On one hand, there is the enthusiastic support from top capital; on the other hand, there are issues of technical outsourcing and privacy controversies; while waving the banner of 'anti-witchcraft', they were also found to have the logo of a Shenzhen access control manufacturer in their code.
Humanity Protocol, hailed as the 'strongest anti-witch network' Web3 identity verification star project, has a valuation exceeding $1.1 billion, backed by a luxurious lineup of capital such as Pantera, Jump, and Animoca, once viewed as a strong competitor to Worldcoin.
But on the other side of the spotlight, the layer of 'technological revolution' and 'privacy shield' is peeling away inch by inch. What kind of 'dual role' lies behind Humanity?
Capital deification: The secret to a $1.1 billion valuation
Humanity Protocol was established in 2023, with the core selling point being a human proof system based on palm print recognition, claiming to solve the 'witchcraft' problem in the Web3 world through non-invasive biometric technology.
The keen sense of capital was quickly attracted: Humanity has completed three rounds of financing to date, raising over $50 million, with a fully diluted valuation reaching $1.1 billion. Investors include 31 well-known institutions such as Animoca Brands, Blockchain.com, Polygon, and IDG Blockchain.
The Humanity Foundation is also star-studded, led by Yat Siu, chairman of Animoca Brands, with co-founders including Mario Nawfal, founder of an international blockchain consulting firm, and Yeewai Chong, a senior investment expert from Morgan Stanley and Ortus Capital.
On June 17, the Android version supporting palm print scanning verification was released by Humanity, with over 8 million users pre-registering for Human ID. Shortly after, on June 22, Binance announced the launch of HumanityProtocol (H) in the Alpha and contract markets. By then, Humanity's development momentum seemed very strong, but with the launch of the airdrop activity, more and more hidden information was uncovered by netizens, and doubts began to emerge.
Is the core technology sourced from a Chinese outsourcing factory?
According to X user @LianFang, it is suspected that Humanity Protocol may be a 'domestic project shell', with images from Shenzhen access control manufacturer Palm Technology still present in the APP code resource library, claiming that its social platform's popularity is largely staged by project insiders.
Image source: (ChainCatcher)
Crypto KOL AB Kuai.Dong further revealed that behind Palm Technology is a Shanghai outsourcing company that specializes in comprehensive outsourcing services for identity verification systems. This stands in stark contrast to the 'technological innovation' touted by Humanity.
In response, Humanity founder Terence Kwok stated that Palm Technology was an early partner, and the related materials were 'historical legacies' from the packaging process, emphasizing that the founder was a former senior executive at Tencent and had experience in the biometric industry.
However, this response did not dispel community concerns. AB Kuai.Dong retorted, if it was just a partnership, why could they use their codebase and even include their company's cover?
In fact, this is not Humanity's first controversy at the technical level. As early as December 2024, Yu Xian, the founder of Slow Mist Technology, posted on the X platform pointing out that Humanity had serious security risks during the testing phase: if users log in using Web2 methods (such as email), the platform would automatically assign a wallet address and store the private key in plain text in the browser's sessionStorage.
The technical foundation of Humanity, wrapped in glamour, gradually loses its luster with each revelation.
Founder's resume shadow: $170 million 'cautionary tale'
In the face of team controversies, Humanity Protocol founder Terence Kwok stated, 'I am a Chinese who has given up my American passport and only holds a Hong Kong passport.' However, with deeper digging into his background, a not-so-glamorous entrepreneurial history has emerged.
According to foreign media Protos, Terence Kwok nearly doomed his $1.5 billion smartphone company Tink Labs due to aggressive expansion, burning over $170 million in investment funds. Tink Labs gained favor from giants including SoftBank and Foxconn by providing free smartphones to hotel guests but fell into trouble due to changes in market conditions, imbalances in business models, and broken funding chains, ultimately entering bankruptcy liquidation in 2020.
The former HR head of Tink Labs bluntly said, 'I never expected it to last long, but I didn't think it would collapse so quickly. Kwok only cares about making money.' This old case of 'unicorn collapse' has now planted another worry in users' minds.
Airdrop becomes a 'joke'
On June 22, Humanity Protocol announced the launch of the first 'human proof' Fairdrop airdrop, with eligible users including: early testnet participants, real users, contributors promoting the community, etc. However, this highly anticipated airdrop ultimately ignited collective anger in the community.
According to crypto KOL Ice Frog, some people spent a year completing sign-in tasks, only to receive an airdrop worth $1; many others directly showed 'not qualified'. Long-term community maintainers, content producers, and official mod volunteers were also dismissed with '0 airdrop'. Meanwhile, multiple ghost addresses appeared on-chain with no interaction or contribution records, yet they received as much as 40,000 $H in airdrops.
Over the past year, Humanity has frequently launched various 'anti-witch' time-limited survey activities, requiring users to fill out detailed information, cooperate with verification, and participate in interactions. But the fact is, these actions have not become the real reference standards for the airdrop, but rather operations to create activity by the project party.
Humanity founder Terence Kwok responded to the airdrop controversy, stating, 'We have noted the extensive feedback from the community and are seriously addressing complaints regarding fair airdrop distribution.' However, the project's future remains uncertain, and the community is eagerly awaiting more open, transparent, and responsible responses.
Humanity Protocol has been elevated to the clouds by capital and vision, but it is teetering on the brink of collapse amid doubts and controversies. The so-called 'innovation' packaging may just be another capital hunting narrative dressed up with technology.
This article is reprinted with permission from: (Foresight News)
Original title: (From the palm print 'revolution' to access control manufacturers, tearing apart Humanity's technical 'skin' dual role)
Original author: Fairy, ChainCatcher
'The Worldcoin skin-pulling incident! Humanity was caught outsourcing technology to China, and the airdrop is even more of a joke.' This article was first published on 'Crypto City'.
