Humanity Protocol, a decentralized identity solution, has recently achieved a remarkable milestone by attaining a valuation of $1 billion. This significant accomplishment comes after the company secured a $30 million funding boost, as reported in a Medium post on May 15. The funding round was led by Kingsway Capital and included investments from notable players such as Animoca Brands, Blockchain.com, Hashed, Shima Capital, and 20 other investors.

The newly acquired funds will enable Humanity Protocol to expand its product development team and prepare for the highly anticipated public test network launch, scheduled for the latter half of 2024. The project's security system, which involves scanning users' palms, incorporates cutting-edge technologies like zero-knowledge technology and proof of humanity to ensure the utmost security for digital identities on the blockchain.

Humanity Protocol aims to position its palm-scanning technology as a formidable competitor to Worldcoin, an iris-scanning system developed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Despite facing privacy issues and bans in several countries, Worldcoin has managed to attract a substantial user base of 10 million individuals. In contrast, Humanity Protocol proudly announced that it has surpassed half a million sign-ups since opening its waitlist just a month ago. The initiative was launched by Terence Kwok through the Human Institute in February 2023.

Key figures like Animoca Brands co-founder Yat Siu and the Polygon Labs team have played a crucial role in developing Humanity Protocol's test network, which was completed in February. Despite the robustness of the decentralized identity solution, Siu emphasizes the importance of creating a user-friendly enrollment process that is neither invasive nor overly complex.

As the world becomes increasingly reliant on technology and AI, the blockchain-based identity market is facing growing competition. According to IT Governance, a staggering 8.2 billion records were compromised in 2023 alone. Humanity Protocol assures its users that its decentralized approach will ensure that only individuals have control over their personal information, safeguarding their privacy in an ever-evolving digital landscape.