Humanity Protocol Secures $20M to Challenge World Network in the Race for Onchain Identity Solutions

Decentralized identity platform Humanity Protocol has secured $20 million in venture funding to compete with the likes of World Network in the push for onchain identity solutions.

Humanity Protocol, a decentralized identity platform, has raised $20 million in venture funding to compete with World Network in offering onchain identity solutions.

The funding round, disclosed on March 14, was led by Pantera Capital and Jump Crypto at a fully diluted valuation of $1.1 billion. The funds will be used to further develop the Proof of Humanity protocol, which links users' palms to their digital identity across Web3 platforms.

The funds will also contribute to the yet-to-be-announced mainnet launch of the protocol. According to Humanity Protocol’s website, the platform is planning a token airdrop in partnership with OKX Wallet.

Humanity Protocol is not the first blockchain project to attempt to integrate biometric identification with Web3 financial services. In 2023, OpenAI's Sam Altman co-launched Worldcoin (since renamed World Network), which uses Orb technology to scan users' irises and generate a unique digital identity.

However, the World project has faced significant scrutiny, with Brazil's data protection watchdog recently prohibiting the company from serving locals. In December, Germany's data protection authority also reprimanded World Network for its alleged mishandling of biometric data.

In a move to counter these concerns, Humanity Protocol claims that its palm scans are "less invasive" than World's iris scans while maintaining security.

“Users are much more familiar with biometric authentication involving their palm and fingerprints than their iris code,” said Terence Kwok, founder of Humanity Protocol, in an interview with Cointelegraph earlier this month.

Despite the controversy surrounding biometric verification, it is largely touted as a key driver of Web3 adoption and integration with financial services and health care.

In a September podcast with Cointelegraph, Sebastian Rodriquez, Privado ID's chief product officer, argued that biometric verification doesn't have to be a privacy nightmare. He also cautioned against equating privacy with anonymity, as they are distinct concepts.

“We shouldn't fight to be anonymous. We should fight for consent. Privacy is not about anonymity. Privacy is about consent,” said Rodriquez.

While praising World's technology, Rodriquez questioned its business model. “The Worldcoin model assumes that they will be a monopoly,” he said, adding: