Humanode Use Cases: Combined

Humanode enables Sybil resistance on any blockchain, by having a proof-of-human-existence protocol based on liveness detection. So, what does it actually mean to have a proof-of-human-existence protocol, what does it do? These are some of the use cases we envision for protocols and applications:

Marketplaces: For online commerce, Humanode is developing auditable pseudonymous biometric identifications, which ties the identity of the users to their own biometric data. The solution utilizes crypto-biometrics, which have been designed to keep the user's biometric identification absolutely private, while proving that the person is indeed a living person, and confirming that the person tied to the account is the person who is trying to log in.
Credit Scoring: When combined with crypto-biometrics, decentralized financial institutions can unlock the highest level of identity verification for credit scores, without requiring the user to submit his or her actual biometrics. It is a win-win situation for both the creditor and the debtor, while also resolving a major issue for lending platforms in terms of establishing trust and responsibility.
Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs): Humanode enables users to be able to control their verified credentials, as consent to use those credentials is essential for an identity system to be self-sovereign. This minimises the unintentional sharing of users' personal information. Imagine a scenario where a hacker takes over a user’s private key. For a typical web3 wallet or smart account, it would mean the hacker has gained total control over the account. With Humanode, we can enable liveness detection checks of the private biometrics for each epoch, whereby the user would have to prove he or she is indeed the owner of the account.
NFTs: Humanode biometric identifications are likely to be tied in as an option for user identification in the NFT platforms in form of a wallet’s browser extension or as a full-fledged app. They will provide a simple way to interact with blockchain-based services and offer the most user-friendly interface for the non-techy members of art communities. Furthermore, content creators and collectors will be able to stay pseudonymous while utilizing blockchain-based applications without the need of revealing their identity but only by proving they are real human beings. They will effortlessly access their wallets, mint and sell tokens, and sign transactions in the most accurate and secure way.
Over-the-counter (OTC) markets: With Humanode, OTC platforms can enforce “honest” behavior and determine transaction validity without compromising the sensitive details. While it is important to preserve one’s identity, at the same time, we can establish a reputation for the counterparty, especially for escrow holders. This is done with private biometrics and zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs). With the promise of better security, ZKP can provide the optimal platform for the transfer of sensitive information such as authentication information.These proofs can aid in the creation of a secure channel that allows users to use their information without fear of being exposed.
Launchpads: The current KYC solutions are either slow, or not robust to support the decentralized web. For launchpads - when they have no KYC - the fraud comes from the project itself. When Founders of the project see that the sale is not going well - they create hundreds of wallets and buy the sale out themselves, with each wallet purchasing a few hundred dollars as if the sale is successful with many token holders. How can launchpads and projects avoid huge value captures by Whales or insider trading during the early stages of token launch? Humanode enables investor identification which does not demand the sharing of any personal information to formalize a unique human (no KYC). It uses a search-and-matching algorithm to demonstrate the humanness and individuality of its participants.
Airdrops: With the application of cutting-edge liveness detection, validated participants can be proven to be distinct and human. Based on the “one human, one allocation” premise, Humanode will ensure a fair distribution of tokens to everybody eligible for the retroactive airdrop campaign.
Social Networks: There are numerous experiments being conducted to try and prove the existence of a person, while others use government-issued documents (like a passport). Another approach is based on social trust principles, where members of a digital network vouch for the authenticity of their connections' online identities. Humanode allows social networks users to be identified without having to share any raw biometric information in order to create a unique human identity. In other words, social network users can be assured that each profile belongs to a unique human, not a bot.
Validators: When a network lacks any third-party intermediaries to verify identities, anyone with enough resources can attack and take control of the network. This is where Humanode can provide network integrity with Biometric-based Validators. With anti-spoofing technology from our liveness detection partners, we have the assurance that only one human has control over one node, the validator rewards will also be distributed fairly for a more equitable and democratic system. With the rise of L1 chains, one of the differentiators is the level of security which comes from decentralizing the nodes which are provably operable by humans.
Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs): DAOs can use Humanode to create a first-of-its-kind universal sybil defence that can drastically alter standard practices when interacting with one another in a permissionless environment. The Humanode liveness detection system could be integrated as a plugin into DAO tooling and frameworks to validate the voters' "humanity" can experiment with truly democratic systems (1 person = 1 vote) and innovative preferential or quadratic voting features that require Sybil-resistance. As DAOs begin to collaborate with other DAOs, Humanode will be there to provide private identity for DAO-to-DAO communication. Governance is an attack vector, and more robust systems need to be built to mitigate that.
Public Goods: Grant committees can distribute funds in a fair manner by integration of smart contracts to query the Humnanode network and trace whether a developer has proved his or her existence at some point in time using our liveness detection technology or develop a reputation system for developers who register using their biometric identification key.
Play-to-Earn (P2E): Play-to-earn (P2E) has already had an impact on the lives of many people in impoverished areas, helping to put food on the table for families and providing young gamers with a better future outlook. P2E projects using Humanode can include liveness detection checks. Humanode is designed to be interoperable with swappable consensus to cater for all chains and protocols. To maintain the integrity of decentralisation and economic fairness, gamers would have to demonstrate that they are indeed a human behind the game character, resulting in a more equitable and democratic system for GameFi companies.

These examples are only but a glimpse of how human nodes can and will function in the real world. More use cases will emerge as we use technology to progress for the betterment of humanity.