World rival Humanity inches closer to mainnet with foundation launch

The significant rival to the global digital identity project known as “World”, named Humanity Protocol, moved a step further towards its Token Generation Event (TGE) by establishing the Humanity Foundation.

On January 14th, the Humanity Foundation, headed by its initial board members which includes Yat Siu, Chairman of Animoca Brands, officially began operations. This new entity aims to play a pivotal role within the Humanity Protocol’s network, as per information disclosed in a press release distributed to CryptoMoon.

The Humanity Protocol primarily concentrates on delivering Decentralized Identities (DIDs) and Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZK-proofs). This means that individuals can confirm their distinct identities anonymously, ensuring that not even the Humanity Protocol has access to their personal data.

With the help of biometric technology, Humanity Protocol empowers users to tailor their authenticated identities further by incorporating extra details like educational background, work experience, and social standing.

Biometrics isn’t stored on any centralized server

Besides Animoca’s Siu, the Humanity Foundation’s initial board members comprise Mario Nawfal, founder of International Blockchain Consulting, and Yeewai Chong, an investment expert from Morgan Stanley and Ortus Capital, who will temporarily assume the role of CEO for the foundation.

Chong stated that biometrics offer a solid foundation for creating a secure, decentralized identity structure. He further explained that by basing the proof-of-humanity (PoH) on biometric authentication, it allows for the combination of various human traits into one identity system that prioritizes privacy.

As per Terence Kwok, the founder of Humanity Protocol, this technology empowers individuals by letting them keep complete ownership and manage their own data.

Kwok explained to CryptoMoon that measures are taken to prevent biometric data like identities from being kept on a single, central database,” or simply “Kwok informed CryptoMoon that biometrics and identity verification data are not stored on a centralized server for safety reasons.

Instead, as Kwok pointed out, the biometric data would be encrypted and kept securely within Humanity’s zkProof servers or on decentralized nodes during the second stage of the test network deployment.

Humanity vs. World: How are they different?

2024 saw the clandestine debut of Humanity Protocol, which brought about the implementation of palm-reading technology for identity verification within the realm of Web3. The primary emphasis lies in maintaining user data confidentiality.

After the foundation’s launch, there hasn’t been any announcement about when the token creation event will take place, as per Kwok.

In July 2023, the main rival of mankind, previously known as Worldcoin, was unveiled by Tools for Humanity, a software company founded jointly by Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI.

Instead of relying on human palm recognition, there’s a system in place called iris biometrics. This technology employs advanced mathematical methods to identify patterns within video footage of an individual’s irises, which can be either one or both eyes.

As stated by Humanity’s Kwok, a key distinction between these entities lies in their identification methods; whereas the former typically relies on iris scans, the latter – Humanity – employs palm scans instead.

According to Kwok, palm recognition technology provides strong privacy safeguards and is considered less intrusive than iris scanning, yet it still ensures security. In simpler terms, he suggests that palm recognition offers a balance between privacy protection and maintaining security, which is less invasive compared to iris scans.

“Unlike iris scans, which can feel intrusive and raise additional privacy concerns, palm scans are more user-friendly while maintaining a high level of security. Users are far more familiar with biometric authentication involving their palm and fingerprints than their iris code.”

In responding to user needs and accessibility considerations, it’s possible to broadly implement Palm-of-Hand (PoH) technology across various organizations aiming to adopt palm scanning for payments, as well as using it for building access, real-world applications, and other purposes – as pointed out by Kwok.

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2025-01-14 13:19