Animoca, Polygon-backed Humanity Protocol launches ZKP-powered palm recognition
Update Feb. 20, 10:30 UTC: Co-founders have been amended to include Terence Kwok.
Human Institute has launched Humanity Protocol, a privacy-preserving, biometric palm recognition technology for verifying Web3 identity.
Humanity Protocol launched on the Polygon chain development kit (CDK) testnet on Feb. 20, developed in collaboration with Animoca Brands and Polygon Labs, according to a press release shared with Cointelegraph. Founded by Terence Kwok, Humanity Protocol aims to offer a less invasive alternative to biometric verification methods such as iris scans.
According to Yat Siu, the co-founder and executive chairman of Animoca Brands, proof-of-personhood solutions are often invasive and burdensome for users, unlike Humanity Protocol, which will enable better equity and inclusion for users. Siu wrote:
“By leveraging the cutting-edge technology using non-invasive biometrics that lies at the core of the proof-of-humanity consensus mechanism, Humanity Protocol is building a user-centric ecosystem that can onboard millions to a verifiable digital identity solution that is truly decentralized and respects the principles of true digital ownership.”
The protocol’s underlying layer 2 — the Polygon CDK — leverages zero-knowledge proofs (ZK-proofs) to fortify network security and incorporates the proof-of-humanity (PoH) consensus mechanism for identity validation.
ZK-proofs are cryptographic protocols enabling a user to prove specific information to another user without revealing the information itself.
Advancements in privacy-preserving technologies like ZK-proofs could bolster the mass adoption of Web3 technologies, according to Nikita Uriupin, founder of Exverse. He told Cointelegraph:
“In the era of ubiquitous personal data leaks, proved by time, calculations and billions of dollars in trading volume, Web3 solutions will bring even more confidence for Web2.”
There were a total of 2,814 reported data breaches in 2023, accounting for over 8.2 billion known documents breached over the year, according to data from IT Governance.
Unlike Web2 data management systems, Humanity Protocol affords users complete ownership of their data. According to Sandeep Nailwal, co-founder of Polygon, the protocol will pave the way for an array of new use cases. He wrote:
“As the world’s first blockchain ecosystem to not only be truly sybil-resistant but also to natively integrate verifiable credentials into a decentralized validator node network, Humanity Protocol lays the foundation for a wide variety of blockchain and real-world applications to be built on top.”
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