Humanity Protocol Raises $20M to Rival Worldcoin with Palm Scan Technology

Decentralized identity project Humanity Protocol has successfully closed a $20 million funding round, elevating its valuation to $1.1 billion. The funding round was co-led by industry giants Pantera Capital and Jump Crypto, marking another significant milestone in the project's journey.

Decentralized identity protocol Humanity Protocol has closed a $20 million funding round at a $1.1 billion valuation, the project announced Monday.

The funding round was co-led by Pantera Capital and Jump Crypto, with participation from IOSG Ventures, HashKey, Digital Currency Group, Alameda Research, and Silicon Valley executives.

Humanity Protocol aims to rival decentralized identity project Worldcoin, which was co-founded by OpenAI’s Sam Altman. While Worldcoin uses iris scans to verify users’ identities, Humanity Protocol uses palm scans.

Humanity Protocol claims to be a safer and more ethical alternative to Worldcoin, which has faced global scrutiny and legal challenges over its privacy and data handling practices.

Brazil recently banned Worldcoin and the company behind it, Tools for Humanity, over concerns about the collection of iris scans and their use for cryptocurrency payments.

Worldcoin’s plans for global expansion have been met with regulatory hurdles, as several countries have expressed skepticism about the project’s privacy policies and its goal of replacing passwords with biometric authentication.

Worldcoin (WLD) is also facing market headwinds, with a linear unlocking event set to release 37.23 million tokens, or 3.92% of its circulating market cap. The token unlock, valued at around $70 million, is expected to put significant pressure on WLD’s price.

At press time, the WLD token is trading at $1.87. According to CoinMarketCap data, Worldcoin’s current market capitalization is $1.79 billion, with a circulating supply of 958.89 million tokens.

Market analysts suggest that the upcoming token unlock could further erode investor confidence, adding to the challenges faced by the project in the face of regulatory scrutiny and market volatility.

Humanity Protocol’s decentralized identity solution, which uses palm scan technology, could offer a unique alternative to iris-based systems like Worldcoin, especially in the context of privacy concerns.

With new funding, strong backing from prominent investors, and a focus on addressing ethical concerns, Humanity Protocol is set to capitalize on the controversies surrounding its competitor in the decentralized identity space.