In November 2025, the cryptocurrency industry's focus on "Humanity Protocol" was detailed in an in-depth report by Messari Research. This decentralized identity project combines palm biometrics and zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) to verify user uniqueness and identity, enabling privacy-based credentials in various fields such as KYC, ticketing, and finance. Related keywords include "Proof-of-Trust," "privacy-preserving digital identity," and "ZK biometrics."
The Humanity Protocol's central concern is that trust and uniqueness verification remain unresolved in the online environment. Data breach notifications have surged to over 1.7 billion in the past year, and the rise of deepfakes and bot attacks due to the advancement of generative AI has heightened the need for identity solutions that combine high accuracy with privacy protection. Existing KYC systems have also been criticized for limiting user control and privacy through centralized data collection and identity verification.
Accordingly, Humanity Protocol developed a proof-of-trust system utilizing palm biometric scans, based on an EVM-compatible L2 chain. When a user scans their palm using a mobile app or infrared scanner, their identity is registered and verified in ZK-encrypted form, without storing the raw biometric data. This allows for the verification of characteristics such as age, residence, and income without exposing anyone to the information. This on-chain verification is performed by decentralized validators called "zkProofer nodes," who, despite receiving incentives, do not directly access biometric data.
The palm recognition method chosen by Humanity is more non-invasive and difficult to counterfeit than facial or iris recognition. Mobile onboarding using smartphone cameras is currently underway, and the second phase will involve the deployment of infrared hardware scanners that recognize vein patterns. These scanners offer the advantage of being usable even in non-internet environments, allowing for offline verification points of contact. These devices, as part of the Decentralized Physical Infrastructure (DePIN), are expanding use cases by being applied to real-world applications such as building access, transportation, and healthcare authentication.
Beyond the foundation of technical trust, a verifiable credential (VC) ecosystem is emerging that issues and verifies information. Specifically, a framework called zk-TLS captures and authenticates data during TLS communications as zk, enabling private logins even on Web2 websites. Furthermore, in collaboration with Mastercard, aiming to verify privacy-based financial information, the company has begun deploying an open finance-style service that verifies users' income and credit ratings without requiring document uploads.
Humanity acquired Moongate, an on-chain event ticketing and verification platform, expanding its system's utility to include real-world authentication, such as event access and loyalty programs. It is expanding its proven, unique user-based ecosystem through integrations with partners from various industries, including ApeChain, Kaito, and Prenetics. The H token is a native utility asset used for staking, rewards, and governance purposes. Actual token distribution is provided exclusively to human-verified users via a "fairdrop" method to prevent sybils (automated accounts).
Mesari Research emphasized that Humanity's design is structured around the keywords "privacy protection," "decentralized verification," and "encrypted data sharing." While other digital ID systems still rely on centralized servers, sensitive information storage, and established KYC providers, Humanity offers a distinct advantage. Specifically, the analysis suggests that it strikes a balance between regulatory compliance and user privacy by completely separating biometric information processing and storage, and recognizing identity attributes solely through proof.
A future challenge is the complete decentralization of credential issuance. Currently, the protocol itself issues verifiable credentials, but plans are to gradually move toward delegating this authority to a consensus-based group of validators. For privacy-preserving identities to operate as truly "self-sovereign" entities, technological and governance structures must mature. Humanity believes this structure can serve as an alternative to existing centralized solutions in real-world digital identity markets such as education, finance, and voting.
In an age where proof of "real humanity" is increasingly important in the digital world, can humanity usher in a new future of trust built on palms and encryption technology?
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