JAN3 is a digital infrastructure company that was founded by Samson Mow in 2022 with a mission to accelerate hyperbitcoinization by providing tools for individuals, autonomous regions, and sovereign nations to benefit from a free and open financial system based on Bitcoin. The company is focused on expanding Bitcoin and second-layer technologies, such as Liquid and Lightning, which are essential for widespread acceptance and a circular economy for Bitcoin.
JAN3 also provides infrastructure for frictionless identity, reputation, and credential systems for web3 applications. Its tools help developers incorporate verifiable identity and trust into decentralized networks while maintaining privacy and interoperability between real-world identities and blockchain ecosystems.
Overview
JAN3 offers software and protocol solutions that enable the creation, verification, and management of digital credentials tied to user reputation and identity attributes. These systems support a wide range of use cases in decentralized finance (DeFi), decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), token-gated communities, marketplaces, and social networks where trust and reputation-based permissions are critical.
The company positions itself as a foundational layer for identity and reputation in web3, enabling applications to leverage privacy-preserving attestations and decentralized identity standards without compromising user control over personal data.
History and Background
Founded in 2022 by Samson Mow, JAN3 was created to enable scalable and interoperable identity systems that go beyond traditional username-and-password models. As blockchain adoption accelerated, the need for decentralized trust frameworks that could validate credentials, achievements, and behavioral metrics became increasingly important.
The team brought together expertise in blockchain engineering, cryptographic protocols, and user experience design, with a broader mission to advance Bitcoin adoption and support infrastructure for second-layer solutions such as Lightning Network and Liquid Network.
Core Products and Services
JAN3 provides a suite of identity, reputation, and Bitcoin infrastructure tools:
- Decentralized Identity Frameworks: Support for decentralized identifiers (DIDs), verifiable credentials (VCs), and privacy-preserving attestations
- Reputation Systems: Modular components that aggregate attestations and behaviors into trustable reputation profiles
- Bitcoin Infrastructure: Tools and protocols for Lightning Network, Liquid Network, and other second-layer solutions
- On-Chain Integration: APIs and SDKs that allow developers to integrate identity and reputation logic with smart contracts and dApps
- Credential Issuance and Verification: Tools enabling trusted entities to issue digital credentials while allowing selective disclosure by users
- Privacy Controls: Architecture that emphasizes user ownership of identity data and mitigates unnecessary on-chain exposure
Technology and Architecture
JAN3’s technology is built around decentralized identity and cryptographic standards, including DIDs and VCs. Users can hold portable credentials that are interoperable across applications, allowing verification without exposing unnecessary personal data.
The company also supports modular reputation models, aggregating verified attestations into reputation scores or badges for governance participation, access control, and credit scoring. Its APIs and SDKs integrate seamlessly with web3 stacks, Ethereum, EVM-compatible networks, and decentralized storage solutions.
Use Cases and Market Applications
JAN3’s infrastructure supports diverse applications in Bitcoin adoption and web3 identity:
- Bitcoin Adoption: Tools and infrastructure for individuals, communities, and nations to utilize Bitcoin via second-layer solutions
- Governance and DAOs: Credential-based participation, reputation-weighted voting systems, and access control
- Decentralized Finance (DeFi): Identity-linked credit scoring, risk assessment, and permissioned lending
- Token-Gated Communities: Reputation-based access to exclusive content, markets, or events
- Marketplaces: Trustable vendor or buyer reputation data without exposing sensitive information
- Digital Credentials: Attestations for skills, certifications, memberships, and achievements
Leadership and Team
JAN3 is led by Samson Mow, a prominent advocate for Bitcoin adoption, alongside a team of engineers, cryptographers, and blockchain technologists with experience in decentralized identity protocols, cryptographic standards, and developer tooling. The company emphasizes building interoperable solutions that support open financial systems and privacy-preserving identity standards.
Risks and Considerations
While JAN3’s solutions offer significant potential, challenges remain around privacy, adoption, and regulatory compliance. Users may be hesitant to link real-world attributes to blockchain addresses, and developers must balance transparency with data protection. Regulatory frameworks around identity, digital assets, and data privacy continue to evolve, which could impact implementation and compliance.
Despite these challenges, JAN3’s combined focus on identity, reputation, and Bitcoin infrastructure positions it as a key contributor to building trust, usability, and adoption in both the web3 and Bitcoin ecosystems.
