The Use of NFTs as Membership IDs for Professional Organizations

Abstract

Rationale: Traditional membership registration and renewals are prone to inefficiency and delay caused by the approval process and issuance of physical ID cards. The aim of this project is to digitize membership IDs of members of a professional organization into non-fungible tokens or NFTs to be stored on the blockchain. Certificates can also be issued as NFTs and, together with digital IDs, can be verified as authentic. Problem: Both registration and renewals usually require members to fill up the same form and wait for the card to be distributed. This process is time-consuming, expensive, unsustainable, and is susceptible to replication or tampering. Methodology: The project used the Hyperledger Fabric, an open source private and permissioned blockchain system. The strategy was to use the same programming language (JavaScript) for the client app, the backend api and the smart contract. It also explored the use of InterPlanetary File System or IPFS for the storage of NFT images while only their corresponding content identifiers or CIDs will be stored on the blockchain. Results: Membership IDs and certificates stored as NFTs makes them tamper-proof, enhances their provenance, and are always available for verification. These NFTs are unique and do not have to contain personal identifiable information as compared to those displayed in their physical counterparts. Application/Implication: This project opens up the possibility of having these NFT IDs issued as verifiable credentials in a self-sovereign identity system. Other related professional organizations can join as members of the existing blockchain channel consequently contributing as peer nodes.