Exploring the potential of "digital oil", how does zkTLS turn personal data into a priceable on-chain asset?

Although Web3 has built powerful tools and infrastructure, ordinary internet users still live in Web2.

Written by: Figo @IOSG

Preface

Cryptocurrency has come a long way. Layer 2 scaling solutions are now online, zkVMs have been introduced, and even ETFs have been approved. However, most people still feel that the blockchain space is like an isolated world — something they have only read about in text, but have never actually used.

Why is this happening

The answer does not lie in the technology itself, but in the things it cannot currently reach: our digital lives. Although Web3 has built powerful tools and infrastructure, ordinary internet users still live in Web2—browsing, trading, and socializing on centralized platforms that control their data.

Mainstream adoption remains out of reach until we can connect these two worlds in a trustless and privacy-preserving manner.

Why Web3 Has Not Yet Broken Through

We often interact online - through banks, social media, streaming platforms, and government portals. But all of this happens within strictly controlled ecosystems. Our digital identities are fragmented across various platforms, with each platform holding a part of our lives: here are bank statements, there are passport scans, and there are work experiences on LinkedIn.

This fragmentation has brought about two fundamental problems:

• Data Silos: Your online identity is fragmented across various platforms, each with its own rules and permissions.
• Ownership Absence: You do not actually own your data. At best, you have access rights — these rights can be revoked, restricted, or arbitrarily monetized by others.

These issues are reflected in the friction we face every day. Want to prove your income? You may need to hand over a complete bank statement. Need to verify your address? Be prepared to upload an entire utility bill. These systems assume that complete transparency is the only way to build trust, as there is no infrastructure for selective, verifiable disclosure.

Web3 promises to empower users with control, but so far, it has not fulfilled that promise — at least for everyday data that comes from Web2.

Missing Part: Verifiable Web2 Data

This is the real bottleneck: enabling Web3 applications to leverage the data we have already generated - while not compromising user privacy or introducing new trusted intermediaries.

There are two key challenges:

• Verifiability: How can we cryptographically prove that data from Web2 sources is trustworthy without relying on centralized oracles or APIs?
• Privacy: How do we prove only what is necessary - without exposing the complete data behind it?

Chainlink and other oracle providers have addressed some verifiability issues, particularly for public data such as asset prices or weather conditions. However, personal and user-specific data—such as financial records, qualifications, and identity credentials—requires a different approach. These data points exist within encrypted channels post-login, and they are not designed to be extracted or shared.

This is where zkTLS comes into play.

What is zkTLS?

Most of the internet runs on TLS (Transport Layer Security) — the encryption protocol that supports HTTPS. It protects about 95% of web traffic. When you visit a website, TLS ensures that your communication is encrypted and has not been tampered with.

zkTLS (Zero-Knowledge TLS) builds upon this foundation to introduce several brand-new features: it allows users to extract and prove specific facts from Web2 data streams without revealing the full content or trusting a third party.

This unlocks two key capabilities:

• On-chain verifiability: zkTLS can prove that the data comes from a specific Web2 source and has not been tampered with.
• Selective Disclosure: It can prove specific attributes — such as "my annual income exceeds $80,000" — without revealing the actual bank statement.

How does it work? In simple terms:

• It captures the encrypted TLS session between the user and the website.
• It generates a zero-knowledge proof that verifies a specific statement (for example, that a certain value appears in the response).
• Then the proof can be verified on the chain - trustless and private.

▲ Source: IOSG Ventures

This avoids the need to expose data to third parties or rely on centralized servers to prove the data. Instead, trust is embedded in the cryptographic proof itself.

This is not just a theory. The implementation of zkTLS has been tested and deployed in consumer and DeFi use cases, indicating that verifiable Web2 data will become the default input for Web3 applications.

How zkTLS Works

Not all zkTLS implementations are the same. Depending on the most important factors — speed, decentralization, or simplicity — different approaches excel in different contexts. Here are three common architectures:

▲ Source: IOSG Ventures

Practical Application: Where zkTLS Changes Everything

zkTLS not only optimizes data processing - it also redefines the boundaries between Web2 and Web3. By implementing trust minimization and private access to off-chain data, it allows applications to integrate real-world context without compromising privacy or decentralization.

The following are its current applications in different fields.

Financial Services

Due to the lack of reliable identity and on-chain financial data, most DeFi protocols still rely on over-collateralization. zkTLS enables the verification of income, cash flow, or account history without exposing sensitive documents.

! [Tapping into the potential of "digital oil", how does zkTLS make personal data a priceable on-chain asset?] ](https://img.gateio.im/social/moments-922b1635012daccb77072cdadff32ae8)

▲ Source: 3Jane

• 3Jane (3jane.xyz) is building a peer-to-pool credit protocol that provides real-time, unsecured USDC credit lines for traders, farmers, and businesses. Borrowers connect their wallets and Web2 financial data through Plaid, unlocking credit based on verifiable proofs in DeFi, CEX, and banks — without the need for collateral.
• Stormbit (stormbit.finance) supports a flexible peer-to-peer lending market, where borrowers can privately prove their income or account activity to unlock funds using zkTLS.
• RWA (Real World Asset) tokenization projects begin to use zkTLS to verify land or property ownership through government portals, achieving compliant on-chain assetization.
• zkP2P (zkp2p.xyz) is building a decentralized gateway from fiat to cryptocurrency, allowing users to use zkTLS to prove payments from Venmo, Wise, or Revolut — no KYC, no intermediaries, instant settlement.

These systems expand the channels for capital acquisition, bringing credit value on-chain and establishing a compliant bridge between TradFi and crypto.

Consumer Platform

In Web2, access to digital goods, subscriptions, and purchase history is locked behind centralized APIs. zkTLS makes this data portable and provable - without needing to request permission from the platform.

▲ Source: CSFloat

• CSFloat (csfloat.com) allows users to verify ownership of "Counter-Strike" skins and collectibles through Steam data, enabling secure peer-to-peer transactions without platform intervention.
• zkTLS is also used to prove access to closed communities, subscriptions, or premium content - without the need for account links or API access.
• In e-commerce, users can prove past purchases or loyalty program activities to unlock cash back, token rewards, or resale markets.

Now imagine proving that you have a Spotify subscription – or a luxury brand purchase – without exposing your full account. That's the power of zkTLS.

Identity and Reputation

Today's digital identity is fragmented and overly exposed. Proving your identity often means sharing everything. zkTLS changes this by allowing selective disclosure from trusted sources.

▲ Source: zkMe

• zkMe (zk.me) is a privacy-preserving identity oracle that transforms files and data from Web2 platforms into selective on-chain proofs.
• Zeru (zeru.finance) supports zScore, which is a cross-application reputation layer on Base. It verifies credit scores, locations, or Uber history, etc. — without KYC — allowing users to build verifiable profiles for use across applications and ecosystems.
• Icebreaker (icebreaker.xyz) allows professionals to create credible and verifiable work profiles based on employment history and social graphs.

Now imagine someone building a Web3 version of Uber or DoorDash. Drivers show up with zkTLS-verified credentials — no onboarding friction, no need to rebuild reputation.

Social and Content

The content we watch, play, and interact with says a lot - but this data is trapped on the platform. zkTLS unlocks this data, making participation portable and programmable.

▲ Source: EarnOS

• EarnOS (earnos.com) allows users to prove that they have viewed or interacted with ads - without revealing who they are. Advertisers reach real people, users earn rewards, and data remains private.
• Showdown (showdown.win) verifies game records and performance data through FACEIT using zkTLS. Players can prove their skills and receive game-based rewards - no screenshots required.

This unlocks the next wave of the attention market and participation-driven rewards - ultimately cross-platform portable.

Impact and Behavior

Behavioral systems - whether for fitness, sustainability, or rewards - typically require private and hard-to-verify data. zkTLS makes it possible to prove actions without surveillance.

• Daylight () uses IoT and registered data to verify the ownership and usage of solar panels - without exposing user identity or location.
• Fit Club (x.com/fitclubonbase) links exercise rewards to verified Strava activities without disclosing health or GPS data.

Other applications are exploring the use of zkTLS to prove public transport use, recycling, or participation in environmental projects - achieving a transparent and privacy-secure incentive system.

With zkTLS, we can finally prove actions in the real world - without being monitored.

Emerging Frontier

On the edge of artificial intelligence, agents, and decentralized coordination, zkTLS provides key infrastructure for proof and trust.

• ElizaOS (elizaos.ai) is building autonomous agents, generating zk-supported logs of their actions - making AI decisions verifiable and auditable.
• Ketl (ketl.xyz) allows reporters and experts to prove affiliations or insights without revealing their identities — bringing credibility to anonymous communication.
• zkTLS is also used to verify the training data of machine learning - ensuring authenticity while protecting contributor privacy.

As agents and AI become more autonomous, zkTLS anchors them in fact.

From Certificate to Ownership

zkTLS not only makes Web2 data available in Web3 - it also makes it ownable. Credentials that were once isolated on platforms become portable, programmable, and privacy-protecting.

As more applications adopt zkTLS, we'll see compounding effects: more verifiable data leads to more powerful applications, giving users more control — and more reasons to unlock data on their own terms.

This is not about replacing existing systems. It is about empowering users with control over them - and building a path of trust, privacy, and composability that can grow together.

The road ahead

If cryptocurrency wants to enter the mainstream, it needs to meet the needs of users - on the internet they are already using. zkTLS provides the infrastructure to achieve this goal.

It has achieved:

• Encryption trust for data from Web2 services
• No need for third-party privacy protection verification
• User-controlled composable identity layer
• New applications based on verifiable real-world interactions

As more of our online lives become accessible through verifiable claims, a new generation of applications will emerge – applications that empower users with greater control, reduce friction, and unlock real value. zkTLS is not just another protocol – it is a new way of thinking about how information moves between platforms and how trust is established on the internet.