#### What is Litentry? Litentry (LIT) is a decentralized identity aggregation oracle that aims to redefine the management and authentication of identities across blockchains. Built on the Substrate framework, it is tailored for [Polkadot](https://www.coinbase.com/learn/crypto-basics/what-is-polkadot), EVM-based platforms, and other multi-chain ecosystems. Litentry leverages Trusted Execution Environments (TEE), verifiable credentials, and customizable score computation to usher in a new era of digital identity. Its flagship product, the IdentityHub, aims to transform how identities are managed across blockchains. Litentry's approach to identity is self-sovereign and user-centric, bridging both Web2 and [Web3](https://help.coinbase.com/en/coinbase/getting-started/crypto-education/glossary/web3). It seeks to establish a unified, privacy-centric decentralized identity infrastructure, redefining interoperability and utility for users and projects in the decentralized space. #### How does Litentry work? Litentry operates by enabling users to link their identities in a privacy-preserving context. It aims to give users full control over their personal data and enable them to gain social and economic value from it. The [protocol](https://www.coinbase.com/learn/crypto-basics/what-is-a-protocol) can be adopted in on-chain reputation, governance, [DeFi](https://www.coinbase.com/learn/crypto-basics/what-is-defi), and customized data services. Litentry's decentralized identity pallet provides a secure and private way to link different Web3 [wallets](https://www.coinbase.com/learn/crypto-basics/what-is-a-crypto-wallet) and Web2 accounts. This allows users to enhance their Web3 profiles, creating a more tangible and trustworthy digital identity. Litentry's Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) infrastructure adds a privacy-preserving layer between raw [blockchain](https://www.coinbase.com/learn/crypto-basics/what-is-a-blockchain) data and data shared with a [dApp](https://www.coinbase.com/learn/wallet/guide-to-dapps). It also provides secure storage for the sensitive identity graph. #### What are the potential use cases for Litentry? Litentry's identity aggregation and privatized verifiable credentials can be useful in several situations. These include [airdrop](https://help.coinbase.com/en/coinbase/getting-started/crypto-education/glossary/airdrop-) whitelisting, audience selection & community insights, soulbound [tokens](https://www.coinbase.com/learn/crypto-basics/what-is-a-token) or NFTs, Web3 native job markets, credit scores, and cross-platform reputation. For instance, the Litentry identity verification system allows [crypto](https://www.coinbase.com/learn/crypto-basics/what-is-cryptocurrency) projects to identify and filter out low-quality engagement in an airdrop. By providing a complete and thorough picture of a user's trading history, asset values, and borrowing behavior, Litentry can provide credit scores. This increases the eligibility for under-collateralized lending and other reputation-based benefits or provides risk insights for partners. #### What is the history of Litentry? Litentry was founded by Hanwen Cheng, a former Software Engineer at Parity. While working on a Signer project at Parity, he realized the need for an interoperable identity system and started a side project, which eventually became Litentry. In 2019, after he built his team and took the project more seriously, Litentry quickly set off: they received a grant from the Web3 Foundation, then a million-dollar seed round from FBG, Candaq, Hypersphere, Signum, Altonomy, and other crypto VCs. The team also listed the utility token LIT on Binance in 2020 and incubated three projects in-house.