On Monday, the Crypto’s “proof of humanity” sector experienced a significant merger as the Holonym Foundation acquired Gitcoin Passport for an undisclosed amount of cash and tokens. This transaction brings together two closely related companies, as Holonym was already utilizing Gitcoin Passport’s logbook, which allows 2 million internet users to store proof of their personhood for services that require verification of their identity.
The merger between Holonym and Gitcoin is part of a larger trend in the crypto industry, with companies like Sam Altman’s Worldcoin also developing ways to distinguish between real people and bots. Gitcoin Passport, which will now be rebranded as Human Passport, will continue to operate with eight of its employees joining Holonym’s team of 30. The CEO of Holonym, Shady El Damaty, plans to make the digital passport more portable so that it can be used across different platforms on the internet, providing identity verification for online transactions.
One of the main advantages of using a crypto passport like Gitcoin’s is the privacy it offers. Unlike government-issued IDs, which reveal personal information, the crypto passport can verify a person’s identity without disclosing their identity. This feature will be further enhanced with the integration of zero-knowledge proof technology, which will be applied to the nearly 35 million credentials currently stored on Gitcoin Passport.
While proof of humanity technology is commonly used in crypto airdrops to ensure that tokens are distributed to real people, Holonym’s acquisition of Gitcoin Passport opens up opportunities for partnerships with humanitarian organizations. For example, the company plans to work with digital identity checkers to help refugees access financial aid. In fact, one upcoming project will provide identity verification for 1 million displaced persons.
This merger may also strengthen Holonym’s position in the market, as it competes with Worldcoin, which is backed by OpenAI’s Sam Altman. According to El Damaty, Holonym is positioning itself as an alternative to Worldcoin. The company has already helped secure $225 million in airdrops and is now looking to expand its services to more humanitarian initiatives.
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