Digital Identity Will Continue to Evolve in 2022 and Beyond

Source: Streetwise Reports   03/23/2022

David Lucatch, CEO and president of Liquid Avatar, spoke to Streetwise Reports about what’s ahead in 2022 for the company as well as the future of digital identity.

Liquid Avatar Technologies Inc. (LQID:CSE; LQAVF:OTCQB), maker of the Liquid Avatar Mobile App and other digital products, offers new ways for people to manage their digital identities. The company creates products that allow consumers and businesses do things like buy or sell age-restricted products, verify identity, make secure purchases, and participate in virtual worlds, using tools like blockchain technology and biometrics to verify identity.

Last October, the company announced an agreement with stores in Ontario to provide digital age verification for the purchase of age-restricted products (like tobacco and alcohol). Liquid Avatar Technologies has also created avatars that serve as “digital twins” for the virtual world and has started launching their own metaverse platform.

The Role of Digital Identity Today and Tomorrow

According to David Lucatch, CEO and president of Liquid Avatar, “What we do, at our core, is digital identity. And around that, we create really cool things like avatars, unique digital credentials, and NFTs (non-fungible tokens).”

As the digital world continues to change, Lucatch told Streetwise Reports, new regulations will continue to evolve that ensure corporations can no longer have access to an individual’s data without their permission. “The new data model will be that the consumer owns all his data and allows corporations to access it,” he said.

A Digital Avatar Walks Into a Bar

In the near future, you might create an avatar that goes into a bar in a metaverse, or digital world. Your avatar might order a drink from a certain brand, and then give permission to that brand to give you a digital reward (a new item of virtual clothing, a power-up, etc).

You could give permission for the company to market you the drink, allowing them to send you an offer. The company can transmit a coupon to a digital wallet, thus connecting your avatar in the metaverse to your actions in the real world, without compromising your privacy, identity, or data.

Or perhaps you’ll go into a digital restaurant in the metaverse, where you meet up with friends (virtually) and your avatar orders a hamburger. At the same time, you could get an actual hamburger delivered to your house (while your friends do the same). And voila – you’re having a meal virtually as well as in the real world, for a fully immersive experience both online and offline.

“Brands are diving headfirst into the metaverse, because they don’t want to be the telephone book or encyclopedia. They want to be Amazon,” said Lucatch

Privacy and Security That Goes Way Beyond a 4-Digit Code

Identity theft is a common occurrence. According to one report from the Aite-Novarica Group, 47 percent of Americans experienced financial identity theft in 2020.

But technology from companies like Liquid Avatar Technologies Inc. (LQID:CSE; LQAVF:OTCQB) can help change that.

With Liquid Avatar’s products, a consumer can use digital identity online or offline to make secure purchases without compromising privacy. “Instead of a PIN we use a biometric indicator like facial recognition,” explained Lucatch.

“Using blockchain technology, we’re able to verify that it’s really you,” he said. This provides a layer of protection that goes way beyond things like a four-digit PIN number or three-digit CVV code on a credit card.

Lucatch compared preserving your privacy online to the real-world experience of walking into a store and making a purchase. Perhaps you need to show some ID or use a credit or debit card to make a purchase, but you do you really want the clerk to know your full name, home address, eye color, date of birth, credit card number, where you bank, and so on?

The same holds true for digital purchases and interactions.

Making the Leap to Web 3.0

The internet has evolved from what started as, essentially, a catalog of information to an interactive experience, and is now moving into a fully immersive experience. In Web 1.0, not that many brands came on board — but those that did (Amazon, eBay), did extremely well.

In Web 2.0, explained Lucatch, brands (Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat) became more savvy and began to create strategic plans to market and grow their businesses. Now, brands are moving from an engagement status (social media) to an immersive status (the metaverse).

Investing in Digital Identity Technology

There was once a time when people hesitated to shop online. Consumers didn’t want to pay for shipping, so companies started to offer free shipping. According to Lucatch, there is going to be a similar awakening about the convenience of managing one’s own digital identity.

What makes Liquid Avatar unique is that the company looks not only at the technological aspect of digital identity, but the value and convenience of it to the user.

While Liquid Avatar has focused on consumers first, the technology is also valuable to businesses and other large organizations.

Liquid Avatar was one of 16 companies named in a recent Gartner report on emerging technologies and digital identity (along with established companies like MasterCard, IBM, and Microsoft).

The company plans to continue to pilot new technologies that will offer solutions to a wide range of issues in the digital identity sphere. Because today’s cutting-edge technology can be obsolete tomorrow (remember Flash?), Liquid Avatar plans to offer solutions that will be compatible with a wide range of devices now and in the future.

According to Lucatch, “Our team has a record of success. We are seasoned professionals in the industry, and we’ve accomplished the vast majority of our goals already with far less capital investments than our counterparts.” Liquid Avatar has a solid base from which to go boldly into the future, both in the metaverse and the offline world.

Disclosures

1) Janine Annett compiled this article for Streetwise Reports LLC and provides services to Streetwise Reports as an independent contractor/employee. They or members of their household own securities of the following companies mentioned in the article: None. They or members of their household are paid by the following companies mentioned in this article: None. Their company has a financial relationship with the following companies referred to in this article: None.

2) As of the date of this article, an affiliate of Streetwise Reports has a consulting relationship with Liquid Avatar Technologies Inc. Please click here for more information. An affiliate of Streetwise Reports is conducting a digital media marketing campaign for this article on behalf of Liquid Avatar Technologies Inc. Please click here for more information. The information provided above is for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security.

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