Humanity Protocol, a project supported by prominent crypto entities such as Animoca Brands and Polygon, has revealed the successful completion of its funding round, securing investments from venture capital funds in the crypto space.
On February 28, the protocol made an announcement stating that it had obtained strategic investments from Hashed, CMCC, Cypher Capital, Foresight Ventures, and Mechanism Capital. Although the protocol did not disclose the full list of investors, it did mention that it received substantial funding from over 20 crypto-focused venture capital funds. The exact amount raised during the fundraising round was not disclosed.
Although specific details were not provided, it was revealed that the project was developed in collaboration with Animoca Brands and Polygon Labs. Notably, Yat Siu, the executive chairman of Animoca Brands, and Sandeep Nailwal, co-founder of Polygon, personally participated in the funding round for the project.
The primary focus of the project is digital identity for Web3, integrating palm-recognition technology with Polygon’s zero-knowledge proofs (ZK-proofs). The project aims to provide a less intrusive alternative to iris scans, seemingly 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 stated that they are dedicated to bringing a human-centric blockchain to the global community.
In contrast, the Worldcoin project, which operates on a similar premise, has faced scrutiny from various regulatory bodies around the world. The French National Commission on Informatics and Liberty raised questions about the legality of Worldcoin’s data collection methods on July 28, 2023. Germany’s privacy watchdog had been investigating Worldcoin since 2022, and on July 31, 2023, it was revealed. The Kenyan government suspended the project on August 2, 2023, to mitigate potential risks for its citizens.
More recently, Hong Kong’s Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data initiated an investigation into Worldcoin. On January 31, the PCPD executed search warrants and entered six Worldcoin premises in Hong Kong as part of its probe into the project. The privacy watchdog expressed concerns about Worldcoin’s data collection methods, suggesting that they may violate the requirements of the region’s Personal Data Ordinance.
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