Humanity Protocol, a project supported by prominent players in the crypto industry such as Animoca Brands and Polygon, has successfully concluded an investment round and secured funding from venture capital funds within the crypto space.
On February 28, the protocol announced that it had secured strategic investments from companies like Hashed, CMCC, Cypher Capital, Foresight Ventures, and Mechanism Capital. While the protocol did not disclose the total amount raised from the fundraising round, it did mention that it had received substantial funding from over 20 crypto-focused venture capital funds. However, the specific investors were not disclosed.
The project emphasized its collaboration with Animoca Brands and Polygon Labs in the development of the platform, without providing further details. Notably, Animoca Brands’ executive chairman, Yat Siu, and Polygon co-founder, Sandeep Nailwal, personally participated in the funding round for the project.
The main focus of the Humanity Protocol is to establish digital identity for Web3 by integrating palm-recognition technology with Polygon’s zero-knowledge proofs (ZK-proofs). The project aims to offer a less invasive alternative to iris scans, taking a subtle dig at the popular eyeball-scanning project, Worldcoin.
Terence Kwok, the founder of Humanity Protocol, emphasized the company’s belief that technology should enhance human potential rather than compromise it. He highlighted their commitment to introducing a blockchain platform that is centered around human needs.
In contrast to Humanity Protocol, the Worldcoin project, which operates on a similar premise, has faced scrutiny from authorities worldwide. The French National Commission on Informatics and Liberty questioned the legality of Worldcoin’s data collection methods on July 28, 2023. Germany’s privacy watchdog had also been investigating Worldcoin since 2022. Additionally, the Kenyan government temporarily suspended the project on August 2, 2023, to safeguard its citizens.
More recently, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data in Hong Kong announced an investigation into Worldcoin. The privacy watchdog executed search warrants and conducted investigations at six Worldcoin premises in Hong Kong on January 31. The concerns raised by the privacy watchdog revolve around Worldcoin’s data collection methods, which may be in violation of the region’s Personal Data Ordinance requirements.
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