On Tuesday, July 16, Charles Hoskinson, founder of the blockchain platform Cardano, publicly Free to help Elon Musk solve the growing problem of account takeovers and the proliferation of fraudulent bots on X (formerly Twitter). Hoskinson’s proposal involves integrating decentralized identifiers (DIDs), a concept endorsed by standards bodies such as the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), into X.
What Cardano Founder Offers Musk
Hoskinson reached out directly via an X post, stating, “Elon, we need DIDs built into X. This solves all of these problems. Again, I’ll do it for free.” The offer came in the context of recent security breaches highlighted by SingularityNet CEO Ben Goertzel, who apologized to his followers after his account was hacked and used to distribute fraudulent links.
The discussion about DIDs and their potential application within the X platform has sparked a broader debate about the nature and implementation of decentralized identity technologies. Timothy Ruff, general partner at Digital Trust Ventures, criticized the proposal to potentially centralize an aspect of X that should remain decentralized. Ruff argued, “If you use ‘DID’ as shorthand for decentralized identity (which it doesn’t) and it’s on a blockchain, it’s not decentralized and shouldn’t be part of X.”
In response, Hoskinson clarified his position, emphasizing the technology’s alignment with broader standards and its blockchain-agnostic nature. Hoskinson clarified that he is not specifically proposing Cardano as a solution: “I’m referring to the w3c standard and we have blockchain agnostic.” hyperledger project to issue and manage credentials, anonymous credentials, and other elements of the identity stack. X needs to have an enhanced identity solution because of its desire to become an MSB.”
He also argued that integrating this technology into X would strengthen security, improve access control, eliminate bots, and streamline compliance systems, adding that “it’s in Scala like their software. It’s easy work and I’ll do it for free. I’m not here to promote a blockchain. I want X to be better because it’s essential public infrastructure.”
Ruff responded by acknowledging Hoskinson’s expertise but reiterated his concerns about the reliance on blockchain technology: “My team helped launch the W3C spec, invented DIDs, and literally wrote Anoncreds, Hyperledger Indy, Aries, and Ursa. So I get it. I’m glad you’re not promoting a specific blockchain, but by ‘blockchain agnostic’ do you mean it’s still dependent on a blockchain?”
Hoskinson replied: “Tim, I remember talking a lot with Manu and Chris over the years about the did standard and I’ve been a member of DIF and W3C for just as long. No, as you know, did frameworks do not require blockchains. It’s a different part of the stack and it shouldn’t influence the design.”
To support the practical application of these technologies, Seira Yun, Founder and CEO of Socious and Cardano Ambassador, highlighted their use in issuing verifiable credentials through the Socious Wallet, which leverages Hyperledger Identus and is W3C compliant: “The Socious Wallet leverages Hyperledger Identus (formerly known as Atala PRISM), which is compatible with W3C standards. Enterprises and educational institutions use Socious to issue KYC verifiable credentials (VC) as well as work and education certificates.
While a large majority of the Cardano community has encouraged Elon Musk to reach out to Hoskinson, the Tesla billionaire has yet to respond to the offer.
At press time, Cardano (ADA) was trading at $0.446.
Featured image from YouTube, chart from TradingView.com
