Crypto News today features the news that Microstrategy (MSTR), currently the largest corporate Bitcoin holder, has announced plans to revolutionize personal identity by developing a decentralized identity service. The business intelligence and software company plans to create this service using Ordinals inscriptions on the Bitcoin blockchain.
Speaking at the company's Bitcoin For Corporations conference, co-founder and executive chairman Michael Saylor announced "MicroStrategy Orange," statingthat the service will offer "trustless, tamper-proof and long-lived" decentralized entities on the Bitcoin network.
Bitcoin Ordinals has been likened to non-fungible tokens (NFTs) but on the Bitcoin blockchain as it allows users to inscribe information on the network permanently. The Ordinals protocol enables inscriptions, letting people store information on a satoshi, the smallest division of BTC, equal to 1/100,000,000th of a coin.
Already, MicroStrategy has built "Orange For Outlook," a new application that allows email recipients to verify the sender's identity by adding digital signatures. Although compatibility with layer 2 Bitcoin networks would be possible, MicroStrategy Orange would not require Bitcoin sidechains.
MicroStrategy Orange plans to offer three major services: Orange Service, Orange SDK, and Orange Applications. Orange Service will allow users to issue decentralized IDs (DIDs) to other personnel, allowing them to deploy applications. Both Orange Applications and Orange SDK will enable the integration of specific tools and services on desktop and mobile devices via customization tools. If adoption expands, these services will see extended use among companies, ensuring data security by granting access to verified users or service providers like online gambling platforms that protect customer identity.
The service is another exciting use of blockchain technology that can significantly drive adoption. However, while some have praised the new development, others have criticized Saylor and MicroStrategy. According to Mutiny Wallet co-founder Tony Giorgio, "Saylor is using Bitcoin as his personal and corporate data store," since the information stored on the blockchain is permanent. Also, Daniel Buchner, a decentralized identity expert at Block, has complained that the solution "needlessly bloats Bitcoin."
One of the most notable critics, Bitcoin developer Luke Dashjr, said, "Somehow, Saylor thinks it makes sense to buy lots of Bitcoin and then destroy the Bitcoin network." Dashjr is known for his dislike of Ordinals and describes Inscriptions as "an attack."
Nonetheless, MicroStrategy's Orange service, seeking to revolutionize digital identities through blockchain technology, will likely expand. The company has already said it will extend the application to social media networks and messaging apps. It also intends to integrate MicroStrategy Orange with applications in the e-commerce, enterprise, and fintech sectors.
MicroStrategy currently holds about 214,400 BTC, worth more than $13.4 billion at current prices. Essentially, the company holds more than 1% of all the Bitcoin that will ever enter circulation. MicroStrategy's aggressive Bitcoin acquisition campaign has more than paid off and has earned the business intelligence company a heavy profit from simply buying and holding the coins.
Interestingly, the company has already announced plans to raise $500 million via convertible senior notes, a type of debt security that can be converted into equity at a later date. MicroStrategy plans to use the money raised to buy more Bitcoin. Buyers of the notes will receive interest payments twice a year on March 15 and September 15, starting from 2024.
