Vortex Demo UI is live, Polana turned bot defense into a game with BotBasher, we hosted a Fireside with Chung (ArkStream), AI video contest voting is underway, and we dropped new essays + spicy opinions on game economies, decentralization stall, centralized server risks, and “slaves by training.”

TL;DR

Hey humans,

This week is about two things becoming real: governance as something you actually use, not just vote on, and proof-of-human moving from theory into everyday practice.

We’ve released a demo version of Vortex and its UI. It’s not onchain yet — this is a vision prototype showing how we imagine governance working as Humanode grows. It’s desktop-only for now so we can iterate faster and get clearer feedback. Some features you see may not make it into the very first onchain release, because we’re prioritizing what the chain needs right now. Governance isn’t static, though. As needs sharpen, Vortex will evolve with them.

Alongside the UI, we updated the proto-Vortex proposal flow based on real experience. Proposals now move through three phases — draft, deliberation-ready, and voting-ready — to slow things down where it matters, surface better signal, and make voting feel intentional and fair. Not every proposal is meant to pass on the first try; iteration is part of the process. We’d love you to explore the demo and tell us what works, what doesn’t, and what we’re missing. Feedback is open in Discord under #vortex-experimental-mockups.

In the wild: Polana Network saw its Discord grow by ~20,000 users in two months — mostly bots. Instead of locking everything down, they integrated Humanode BotBasher and turned verification into a game called Bot Hunter. To accuse someone of being a bot, you must first verify as human. Accusations have stakes, correct calls are rewarded, wrong ones are penalized, and once someone is Humanode Verified they can’t be accused again. No identities stored, no biometric data exposed — just a clean answer to one question: is there a real human here?

On the awareness side, we hosted a Humanode Fireside with Chung from ArkStream Capital on one of crypto’s core tensions: stablecoins running on decentralized rails while the money behind them remains centralized. Progress or step backward? It’s a question worth sitting with. The recording is live across Humanode socials.

Voting is also live for Humanode’s first AI-generated video contest. Forty entries are split into four groups, with one vote per group. Top entries advance after the 72-hour window. Voting happens in the Sybil-resistant #sr-poll channel on Discord and requires the Verified Human role.

We also published several new pieces this week, exploring how systems quietly break when identity is cheap, why decentralization stalls without new human inputs, the hidden risks of centralized server architecture, and how modern markets can train people toward concentration of power rather than ownership.

If there’s a single thread running through all of this, it’s simple: systems only work when incentives, identity, and meaning line up. Governance isn’t a checkbox. Security isn’t just banning harder. Decentralization isn’t more layers. It’s the slow work of making participation real — and making “human” count again.

With you,

— The Humanode Team

🌀Vortex

Vortex Demo UI Released

We are happy to announce the release of the demo version of Vortex and its UI.

No, this version is not onchain.  Yes, these are the various functions we currently envision, and you are free to go through them and play with the demo version here.  Do note that the current version of the demo app will be desktop only.

As our Dev team continues to build the systems and write the code behind the version that will be launched onchain, we will also be working on making the functionality for proto-Vortex available on this Demo Vortex UI, moving the submission of proposals and the voting on them here sometime in the near future.

One thing to remember is that what we have here is the vision of how we see Vortex working in the future.  It has functions and ideas that may not reach the initial release of Vortex, as we are building the most important and needed functions for the current Humanode chain.  As governance and its needs grow, so will Vortex.

What we would like the community to do, is go through the demo Vortex UI, experience it, and give us feedback.  Tell us what you like about it, what you think we should do better.  What you think we nailed, and what we are missing.  If you have ideas or questions, do share them too.  Feel free to drop comments in our Discord server # vortex-experimental-mockups channel.

As stated before, we are in the proof-of-concept phase of Vortex.  Your input and feedback is what we are seeking the most, as your input is the most valuable asset we can gain at this stage of the project.

If you would like to go back and read up about Vortex, you can find the Vortex whitepaper here: https://gitbook.humanode.io/vortex-1.0

Vortex Demo: http://link.humanode.io/vortex-experimental-mockups

Github repo: http://link.humanode.io/vortex-experimental-mockups/github

Feedback: http://link.humanode.io/chat/vortex-experimental-mockups-feedback

Updates to the proto-Vortex flow

Also, we’ve updated how proto-Vortex proposals move from idea to vote.

After running a few rounds and sitting down to review what worked and what didn’t, we’ve simplified the flow into three clear phases: draft, deliberation-ready, and voting-ready. Each phase has a purpose. Each one matters.

This update is about slowing things down in the right places. Getting real signal from the community. Giving governors space to engage. And making voting feel final, intentional, and fair.

If you’re planning to submit a proposal, or even just thinking about it, this is worth a read. It explains how to test ideas early, how deliberation actually works, and why not every proposal is meant to pass on the first try.

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

Awareness & Events

🔥Humanode Fireside

Last week, we've joined by Chung, Investment Partner at ArkStream Capital, for a chat that cuts into one of crypto’s weirdest truths:

Theme: Stablecoin rise: decentralized rails, centralized money.

They move fast, work globally, and run on open networks but the money behind them? Centralized, tightly controlled, and nothing like what Satoshi imagined. Is this progress, or a step backwards?

Dato and Victor from Humanode hosted.

Streaming was live on Humanode socials: X | Youtube | Telegram | Discord

Watch the recording here: https://x.com/i/broadcasts/1mnGeNveplaJX?s=20 

🎥Humanode's first AI video contest voting

Reminder: The first round of voting for the Humanode AI-generated video contest is ongoing.

As a quick recap, we had 40 valid entries, which are split into 4 groups of 10 videos. You have one vote per group. That means four votes in total, one in each group. Please make sure you vote in all four groups, so none of your votes go unused.

Once the 72-hour voting period ends, the top two videos from each group will move on to the final round.

Voting is happening in the # sr-poll channel on the Humanode Discord server.

Since this is a Sybil-resistant channel, your account needs the Verified Human role.

If you have not done that yet, you can complete bioauthentication via Linked Roles → Verified Human (Gen.7). It is free and only takes a moment.

Thanks again to everyone taking part, and good luck to all the contestants.

🤖Polana Network Integrates BotBasher in its Discord

Polana Network’s Discord “grew” by ~20,000 users in two months — but most were bots. Instead of locking the server down, the community pointed them to Humanode BotBasher, and Polana turned verification into a game: Bot Hunter.

To accuse someone of being a bot, you must first verify as human (no verification, no accusations). Accusations cost staked Polana Points: if the target is a bot, you get your stake back + a reward; if they’re human, you lose points. The accused has 24 hours to verify, or a moderator decides. And once someone has Humanode Verified, they can’t be accused.

BotBasher is built for security without surveillance: no identities stored, no biometric data exposed — it only answers, “Is there a real human here?”Add it (currently free): 👉 https://botbasher.humanode.io

Publications

When Your Game Economy Starts Lying to You

Most games don’t break when the balance is wrong. They break when the numbers stop meaning what you think they mean.

If you’ve ever shipped an event that drained too fast, watched a leaderboard feel “off,” or tuned rewards only to make honest players angry, this piece is for you.

It looks at how Sybils quietly rot game economies from the inside. Why studios end up armoring systems instead of designing them. And what changes when identity stops being cheap.

When decentralization stops growing, you have to look at what’s missing

We’ve been watching decentralization grow in strange ways these past few years. Lots of new networks, lots of new layers, but not a lot of new people running them. And the gap shows.

So we wrote something about it. A look at why validator growth leveled out, what people are talking about now, and where a human-based model fits into the picture.

If decentralization is going to grow true, it probably needs new inputs.

Opinion Piece: The pitfall of centralized servers

Remember when X, ChatGPT, Discord, Shopify and almost 1/4th of the web went down last month… all at once? That was architectural issue at core level of internet.

This piece digs into why centralized servers are a hidden risk to a free internet, and what real decentralization actually demands.

Opinion: Slaves by training: The Unacknowledged Shackles of the Modern Economy & Crypto Market

by Shannon Higgins, Humanode Media Lead is live.

It draws an uncomfortable line between historical slavery, modern consumer conditioning, and how today’s crypto markets quietly train people to accept concentration of power, instant gratification, and scraps instead of ownership.

LP Staking

🚀🌱Just a heads up for everyone staking in the WeHMND/USDC pool

The old LP contract closed on December 1st, and the new contract has already been running since that same block. If you haven’t moved your LP tokens yet, your rewards have stopped on the old contract.

To keep earning, you’ll need to restake in the new pool:

https://mainnet.biostaker.hmnd.app/biostaker/0xA8A83f29B7c44626D08542bEcfA882980c9F87F0

Nothing else changes. Same daily 14,400 WeHMND. Same nonlinear model. Just a new contract continuing for the next 6 months.

If you haven’t switched over, now is a good time.

How to move your stake:

1. Unstake your LP tokens from the old contract.

2. Go to the new contract and stake the same LP tokens.

• Staking page: https://mainnet.biostaker.hmnd.app/
• Guide if you need it: https://link.humanode.io/guide/biodefi

🗺️ Roadmap

✨ The Road to Humanode ver. 1.0

For four years, we’ve been building toward a vision – a future where decentralization isn’t just about distribution, but about uniqueness and fairness. Where 1 human = 1 node = 1 vote isn’t just a tagline, but the foundation of how governance, finance, and digital identity can work.

We’ve come far. The world’s first operational one-person-one-node blockchain is live. 500K+ real humans bio-authenticated. Humanode EVM launched. Biomapper is on the verge of going cross-chain. But this is just the start.

Now, we’re taking the next leap with Humanode ver. 1.0, laying down the foundation for a truly decentralized, Sybil-resistant future.

The Four Pillars of Humanode ver. 1.0

♦️ SRGate – A universal identity for Web3

♦️ Vortex – The governance body where 1 human = 1 vote

♦️ True Decentralization – Growing from 1,500 to 10,000 nodes on the path to 1 million

♦️ Ecosystem Growth – More devs, more dApps, more adoption

For more information, check out Humanode’s:

▲ Website

▲ GitHub

▲ Discord

▲ X (Twitter)

▲ Telegram Channel

▲ Telegram Chat

▲ LinkedIn

▲ Youtube