Humanode Biweekly vol.111

Humanode Core

26 Nov 2025 • 8 min read

Biomapper now on Ethereum and BNB chain

TL;DR

Humanode just turned three. Three years since mainnet launch, three years of human nodes keeping this stubborn experiment alive: a network where validation comes from living people, not capital. With Cross-chain Biomapper now live on Ethereum, BNB, and several other chains, we’re stepping into a phase where “one human = one node” isn’t just a Humanode thing anymore, but something any builder can plug into. If you’re developing on Ethereum or BNB, you can now drop Humanode Biomapper into your stack with just a few lines of code and know there’s a real human behind every account, without ever touching their identity or raw biometrics.

While Biomapper’s cross-chain campaign hits its “grand finale” for now, the dev team is shifting its main focus to Vortex, the Humanode DAO. We’ve proven we can do one human = one node, and we’ve enabled one human = one account across ecosystems. The next frontier is one human = one vote. Vortex and proto-Vortex are where that path becomes real governance instead of just a tagline.

If you want to shape the direction of the network more directly, proto-Vortex round two is now open for human nodes, with a budget of $1000 in HMND for this cycle. Every two weeks, validators propose small, concrete projects, we review and vote, and the selected projects get funded milestone by milestone. It’s not just funding: you get core team support, a vote in the next governance rounds, and hands-on experience that will matter when full Vortex comes online.

On the social side of the network, BotBasher is still here, still kicking, and still free. If you’re running a Discord server or Telegram channel and you’re tired of talking to bot swarms, you can plug BotBasher in and turn your space into a “verified human only” zone. No creepy data grabs, no KYC forms, just biometric liveness checks that don’t leak who you are.

To celebrate the moment and have some fun with AI, we’ve launched Humanode’s first AI video contest. The theme is simple: tell the world what Humanode is, what “one human = one node = one vote” means, why Vortex’s cognitocratic / meritocratic liquid democracy matters, or just what you personally find compelling about this project. Use any AI video generator you like, free or paid. Keep it between 8 seconds and 3 minutes, post it on the social platform where you actually live, and then drop the link in the humanodes-got-talent thread on Discord. The contest runs until December 17, 2025, with $300 / $200 / $100 in HMND for the top three entries, plus $20 in HMND for any video we feature along the way. On December 18, we’ll open BotBasher-based voting: anyone can vote, but each verified human only gets one voice.

Meanwhile, we’ve been busy on the writing and thinking front. There’s a new explainer on Biomapper and what “Sybil-resistance at your fingertips” really means when you stop guessing user numbers and start counting actual humans. There’s a deep dive on DAOs after token governance and what happens “when capital stops leading,” especially as models shift toward human- and contribution-based governance. There’s a piece tracing how power keeps drifting upward, from parliaments to protocols, and what it would take to design systems that resist that drift instead of quietly reproducing it. And there’s “Proof of Life, Proof of Death: Cryptographic Immortality and the End of the Human Validator” by Sasha Shilina, asking what happens to liveness, identity, and authority when blockchains depend on the living but their keys can outlive us.

Three years in, Humanode is still a work in progress and still unapologetically human-first. Thanks for running nodes, drafting proposals, building tools, arguing in Discord. Here’s to the next cycle.

Until next time,

— The Humanode Team

🎂 Three Years of Humanode Mainnet

Humanode Mainnet just turned three.

Three years ago, we launched an experiment: a blockchain where validation is not about capital or hardware, but about living human beings. Since then, the network has grown into a global community of human nodes who keep the chain running and help us push the boundaries of Sybil-resistance.

With Cross-chain Biomapper now deployed across multiple ecosystems — including Ethereum, BNB Chain, Avalanche, and more — and with Vortex (the Humanode DAO) in active development, the next few years look even more promising.

Today, we raise a toast:

to the Humanode community,
to the human nodes who secure the network,
and to the team making this idea real.

Happy Birthday, Humanode.

🌀Vortex

Round two of applications for proto-Vortex projects is now open — and will run for two weeks.

Budget for Round 2: $1000 worth of HMND

Proto-Vortex is where validators (human nodes running validator nodes) can start shaping the future of Vortex by proposing and executing small projects.

Every two weeks:

Validators submit proposals within the budget
Proposals are reviewed and voted on
Funds are allocated to the selected projects

If your proposal is accepted:

You receive funding (milestone by milestone)
The core team supports you through the process
You earn a vote in the next rounds of governance
You gain hands-on experience that will matter once Vortex launches

If you want a say in the future of this network, this is where to start.

Guidelines: https://blog.humanode.io/invitation-to-the-proto-vortex/
Basic Rules: https://link.humanode.io/proto-vortex/rules
Submit proposals: https://link.humanode.io/proto-vortex/proposals

⛓️ Cross-chain Biomapping

Biomapper now on Ethereum and BNB chain

Over the past half-year, the focus has been on spreading Biomapper to other chains, giving developers a simple way to build Sybil-resistant dApps using Humanode’s biometric verification — without leaving their home ecosystem.

To cap off this cross-chain push, we’re happy to announce:

Biomapper is now live on Ethereum and BNB Chain.

If you’re building on either of these chains, you can now:

integrate Humanode Biomapper in just a few lines of code,
ensure each account is controlled by a unique living human,
and build “one human = one account” systems or “proof of existence” tools.

This concludes the initial “crossbridge” campaign, but not the story. Biomapper can and will expand to other chains as demand grows.

For now, the Humanode dev team is shifting its main focus to Vortex, the Humanode DAO — the last piece in the original vision:

We’ve built one human = one node.
We’ve enabled chains to build one human = one account systems.
Now we’re working toward one human = one vote

For more information on Biomapper:

App: biomapper.hmnd.app

Tutorial: Watch here

For integration, check it out:

And don’t forget Biomapper is live on:

Somnia, Nomis, Monad, Fuse, Talent Protocol, Orange Protocol, Wanchain, Etherlink, Soneium, Aurora Network, XRPL EVM Sidechain, Ontology EVM, Botanix, Metis, Vanar, Verax, Unichain, Nibiru, Hemi, Manta, Scroll, Arbitrum, Janction Testnet, Hyperliquid, Story, Sei Network, Sonic, Base, Filecoin, Avalanche.

🤖Botbasher is kicking and free

Hi, I’m BotBasher. Remember me?

I’m the plug-in that lets you turn your Discord server or Telegram channel into a “humans only” space. No armies of sockpuppet accounts, no bot swarms pretending to be a crowd.

If you want to know how I keep bots out without being creepy, how verification works, and how privacy is preserved, read the full explainer.

🗺️ Humanode Ecosystem Map

A fresh snapshot of where Humanode’s tech anchors Sybil resistance and proof of personhood across Web3.

Awareness & Events

🎥Humanode's first AI video contest is live!

Missing the old Humanode contests? Time for a new one.

We’re launching Humanode’s first AI Video Contest and we want to see how you explain Humanode with AI-generated video.

Who can participate? Anyone — as long as there’s a real human behind the submission.

Theme: Humanode. Tell the story you find most compelling:

Humanode in general
the one human = one node = one vote vision
Vortex’s cognitocratic / meritocratic liquid democracy
or any aspect of Humanode you think the world should know

Tools: Use any AI video generator you like — free or paid.

Length: From 8 seconds up to 3 minutes.

Contest duration: Now until December 17, 2025.

Prize pool:

🥇 1st place: $300 in HMND
🥈 2nd place: $200 in HMND
🥉 3rd place: $100 in HMND

Videos that catch our eye during the contest may be featured on our social media.

If your video is featured, you earn $20 in HMND, even if you don’t end up in the top 3.
If you both win and get featured, the $20 is added on top of your prize.

Where to post:

Post your video on your preferred social platform (ideally where you have the most followers).
Then drop the link in the #humanodes-got-talent thread on the Humanode Discord.

Who votes? On December 18, voting opens through BotBasher-based voting on Discord.

Anyone can vote — but you must prove you’re a unique human and get the “verified human” role (bioauthentication required, free of charge).
One verified human = one vote.

Publications

🧬Sybil-resistance at your fingertips. The Biomapper option

Maybe it’s time to stop guessing how many real people are using your product and actually know. Biomapper lets every account prove there’s a living human behind it, without giving away identity, raw biometrics, or personal data. One scan, one human, one account.

It might be disruptive. It might shrink the “million users!!” into a few thousand. But it also gives you truth and with truth comes the ability to build something real.

Read the full piece here to understand how Biomapper works, how it protects privacy, and how it can be integrated.

🏛DAOs after token governance: Where governance goes when capital stops leading?

We just published a new deep-dive: “Where governance goes when capital stops leading.” It looks at what’s happened since the 2024 governance report, why token voting has plateaued, and what comes next for DAOs as they shift toward human-based and contribution-based models. It also covers how Vortex and proto-Vortex fit into this new landscape.

If you care about the future of decentralized governance, this one’s worth a read.

From Parliaments to Protocols - Why power keeps drifting upward

Another new publication looks at why real-world democracies and crypto governance keep ending up with the same problem: low participation, concentrated influence, and power settling into the hands of a few. And what it would take to build systems that push back.

If you care about decentralized governance, this one might spark something.

Proof of Life, Proof of Death: Cryptographic Immortality and the End of the Human Validator

New piece is live, and it asks a question most people avoid. “Proof of Life, Proof of Death: Cryptographic Immortality and the End of the Human Validator” by Sasha Shilina.

If blockchains rely on the living, they also have to deal with the dead. This one looks at what happens when consensus meets mortality and why networks like Humanode can’t ignore it forever.