> An email address? Why do we need to complicate this with blockchain tomfoolery? Because I can send a message to a public key, encrypted such that only the ow

> An email address? Why do we need to complicate this with blockchain tomfoolery? Because I can send a message to a public key, encrypted such that only the owner of the private key that pairs with that public key, can decrypt. Since the user actually owns the keys, they can't get rugged by Google or Microsoft because they find themselves on the wrong side of big brother. Public on-chain wallets as identity are also much more spam-resistant. Verifying a cryptographic signature is completely decentralized and does not require even internet access (could be done fully offline) whereas email is tied to a server by definition. Numerous possibilities open up with public-private keys.