Unlocking The Data Economy
People already live online. For crypto to succeed, we need to meet users where they are.
At Sophon, we’re building the Social Oracle: a new onchain data layer that brings your apps identity, habits, and reputation into crypto, without compromising privacy. It’s how we turn everyday digital actions into portable, verifiable proof. In this article, we will explorezkTLS - one of the breakthrough technologies powering this system: a silent workhorse that lets us access and verify real-world data from online platforms without needing their permission or exposing any personal info. zkTLS is one part of our larger engine designed to unlock the data economy for users.
Users habits, data, and loyalty sit inside platforms like Spotify, Twitch, Uber, Instagram, etc. With our Social Oracle*,** we can bring those habits onchain. It’s the vampire attack: a clean way to suck the lifeblood of the internet (data) from legacy platforms and move it onchain, where users finally own their output and share in the upside.*
What’s zkTLS?
Before we talk about how Sophon uses zkTLS, let’s break it down in simple words.
zk (Zero-Knowledge): A way to prove you know something without actually showing the secret.
TLS (Transport Layer Security): The system that keeps your connection safe when you use the internet.
Zero-Knowledge Proofs (zk)
A zero-knowledge proof (zk proof) is a way to prove something is true without revealing the information itself.
For example, instead of showing me your ID to prove you’re over 18, you could just show a green light that says “yes, over 18.” I’m convinced, but I never see your birth date.
In the background, this works because your secret (like a password or a bank balance) is transformed into a cryptographic “receipt.” That receipt can only be generated if the secret is correct, and anyone can check it without learning what the secret actually is.
Transport Layer Security (TLS)
TLS stands for Transport Layer Security. It’s the lock icon in your browser that protects almost everything you do online.
TLS ensures three things every time you connect to a website:
- Encryption: No one can spy on your data.
- Authentication: You’re talking to the real site, not a fake one.
- Integrity: The information cannot be changed while it travels.
It works by exchanging keys between your device and the site, creating a private channel only the two of you can read. That’s why you can safely log into your bank or pay with a credit card online.
zkTLS: The Bridge Between Today’s Internet and the Onchain World
zkTLS stands for Zero-Knowledge Transport Layer Security. It combines TLS (the protocol behind the padlock in your browser) with zero-knowledge proofs, which let you prove facts without revealing secrets.
In plain terms, zkTLS turns the “lock icon” in your browser into a verifiable proof that blockchains can understand. It lets you prove something about your online activity and have a new digital platform verify it without exposing personal data.
For example, you could prove that you’re a Spotify Premium subscriber, that you’ve streamed over 100 hours on Twitch, or that you ran 20 miles on Strava last week. Normally, this information is locked inside those platforms. With zkTLS, you can generate a proof of those facts so other apps can recognize it. The platform never has to give permission, your details stay private, and you still get the benefit of your activity across new apps.
This is why zkTLS isn’t just a tool, it’s the bridge. It lets the new internet meet users where they already are, transforming their existing data into assets they control and can monetize, or use to unlock new experiences. Users don’t have to change their behavior. They just keep listening, playing, running, buying and zkTLS turns those actions into keys that unlock entirely new experiences.
zkTLS Changes the User Acquisition Playbook
Think about how algorithms work today. You like one post, watch one video, and suddenly that’s all you see. Sometimes you even get ads that make no sense at all. Platforms can only guess based on the tiny slice of behavior you show inside their walls. They don’t know your bigger picture, your real mix of interests, your digital DNA.
And for brands, it’s not much better. Even the sharpest ad targeting doesn’t guarantee good results, because it’s built on signals that are shallow, incomplete, and fading fast.
zkTLS offers a different path, giving access to data than before was untouchable. Instead of fragmented and trend-driven guesses, zkTLS enables a complete profile built from verifiable actions. Not rented data or cookies, but proofs of what a user actually does across different contexts: the music they listen to, the miles they run, the purchases they make. Together these proofs create a more accurate picture of someone’s behavior: their digital DNA.
This is where Sophon’s Social Oracle comes in: a data feed that brings achievements, reputation, and social influence onchain, without ever exposing personal data. Your digital DNA becomes portable. Verified progress, habits, and influence stop being invisible and start unlocking applications, products, and communities built around you.
A Win for Brands, A Win for Users
For brands, zkTLS flips user acquisition funnel on its head. Instead of throwing ads into the void and crossing their fingers, they can go straight to the people who already care about a product or behavior and give them the same experience. That makes acquisition faster, cheaper, and way more efficient, because the intent is proven and the loyalty is already there.
For users, the shift feels just as big. Today, platforms handle their data behind closed doors and trade it for things like slightly better recommendations or the occasional discount. With zkTLS, users can unlock those same benefits in a private, verifiable way, and on top of that, they gain ownership and rewards for sharing proofs. It’s no longer about being extracted, it’s about taking part.
This changes the funnel entirely. Instead of dragging people from awareness to conversion and then hoping they stick around, zkTLS lets brands begin with loyalty. Proof of past actions becomes the entry point, so adoption skips the slow grind and starts with recognition.
What This Looks Like in Reality
Loyalty
If someone has streamed 50,000 minutes of an artist, they should be the one getting the discount code or early access to concert tickets. Loyalty is visible, and it can be rewarded directly.
Spend
A verified shopping history can unlock perks like exclusive drops, premium tiers, or early access to new products. Instead of targeting “likely spenders,” brands can recognize the customers who already spend.
Co-Marketing
If a user is buying one sports brand, there is a high chance they will also be interested in supplements or fitness gear. zkTLS lets brands collaborate and offer rewards across categories, with confidence that the audience is real.
Vampire Attacks
This also opens the door for more aggressive strategies. If someone spends heavily on a competitor, you can target them with an incentive to try your product. zkTLS makes it possible to pull loyalty from one ecosystem and bring it into another.
Adoption is Not a Funnel, It’s a Bridge
For years, Web3 has tried to solve adoption with better wallets, smoother UX, and airdrop campaigns. But adoption is not about dragging people into a funnel. It is about meeting them where they already are and showing them that what they do every day already has value.
Sophon is the bridge. Our Social Oracle transforms the habits, loyalty, and history people have built across the internet into proofs that the onchain world can recognize and reward.
Soon, this vision will come to life inside the Sophon App. Users will be able to proof their lifestyle by connecting their data, build their digital DNA, and let their lifestyle pay them back. This is the foundation of Lifestyle Crypto: an experience that turns your digital life into an asset you control, not something you give away.
We’re not here to chase speculation or repeat old patterns. We’re here to unlock the next stage of adoption by taking the value trapped in traditional platforms and turning it into culture, community, and lifestyle built on ownership.
Sophon can fix you. And lifestyle crypto can fix adoption.
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