Hotcoin Research | Play-to-Earn WEB3: Humanity Protocol — Building a Bridge Between the Real World and Digital Identity

In this era of increasing digitalization, our identity information seems to be split into two worlds: our real-world selves and our online selves. Between these two worlds, there often exists a chasm that is difficult to bridge. How can we prove “I am who I am” in the digital world while protecting our privacy? How can we make our digital identities both secure and convenient? How can we resist the ever-emerging frauds and attacks in the ocean of Web3?

With these questions in mind, let’s dive into the world of Humanity Protocol and see how this ambitious project is trying to build a bridge between the real world and digital identity.

I. Introduction: The Dilemma of Digital Identity

Imagine you’re about to make a large transaction on a decentralized exchange (DEX). You’ve carefully checked the contract address, confirmed the transaction details, and everything looks perfect. But just as you’re about to click “Confirm,” a terrifying thought flashes through your mind: “What if this is an elaborately designed scam? What if the other party isn’t who they claim to be?”

This scenario might not be unfamiliar to many Web3 users. In a world where anonymity dominates, trust has become a scarce resource. And this is precisely the core problem that Humanity Protocol is trying to solve.

II. What is Humanity Protocol?

Humanity Protocol is an ambitious Web3 project aimed at creating a truly Sybil-resistant blockchain network. Its core goal is to provide developers with a unique human identity verification mechanism while giving users complete ownership of their data and identity.

So how does it achieve this goal? The answer lies in the palm of our hands — literally.

Palm Print Recognition: The Fingerprint of the Digital World

Humanity Protocol uses an innovative palm print recognition technology as the core of its identity verification. Compared to traditional fingerprint recognition or the controversial iris scanning (as adopted by WorldCoin), palm print recognition offers a less invasive and more privacy-protective alternative.

Even better, this technology can be easily implemented through ordinary smartphones. This means that anyone with a smartphone can participate in this system, greatly lowering the entry barrier.

Two-Stage Verification: A Perfect Balance of Security and Privacy

The identity verification process of Humanity Protocol is divided into two stages:

1. Building the Human Layer of Web3: This stage uses palm print recognition technology to create a unique biometric signature for each user. This not only solves the challenge of verifying human uniqueness on a large scale but also ensures that each user’s signature is one-of-a-kind.
2. Manual Verification: The second stage introduces a complex identity verification consensus mechanism. Verifiers conduct the verification process off-chain and then upload standardized results to the chain without exposing sensitive personal information. This approach ensures both the accuracy of verification and the protection of user privacy.

Through this two-stage approach, Humanity Protocol achieves unprecedented levels of accuracy and reliability while protecting user privacy.

III. Why Participate in Humanity Protocol?

The current Web3 world faces many challenges, and Humanity Protocol is committed to solving these problems:

1. Sybil Attacks: Humanity Protocol effectively prevents one person from having multiple accounts through unique palm print recognition technology, creating a unique biometric signature for each user.
2. Identity Fraud: The two-stage verification mechanism ensures the authenticity of user identities while protecting privacy.
3. Privacy Leaks: Zero-knowledge proof technology allows users to prove their identity without exposing specific personal information.
4. Centralization Risks: A decentralized verifier network achieves truly decentralized identity verification.

The appeal of Humanity Protocol also lies in its strong background:

• Team Strength: Founded by experienced tech entrepreneur Terence Kwok, guided by industry leaders like Yat Siu and Sandeep Nailwal.
• Funding Support: Has completed two rounds of funding, totaling $31.5 million, with the latest valuation at $1 billion.
• Technological Innovation: Plans to launch the zkEVM Layer 2 network M1-Chain to provide better infrastructure for the ecosystem.

In short, Humanity Protocol is providing innovative solutions to core problems in the Web3 world. Participating in it is not only an investment in personal digital security but also a contribution to shaping the future digital world.

IV. What Can You Gain from Participating in Humanity Protocol?

1. Safer Digital Identity: Through Humanity Protocol, you can prove “you are you” without exposing sensitive personal information. This is particularly important when conducting important transactions or participating in decentralized governance.
2. Data Sovereignty: You have complete control over your own data. You can decide when, where, and how to use your identity information.
3. Potential Economic Returns: As an early participant, you may have the opportunity to receive future token rewards or other incentives.
4. Participate in Building Web3 Infrastructure: Humanity Protocol is not just a project; it’s an important infrastructure for the future Web3 world. Participating in it means participating in shaping the future.
5. A Fairer Ecosystem: By resisting Sybil attacks, Humanity Protocol helps create a fairer and more transparent Web3 ecosystem.

V. How to Participate in Humanity Protocol?

Currently, Humanity Protocol is in the testnet phase, divided into three main steps:

1、Human ID Reservation

This is the current ongoing phase. You can reserve your Human ID through the official website (testnet.humanity.org/login?ref=0xiaoyu). This ID will become your unique identifier in the Humanity Protocol ecosystem.

2、App Pre-registration (Not Started)

The next phase will launch a mobile app allowing users to register their palm prints. This step will add biometric information to your identity.

3、Full Registration (Not Started)

The final step will involve palm vein verification on Humanity Protocol’s dedicated devices. This will complete your identity verification process.

It’s worth noting that participating now doesn’t mean you can immediately receive rewards. The distribution of rewards needs to wait until the completion of the third phase of the testnet. However, the earlier you participate, the more potential rewards you might receive. Especially if you invite friends to join through referral links, you’ll have the opportunity to receive ongoing rewards.

VI. Risks to Be Aware Of

Although Humanity Protocol looks promising, we also need to be clear about the risks involved:

1. Technical Risks: While palm print recognition technology is advanced, it’s still evolving. There may be unknown vulnerabilities or limitations.
2. Privacy Concerns: Although Humanity Protocol promises to protect user privacy, uploading biometric information to the blockchain still makes some people uncomfortable.
3. Regulatory Uncertainty: As digital identity solutions develop, they may face new regulatory challenges.
4. Market Acceptance: The success of Humanity Protocol largely depends on whether it can be widely adopted. If it fails to gain enough user and developer support, the project may struggle to achieve its goals.
5. Competitive Risks: The digital identity field is fiercely competitive, and Humanity Protocol needs to continuously innovate to maintain its competitiveness.

VII. Critical Thinking: Can Humanity Protocol Really Solve All Problems?

While Humanity Protocol presents an ambitious vision, we also need to maintain rational and critical thinking:

1. Technical Feasibility: Combining palm print recognition technology with blockchain and deploying it on a global scale is a huge technical challenge. Whether Humanity Protocol can overcome all technical obstacles remains to be seen.
2. Balance Between Privacy and Convenience: Although Humanity Protocol claims to provide convenient identity verification while protecting privacy, in practical applications, these two often conflict. How to maximize privacy protection without sacrificing user experience remains an open question.
3. Degree of Decentralization: Although Humanity Protocol advocates decentralization, the identity verification process still relies on some form of centralized infrastructure (such as dedicated verification devices). Is this contradictory to the true concept of decentralization?
4. Difficulty of Popularization: Getting global users to adopt this new identity verification method requires overcoming huge educational and promotional barriers. This may face even greater challenges in some technologically underdeveloped regions.
5. Security of Biometric Data: Although Humanity Protocol claims not to directly store biometric data, how to ensure the absolute security of this sensitive information throughout the entire verification process is still a concern.
6. Effectiveness of Anti-Sybil Attacks: While palm print recognition increases the difficulty of fraud, we cannot rule out the possibility of more advanced deception methods emerging in the future. How will Humanity Protocol continuously address this challenge?

These questions are not to negate the value of Humanity Protocol, but to remind us that we need to evaluate this project from a more comprehensive and in-depth perspective. Only by facing these challenges can Humanity Protocol truly realize its grand vision.

VIII. Innovative Points of Humanity Protocol

Despite the above challenges, we have to admit that Humanity Protocol demonstrates exciting innovations in multiple aspects:

1. Application of Palm Print Recognition Technology: Compared to fingerprint or iris scanning, palm print recognition provides a biometric feature that is less easily copied and more difficult to deceive. This offers a new possibility for digital identity verification.
2. On-chain and Off-chain Combined Verification Mechanism: By combining off-chain identity verification with on-chain data storage, Humanity Protocol has found an innovative way to balance privacy protection and data credibility.
3. Decentralized Verifier Network: By introducing decentralized verifier nodes, Humanity Protocol enhances the system’s degree of decentralization and resistance to censorship.
4. Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) Framework: Users have complete control over their own data, which is highly consistent with the core concept of Web3.
5. Cross-chain Interoperability: Humanity Protocol plans to support multiple blockchain ecosystems, laying the foundation for wide application in the future.

These innovative points collectively constitute the core competitiveness of Humanity Protocol, making it stand out in the crowded digital identity track.

IX. Competitive Landscape Analysis: Humanity Protocol vs WorldCoin

When discussing Humanity Protocol, we can’t help but mention another digital identity project that has attracted much attention — WorldCoin. Both are committed to solving the problem of identity verification in the digital world but have adopted different approaches:

1. Verification Method:

• WorldCoin uses iris scanning technology
• Humanity Protocol adopts palm print recognition

1. Privacy Protection:

• WorldCoin’s iris scanning is considered more invasive by some
• Humanity Protocol’s palm print recognition is relatively less sensitive and can be implemented through ordinary smartphones

1. Degree of Decentralization:

• WorldCoin relies on proprietary “Orb” devices for scanning
• Humanity Protocol plans to establish a decentralized verifier network

1. Regulatory Challenges:

• WorldCoin faces regulatory obstacles in multiple countries
• Humanity Protocol’s off-chain verification mechanism may be easier to meet regulatory requirements in different countries

1. Application Scope:

• WorldCoin mainly focuses on the application of Universal Basic Income (UBI)
• Humanity Protocol targets a broader range of Web3 identity verification scenarios

Although both projects have their unique advantages, Humanity Protocol’s approach seems more flexible and easier to be widely accepted. However, WorldCoin has the support of OpenAI founder Sam Altman behind it, which may give it an advantage in terms of resources and influence.

Ultimately, the competition between these two projects may drive innovation in the entire digital identity field, giving users more choices.

X. Conclusion: Shaping the Future of Digital Identity

Humanity Protocol is undoubtedly an ambitious project, attempting to solve one of the most thorny problems in the Web3 world — digital identity. Through innovative palm print recognition technology and clever verification mechanisms, it paints a picture of a more secure, trustworthy, and decentralized digital future for us.

However, the road to this future is not smooth sailing. Technical challenges, privacy concerns, regulatory uncertainties, and market acceptance are all obstacles that still exist. Whether Humanity Protocol can successfully overcome these challenges and ultimately realize its grand vision remains to be tested by time.

As potential participants, we need to maintain enthusiasm for Humanity Protocol’s innovation while remaining rational and cautious. Early participation may bring substantial returns, but it also comes with non-negligible risks. Before deciding whether to participate, it is crucial to carefully assess your risk tolerance and understanding of the project.

Regardless of whether Humanity Protocol ultimately succeeds, the direction it represents — seamlessly connecting real-world identity with the digital world — is undoubtedly an important trend in Web3 development. It reminds us that while pursuing technological innovation, we cannot ignore humanized and user-friendly design. After all, the ultimate goal of technology is to serve humans, not to make humans submit to technology.

In this era of rapidly evolving digital identity, Humanity Protocol provides us with an interesting perspective to think about: How can we prove “I am who I am” while protecting privacy? How do we build trust in a decentralized world? These questions are not only about the success of Humanity Protocol but also about the future of the entire Web3 ecosystem.

Let’s look at this innovative project with an open mind. It may not be a perfect solution, but it is pushing us towards a better digital future. In this rapidly changing world, maintain curiosity, learning, and critical thinking, while also maintaining hope and imagination, because it is these qualities that drive humans to constantly innovate and create possibilities beyond imagination.

The story of Humanity Protocol is still being written, and each of us has the opportunity to be a part of it. Whether you choose to participate or observe, the important thing is to stay focused, because it represents the important changes that the Web3 world is experiencing. Let’s look forward together to Humanity Protocol bringing us a safer, fairer, and more transparent digital world in the near future, where everyone can confidently say: “Here, I am who I am.”

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Hotcoin Research, as the core investment research department of Hotcoin, is dedicated to providing comprehensive and professional analysis of the crypto market. Our goal is to offer clear market insights and practical operational guidance for investors at all levels. Our professional content includes “Play to Earn Web3” tutorial series, in-depth analysis of crypto market trends, detailed analysis of potential projects, and real-time market observations. Whether you are a newcomer exploring the crypto world or a seasoned investor seeking deep insights, Hotcoin is your reliable partner for understanding and seizing market opportunities.

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