Solana launches verification service SAS: a new milestone in Blockchain identification.

Recently, Solana launched a new feature called Solana Authentication Service (SAS), which is an open, permissionless verifiable credential protocol that is now live on the Solana Mainnet. SAS allows trusted issuers to associate off-chain information with user Wallets, which may include KYC check results, geographic eligibility, membership status, or certification status, among others. These verifications are signed and verified, allowing for reuse across different applications without exposing sensitive data on-chain or repeating verification steps.

The launch of SAS provides a neutral and permissionless proof layer for the Solana ecosystem, aiding in compliance, access control, reputation systems, and programmable identity. This not only brings a better and more convenient experience for end users but also offers new possibilities for developers.

Although SAS and oracles are both mechanisms for bringing off-chain information onto the chain, they have significant differences in terms of positioning, use cases, trust models, and how they operate. Below is a detailed comparison:

Verification Services vs Oracles: Key Feature Comparison

| Features | Verification Service | Oracle | |-----|--------|------| | Main Use | Convert off-chain identity, status, behavior, and other subjective or static information into on-chain verification | Provide on-chain objective, dynamic data (such as price, weather, etc.) | | Data Type | Subjective/Event-based: e.g., age verification, verification status, organizational membership | Numerical/Factual: e.g., cryptocurrency prices, external API data, meteorological data | | Data Structure | Reusable, wallet-bound verification "stamp" | Real-time data used in transactions (e.g., price feed) | | Trust Sources | Signature proof from specific "trusted publishers" (such as KYC institutions, DAOs, device manufacturers) | Published after aggregation from multiple data sources via oracle networks | | Update Frequency | Low frequency, usually valid for a long time after generation | High frequency, may update once per minute | | Composability | High, a single verification can be reused by multiple applications | Low, data is usually used as input for specific transactions | | Privacy Protection | Strong, only verifies "whether passed", does not disclose detailed information | Generally does not involve user privacy | | Representative Projects | Solana verification service, Ethereum verification service | Certain price oracle, certain data protocol |

To better understand the difference between the two, we can look at a specific example:

Usage scenarios of verification services: After users complete real-name verification through the Web3 platform, they receive an "adult" on-chain verification stamp. This stamp is stored in the user's Wallet, and any decentralized application in the future can verify it without requiring the user to resubmit identification.

Use cases of oracles: A certain decentralized finance protocol needs to know the current price of ETH to decide whether to trigger liquidation. It will read real-time ETH/USD price data through the oracle.

Overall, oracles mainly focus on providing off-chain "objective fact" data, while verification services concentrate on verifying off-chain "subjective or conditional trust." These two mechanisms are not mutually exclusive; rather, they play complementary roles in the blockchain ecosystem, together providing richer and more reliable off-chain data support for decentralized applications.