Use Case

The Merkle Tree in OpenCohort serves as an efficient method for proving and ensuring data integrity, supporting a variety of data validation. OpenCohort extends the existing Merkle data, enabling it to be widely utilized not only for address validation, but also by a community of partners with unique identities and builders looking to enforce fine-grained incentives.

On-Chain Use Cases

Merkle Tree proofs are widely used across blockchain protocols, including leading dApps like Uniswap, to verify on-chain data safely and efficiently.

1. Proof of Membership and Points Merkle Trees are useful for verifying that a specific user is included in a data set, making it easy to confirm membership without complex calculations.

   • Token Airdrops

     • Merkle Trees are used to validate whether a specific user is eligible for a token airdrop. If the airdrop recipient list is structured as a Merkle Tree, users can submit a proof (Merkle Proof) for their address to claim the airdrop.

     • OpenCohort supports proving eligibility based on various identity types, not just addresses.

   • Proof of Voting Rights and Other Entitlements

     • Merkle Proofs can validate that a user’s address is part of a list with specific rights, such as voting rights. This allows voters to confirm that their address is in the authorized voter list, ensuring the integrity of on-chain voting systems. This is similar to the "proof of eligibility" in off-chain environments, as discussed below.

   • Points Systems

     • For projects or services that manage on-chain points based on user activity, Merkle Proofs can be used to offer additional incentives. Users can easily confirm and utilize points managed on-chain, making the system applicable across various contexts.

     • This system is similar to oracles, with the distinction that points are managed by a central entity.

2. Oracle Data Validation Merkle Trees can validate external data provided by oracles.

   • By converting the data provided by Oracle into a Merkle Tree structure, it is possible to guarantee the integrity of each data item and prove that the data has not been changed on the blockchain.

   • Storing large-scale data from oracles directly on-chain can be costly and inefficient. OpenCohort allows historical use of Rollup and proof methods using representative values (RootHash), enabling efficient on-chain use of diverse data, including past data.

Off-Chain Use Cases

OpenCohort can also be applied in off-chain environments for efficient data validation.

1. Proof of of Eligibility The OpenCohort protocol securely manages identity data mapped to the user's blockchain addresses.

   • Users can utilize OpenCohort to prove various qualifications in off-chain services and, in some cases, earn additional incentives.

2. Transaction History Verification OpenCohort allows verification of specific users’ transaction histories.

   • Even as part of large data sets, transaction histories can be validated with Merkle Proofs without storing the entire data on-chain.

   • OpenCohort enables validation of off-chain data, allowing specific transaction histories to be proven in off-chain environments using Merkle Proofs.

3. Data Integrity Verification

   • OpenCohort can verify that data has not been tampered with. While a typical Merkle Tree system only uses RootHash, OpenCohort can prove the integrity of on-chain data, including signatures on rollup data, even in untrusted environments (Trustless).

   • Participants can create Merkle Trees for different datasets, such as membership information or files, and use Merkle Proof to verify with the rolled-up data that the data has not been tampered with.