Humanode Mainnet Launch

After years of hard work, dedication, and belief by the team, partners, investors, and of course, the Humanode community who have supported us throughout this journey, we are elated to announce that the Humanode Mainnet will launch on  November 15th, 2022!

Beginning as a dream in 2017 to create a public permissionless financial network where power is distributed equally among the validators regardless of how much money or how good of equipment someone has, Humanode has come a long way. The Mainnet launch marks an important milestone in our journey.

For those new to the project, Based on the principle of one human = one node = one vote, Humanode aims to be the most distributed and democratic layer one public permissionless network.

The Humanode network is a protocol that can prove one's unique identity through crypto biometric authentication granting permission to launch a node and verify transactions based on collective human existence.

Safeguarded by Proof of Human Existence and Uniqueness consensus instead of Proof of Work and Proof of Stake, Humanode aims to bring Sybil resistance to the blockchain industry and break the cycle of plutocracy that corrupts the financial systems.

Sounds like a Sci-fi or an alien concept? Let's describe all this in simple terms for you to understand.

Looking at it in terms of Bitcoin mining, a miner requires mining equipment capable of performing complex mathematical computations. If your equipment is more powerful and can compute faster than others, you'll be reaping most of the benefits from the network and have more validation power to declare what is true and what is not. In Proof of stake (PoS) consensus, the more money you stake, the more power you are granted, making it a direct plutocracy where the wealthiest rule and bend the system to their desires and pursuits, reaping all the benefits as well.

Why use consensus mechanisms at all, you ask? In a distributed ledger, double spending can dismantle the whole network. Consensus mechanisms like PoW and PoS are required to prevent malicious activities such as a Sybil attack that could compromise the network. PoW and PoS mechanisms have worked well, but the reliance on equipment and money at stake leads these networks toward inevitable oligopolies and plutocracy.

This is one of the biggest challenges to making blockchain fully decentralized, secure, scalable, and accessible to the masses. To decipher this problem in the Humanode network, nodes are created through cryptobiometric authentication – a combination of cryptographically secure matching and liveness detection mechanisms that verify the uniqueness and existence of real human beings. All nodes are made equal in voting and validation power, and a person cannot launch more than one node.

Thus, the user's pseudonymous biometric identity becomes the stake that gives access to the creation of a node that approves/verifies transactions. This approach mitigates the problem of the disproportion of power in decentralized systems such as mining cartels or validator oligopolies.

How is all this made possible by Humanode?

Well, this is a good question and is also our secret sauce. Not so secret because the technology is soon to be open-source. You will easily be able to access it on GitHub pretty soon.

Let me explain it precisely before moving on to the Mainnet launch information. Humanode combines biometric authentication and liveness detection with blockchain in a secure and encrypted way to ensure that everyone -- either a node operator or authenticator -- is a unique human being. This helps secure the network from being occupied by multiple accounts and bots. In short, it makes the network actually decentralized where one human = one node.

While using biometrics raises concerns about the privacy of personal data, Humanode has ensured that the raw biometric data of the user is never shared with anyone in or outside the network. It is done by encrypting the data, using ZK proofs for authentication, and safely securing the encrypted data in secure enclaves. To read the details on how users' biometric data will be secured, check the Biometric approach to the user identification section of the whitepaper.

In this article, we will discuss key features of the Humanode Network, Mainnet launch, and what is in it for you. We will also describe what it means to be a human node, how and why to develop apps on top of the humanode blockchain, and what the future has in store for us.

LeLet'sive straight into it!

Key Features of the Humanode Blockchain

Before getting into the nitty gritty, how about discussing the key features of the Humanode network that distinguishes it from other Layer 1 protocols?

1- Proper Distribution -- Do you know what is the most straightforward phenomenon to make a network genuinely decentralized? Dato - Co-founder of Humanode- started pondering this question in 2017, and we found the answer – making sure each entity has an equal say – and to do that, one person must equal one node, and all nodes must be equal to one another.

Humanode is the first Layer 1 network with the power distributed equally among all human nodes. By design, all human nodes will be equal regarding validation power.

2- Cryptobiometric Sybil resistance  - Humanode is the first and only blockchain that utilizes cryptobiometric proof of existence and uniqueness as the Sybil resistance to protect the consensus layer.

3- Everyone can become a validator- Instead of using heavy mining equipment or money like in PoW and PoS, in the humanode network, everyone is eligible to become a node operator if they are human and alive. Yes, you’ll need some essential equipment, but it is relatively cheap, so almost everyone can afford them.

4- EVM compatibility - By bridging Humanode to other EVM-compatible chains, the network can provide private biometric processing and Sybil resistance to dApps and protocols based on other chains. This makes Humanode ETH-friendly rather than ETH-killer (as most new protocols claim). Read more on the benefits of Humanode's EVM compatibility here.

5- Low and stable gas fee - One of the goals of the Humanode network is to solve current issues of transaction fee pricing by making the fees stable in USD terms despite the volatility of the native token. Hence, we have developed a cost-based fee system.

6- Fast transactions - All transactions on the humanode chain are guaranteed to be finalized within a few seconds. (avg block finalization time is 12  secs).

7- Solid security - Using pseudonymous biometric 1 to N search and matching and liveness detection for proof of existence and uniqueness guarantees the network's security. An attacker will have to create a multitude of fake identities to take over the network, which is next to impossible at the planned scale. Read more about pseudonymous biometric authentication here.

8- Intuitive and simple UI/UX - The idea behind creating humanode is to distribute power equally, so the team has developed Humanode Launcher. The interface is easy-to-use so that everyone – with or without tech knowledge – can launch a node and become a validator.

9- Fairness and equality- FATH monetary algorithm ensures the negation of monetary inflation. The fees are equally distributed among the human nodes. The emission is distributed proportionally across all of the token holders.

10. Decentralized Governance - Governance in the Humanode Network will be decentralized and is to be known as Vortex—the Humanode DAO, a Decentralized Autonomous Organization to rule over the changes. Read more about vortex here.

Recapping some interesting points from our journey so far

1. Development of fully secured pseudonymous biometric authentication technology that will allow using biometrics – facial recognition for now – to verify and authenticate users without sharing unencrypted personal data in a decentralized system. Humanode’s crypto-biometrics is the first ever decentralized, fully secure biometric authentication technology.
2. Successful launch of four Testnet protocols within a year, we achieved: 10000+ unique testnet validators and node operators and an active community.
3. Partnerships and backing from VC funds and investors in the web 3 space. Least to say that even before the mainnet launch, many Dapps and DAOs have already integrated Humanode authentication.
4. Concluded private and presale rounds. (the presale round didn’t go as well as we expected, probably because of the bear markets. Declaring this Might sound like a marketing killer, but this is the truth. Rest assured, we have accumulated enough funds to get the project through bears.  And seeing the participation from those who actually believe in what we are building rather than token accumulation due to hype is good since the project will be owned mainly by those in web 3 who believe in true innovation.)

Now that you have read the key features of the Humanode blockchain, let us move on to the details about Mainnet.

Mainnet launch – path to the proper distribution

We have been working with many teams on a shared mission to bring Sybil resistance and true decentralization to web 3. Since the beginning, we have had the chance to integrate the  Humanode bio-auth technology with several protocols and dapps to make them more secure and Sybil-resistant. We have already announced our partnerships with Ink Finance and ORE ID. But this mainnet launch will serve as a starter for our commitment to give a fair opportunity for every project.

Mainnet launch will introduce the Humanode network to the public. Once the mainnet is up and running, developers can build projects on top of the Humanode. Our team is already working with several dApp projects to launch new services. Although we are eager to showcase these projects today, the community will have to wait. Don’t worry, we have a lot of pleasant surprises for you! Hint - We have something cooking up with Gitcoin. And as the mainnet goes live, you can expect several projects to be deployed on Humanode, including the winner of our Hackathon - Human Collectives.

Humanode for everyone

While we discussed what Humanode is all about and what’s happening, the real question remains. What is in it for you? Yes, you!

General public and users

Anyone can accumulate and hold HMND tokens on exchanges where they will be listed, just like any other token. HMND is the native token for the Humanode network, so all the transactions happening on the network will be in HMND. People can use HMND tokens for transaction and authorization fees on Dapps, using Humanode as an authentication service.

HMND isn’t listed on any exchange yet, but we are already working on the integration, and hopefully, you’ll get the announcement pretty soon. Keep an eye on the official announcements in Discord and Telegram.

Developers and builders

Humanode enables Sybil resistance on any blockchain by having a proof-of-human-existence protocol based on liveness detection. Here are some of the use cases that we envision:

1. P2P Marketplaces
2. Credit Scoring and uncollateralized loans
3. Fair Airdrops
4. Launchpads
5. DAOs
6. P2E games
7. DeFi networks
8. Decentralized social networks

If you are a dev looking to develop decentralized and Sybil-resistant apps in any of these niches or want to integrate 1p1v consensus in already-built apps. In that case, you can easily incorporate Humanode’s technology. There are two ways to integrate with Humanode:

• Building on top of the Humanode network
• Integrating Humanode OAuth into your applications

Read this article for detailed info on incorporating Sybil resistance into your application.

Validators

Humanode is powered by a network of nodes called human nodes. These nodes verify and validate any transaction happening on the network and earn fees. Everyone can run a node, and we will discuss the process of becoming a human node in detail below.

Mainnet rollout plan

We have been developing and testing for over a year. Now that we are fully confident that Humanode is ready for the public, there is no going back. The roll-out plan is outlined below.

There will be no pre-onboarding period or pre-registration to become a human node. You will have to download the Humanode launcher app - just like in the testnets - set up your node and start validating the transactions. However, the first two weeks are dedicated to setting up nodes successfully. We will begin calculating the node uptime and longevity after the first two weeks.

HMND token listing will be after the deployment of the mainnet, so only those who have accumulated the tokens in pre-listing rounds will be able to launch a node, as you need a small fee to bio-authorize your human node. The token claim list will be included in the genesis so all the participants of the waves will be able to claim their tokens. We will publish an announcement on where and how to claim your tokens.

Expect bugs, crashes, and other technical issues, as this type of Sybil resistance has never been implemented before. But regardless, we will work it out with your help and patience.

Launching and running a node

To run a node, all you need is to be a unique human being and alive, own a few HMND tokens to cover initial transaction fees, have a minimum spec computer or cloud server, and have an appetite to participate in the network. You can check the detailed specs here.

Validators onboarding

Starting with the launch of Mainnet, anyone can run a node; the installation guide can be found here. Initially, we will onboard 1000 validators. This is to guarantee the stability of the network in the early stages and to shake out all the bugs early on. After the initial stabilization, the system will be open, and everyone will be able to onboard.

Airdrop for the community and the bootstrapping fund

To bootstrap the network and reward the community members who have been with us for a long time, we have decided that a 2.5% HMND token supply will be distributed among the community members. Just as a reminder, there weren’t any announcements for incentivizing Testnets, and people still participated in huge numbers. Kudos to all the Testnet participants!

Coming back to the airdrop, to bootstrap the network and reward participation from the community members, we have decided that 2.5% of the HMND supply will be distributed among:

1- Testnet 1, 2, and 3 participants onboarded and finalized blocks before the 16th of August will get 0.5% of the total token supply which will be distributed equally. Testnet participants can check how many blocks they produced in all testnet by entering their substrate or ETH wallet addresses in this checker.

2- Every address that will be included in the genesis from presale and private rounds. 1 HMND to each address for bootstrapping purposes.

3- First 100 validators, based on the uptime of their nodes and longevity, will receive an equal share of 2% of the total supply. The nodes with the best uptime on Mainnet will be included in the bootstrapping set.  This airdrop will cover the cost of running the nodes for several years. Also, with the increase of the token price, the number of nodes can also be increased.

Validating a Transaction

In order to make the transactions secure and fast, the Humanode mainnet will utilize a hybrid consensus mechanism (BABE and GRANDPA), as we have been testing on the test networks before. BABE is used for block production. Multiple validators will be able to produce a block and broadcast it to the network. Humanode will utilize the GRANDPA consensus algorithm to finalize the Block and select the validator. It works in a partially synchronous network model as long as 2/3 of the nodes are honest and can cope with 1/5 Byzantine nodes in an asynchronous setting.

A notable distinction is that GRANDPA reaches agreements on chains rather than blocks, considerably speeding up the finalization process, even after long-term network partitioning or other networking failures.

Generally, there will be 3 sorts of transactions happening on the Humanode network:

1. Financial transactions of the HMND tokens.
2. Execution of smart contracts on-chain and off-chain since it is an EVM-compatible network.
3. Biometric verification happening on the Humanode chain and other chains that integrate Humanode technology.

The Fee Distribution - FATH

Humanode project pursues the implementation of FATH as a long-term solution to mitigate long-term devaluation by the proportional distribution of the emission. You can read about FATH in detail here.

FATH is a financial system that does not become a hyperinflation spiral nor create devaluation, likely with a proportional distribution between members of a network with the correlative value. Our vision is to create a stable and just financial system that relies on the existence of human life itself, one human = one node. And Fath will work as the monetary algorithm for it to happen.

The commission will be equally distributed among the nodes on a weekly basis.

Governance DAO- Vortex

Humanode governance is bound to be decentralized by building something inclusive for everyone and distributing power equally. In the beginning, however, there will be no on-chain DAO. But the proof of time will be in place to calculate the uptime and longevity of the nodes validating the transaction. Once implemented, this data will be mapped onto the on-chain DAO - Vortex. To make proposals and votes on critical matters, we might utilize any other voting platform, such as Snapshot, but that’s for the community to decide later.

One thing that needs to be kept in mind here is that voting power – either after Vortex or before – doesn’t depend on how much HMND token you have. Everyone has equal voting power. But the proposal rights depend on i) devotion to the ecosystem and ii) the node's uptime. You can read about Vortex in detail here.

HMND Token Supply and Utility

The launch of the Humanode network also marks the launch of the official tokens HMND.

Utility

HMND is a utility token that will be used as a utility on the Humanode network for the following purposes:

• Transaction fees;
• Deployment and interaction with smart contracts;
• Private biometric checks - uniqueness and liveness;
• Storage of data based on human-to-human trust.

Supply and Distribution

The total supply of HMND was hard-capped at 400 million. All lock-up periods start from TGE, and vesting schedules begin after the lock-up.

Here’s an overview of the total supply distribution:

• 5% of the tokens were raised in the angel round with broad distribution and small allocations;
• 10% of HMND tokens reserved during the seed round;
• 10% of HMND tokens reserved for the strategic round;
• 0.91% of HMND tokens reserved for Presale on Tokensoft.
• 11% of HMND tokens are allocated to the core team under more strict lockups and vesting conditions;
• 9% of HMND tokens will be allocated to a broader team, people who join Humanode Core after the mainnet;
• 3% allocated for the market maker in the form of a loan;
• 36.9% of the tokens will be allocated to Humanode DAO treasury reserve funds;
• 10% for the ecosystem fund;
• 0.5% of the tokens will be distributed to the Humanode Testnet 1,2,3 participants if they joined before the snapshot happened (16.08.2022), meaning before the announcement of rewards for testnet participants. Please note that tokens will be distributed randomly throughout the 1st month after TGE.
• 2% of the tokens will be allocated to mainnet validators to bootstrap their operations before they are sufficiently covered by the network fees.

What lies ahead of us

Over the coming weeks and months, we’ll continue measuring network usage, enhancing stability and performance, and gradually integrating with protocols utilizing Humanode’s Sybil-resistant technology. We’ll also work on features and technologies to improve the technology over time. In the long run, we have some exciting development works that we believe have the capacity to completely disrupt Web3. If things go smoothly, we expect the governance to be fully decentralized in 3-4 years.

We’re truly grateful for all the support we’ve received. We want to thank our team of passionate builders and visionaries. Yes, we are small in numbers but highly passionate about our mission to bring the true distribution of power.

We’re also fortunate to be backed by investors in the web 3 space who have shared our vision and believed in our mission from a very early stage. We are backed by Republic Crypto, Shima, Tribe, Crypto.com, Big Brain Holdings, and other excellent partners, and we intend to continue investing in making Humanode more advanced and robust.

Finally and most importantly, a big shout out and thank you to each and every member of the Humanode community. You guys have always been with us – participating in the Testnets, giving feedback, raising questions, and actively participating in the events and AMAs. There’s still a lot of work to be done, so please stay connected with us sharing your valuable feedback and giving ideas for adding exciting features. We wouldn’t be here without your support!

With that said, Humanode is a public utility, and we can’t do it alone, so if you want to help, start spreading the word and get involved! Join the community today.

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Disclaimer

HMND Tokens should not be considered an investment, and it should not be used or purchased for speculative reasons. HMND Tokens do not give its holder any right to profits, and it does not represent any ownership interest. HMND is a digital asset that has value and utility solely within the Humanode network.