Soulbound Token is a non-transferable digital token that represents a decentralized society social identity in . Unlike typical cryptocurrencies or NFTs, these tokens cannot be bought, sold, or transferred, and have no market value. Rather, they serve as a verifiable record of relationships, accomplishments, and results, akin to an extended resume.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin first mentioned the concept of “Soulbound Token” in a blog post in January 2022. Then in May, Vitalik Buterin, along with economist Eric Glen Weyl and lawyer Puja Ohlhaver, proposed the concept of “soul-bound coins.” They published a paper titled “Decentralized Society: Searching for the Soul of Web3,” which aims to address the limitations of NFTs and other decentralized structures.

In terms of actual value, soul-bound coins can help in the Web3 ecosystem in the following ways Build trust, provide traceability information and reputation:

• Reduce the risk of the ecosystem being manipulated, people cannot lie or buy their achievements as the tokens are non-transferable.
• Fraud and identity theft are less common in Web3 because the impersonation process is more sophisticated.

Potential use cases for soul-bound coins include:

• Proof of achievement, such as work experience or educational background.
• Proof of event participation, similar to Proof of Attendance Protocol (POAP).
• Allows individuals to build verifiable digital reputations based on past actions, laying the foundation for decentralized identity.
• Implement reputation-based voting in the Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) governance model to help protect against Sybil attacks.

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