliance: Adopting the Privacy by Design concept and privacy-enhancing technologies such as zero-knowledge proofs to ensure minimal disclosure of user sensitive information.

2. Policy Compliance: The certification process, data storage, KYC/AML rules, etc. can be modularly configured according to the regulatory framework of different regions.

SignPass aims to become a "trust bridge" between the government and the Web3 world, helping the government to comply with and connect to the Web3 ecosystem, achieving a seamless connection between traditional identity systems and on-chain identities.

Future Outlook

The recent development direction of Sign is to explore "onchain gov efficiency," aiming to promote blockchain applications from an international perspective and migrate public services to the blockchain as a public infrastructure. In the future, Sign plans to launch a comprehensive application that integrates functions such as identity verification and wallet management, providing users with a full-range Web3 service experience.

Through the innovation of Sign, we have seen the tremendous potential of Blockchain technology in reshaping the global trust mechanism. As technology continues to develop and application scenarios expand, Sign is expected to play a key role in promoting Blockchain as the new cornerstone of global trust.