Trust Stamp Inc (NASDAQ:IDAI, EURONEXT:AIID) earlier this week discussed its upcoming biometric TSI wallet, which combines digital asset storage and identity verification capabilities, in an interview with Proactive.
Trust Stamp executive vice president John Bridge explained that the wallet will support token-enabled KYC features, allowing users to manage their own identity verification credentials.
Proactive: Exciting news from the company about a new biometric TSI wallet. For those unfamiliar with wallets and their function, can you give us a bit of background on getting to this point?
John Bridge: Sure. Wallets are just a digital means of storing information. It can be coins or data. In this case, we can do both. We'll have a wallet that handles coins and identity. The idea is to launch a token that supports KYC, so we can provision KYC directly to a user rather than through a third party. This puts people back in control of their own identity.
And why is that so important?
Particularly with stablecoins and the growing crypto economy, it’s about empowering users—especially on DeFi platforms. We're trying to bridge the gap between traditional and decentralized finance.
I noticed in the news release, there's a lot of money left dormant because people either don't understand their wallets or can't access them. Just how much is out there?
That’s true. There are a lot of abandoned wallets or wallets that haven’t been touched in a long time. Some of that may just be people holding crypto, but much of it is due to lost keys. When you lose the key to a crypto wallet, you're done—there’s no way to recover those assets.
And that’s where Trust Stamp makes a difference. You're embedding digital assets, enabling identity validation—this wallet does things that aren't widely available today.
Exactly. We're using our Stable IT2 platform for the token. It gives users the ability to regenerate lost keys. So the issue of lost keys is resolved with this technology.
What kind of response have you had so far? I know the launch was in mid to late October, but it won't officially operate until January. Are you getting interest?
Yes, there's been a lot of interest. We've kept a low profile, but I did attend Stablecon in New York earlier this year. There was significant interest, especially in how this could address issues in decentralized finance.
Your background is in law enforcement—over 30 years. Are you surprised by where we are in terms of technology, and what’s needed to keep people safe?
Yes, it’s fascinating. The money moves very fast now with stablecoins, and it’s only getting faster. That makes fraud prevention harder. The Genius Act and upcoming Stable Act should help set guardrails. But we also need to keep our focus on where fraud will occur and how to mitigate it. This wallet is a step in that direction.
Quotes have been lightly edited for style and clarity