Gavin Wood, the creator of the interoperability blockchain Polkadot (DOT), has highlighted a critical use case that he believes could drive the mass adoption of blockchains: proof of personhood. In a recent interview on Raoul Pal’s podcast, Wood discussed how this mechanism, which digitally verifies a person’s humanity, could be the "killer application" for blockchain technology.

Wood noted that while blockchains have excelled in scaling value transfer—essentially handling money—they have yet to effectively integrate the concept of personhood. “What I’ve come to think about in this regard [during] the last couple of years is that blockchains have so far only really mastered doing scale of value—money basically. They haven’t mastered the concept of personhood, it’s something that we rely on in everyday life for almost everything,” he explained.

To illustrate, Wood pointed out everyday scenarios where proof of personhood is essential. For instance, when purchasing expensive items, like a piece of computer equipment, stores verify the buyer's identity to ensure they are a real person before allowing transactions over a certain amount. Although often unnoticed, this verification is a crucial aspect of modern society, particularly in the West.

Wood emphasized the ubiquity of proof of personhood in Western society and cautioned against relying on governments for such verification in blockchain applications. “We just do it naturally, [we] expect to be able to see a face and so many transactions rely on that. So much of our social fabric relies on [proof of personhood] that it needs to be part of blockchain before blockchain is going to be a big part of society,” he said.

However, Wood questioned how to achieve this without government involvement. He expressed skepticism about approaches like Worldcoin and the KYC (know-your-customer) passport, citing their heavy reliance on centralized entities. “I’m not a big fan of the Worldcoin approach, I think that’s just too much trust in the Worldcoin apparatus. I’m not a big fan of the KYC passport approach, I think it’s too much reliance on governments,” Wood stated.

He advocated for more inventive solutions to integrate personhood into blockchain systems at a fundamental level, without depending on government infrastructure. “I wouldn’t, broadly speaking, rely on any government stuff to power blockchain and this needs to sit at a pretty low level for it to be useful so we need to come up with quite a lot more inventive means of building personhood into blockchain,” Wood concluded.

Wood's insights suggest that addressing the challenge of proof of personhood could be a pivotal development for blockchain technology, potentially paving the way for its broader acceptance and integration into society.