Humanity Protocol Secures Investments for Building Digital Identity; Worldcoin Faces Global Scrutiny
Summary:
Humanity Protocol, backed by crypto giants Animoca Brands and Polygon, confirms securing substantial strategic investments from venture capital companies within the crypto sphere. Developed in collaboration with Animoca Brands and Polygon Labs, the project focuses on digital identity for Web3, incorporating features like palm-recognition technology. Meanwhile, Worldcoin, a similar project, faces scrutiny over its data collection methods from global authorities, including the French National Commission on Informatics and Liberty (CNIL), German and Kenyan regulators, and Hong Kong’s Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (PCPD).
Humanity Protocol, a project endorsed by significant crypto entities including Animoca Brands and Polygon, recently confirmed the successful execution of an investment round. This was backed by crypto-oriented venture capital entities on February 28. The protocol gained substantial strategic investments from companies such as Hashed, CMCC, Cypher Capital, Foresight Ventures, and Mechanism Capital. Over 20 crypto-focused venture capital funds contributed significantly towards the fundraising, though the protocol didn't reveal all contributors. Furthermore, the capital raised was also not disclosed.
The project, a collaboration with Animoca Brands and Polygon Labs, provided minimal details. It was revealed that Yat Siu, Executive Chairman of Animoca Brands, and Sandeep Nailwal, Co-founder of Polygon, made personal contributions in the investment round. The project is centered around the creation of a digital identity for Web3, integrating Polygon's zero-knowledge proofs (ZK-proofs) with palm-recognition technology. It is intended to provide a less intrusive alternative to iris scans, and appears to challenge Worldcoin, a similar iris-recognition project. The aim is to construct a human-centric blockchain, according to Terence Kwok, founder of Humanity Protocol, who emphasized the message, "technology should amplify human potential, not compromise it.”
Meanwhile, Worldcoin, which operates under a similar notion, has attracted attention from worldwide authorities. On July 28, 2023, inquiries about the legitimacy of Worldcoin’s data collection methods were raised by the French National Commission on Informatics and Liberty (CNIL). German privacy watchdogs also expressed concerns and began probing into the project last July 31, 2023, noting that the investigation has been ongoing since 2022. The Kenyan government halted the project on August 2, 2023, citing potential risks to its citizens. More recently, Worldcoin has come under the scrutiny of Hong Kong’s Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (PCPD), who initiated a probe and visited six Hong Kong office locations tied to the project on January 31. Concerns about Worldcoin's data collection methods potentially violating regional Personal Data Ordinance necessities were raised.
Published At
2/28/2024 11:49:00 AM
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