This edition of the newsletter analyses Proof of Humanity (PoH) protocols aim to verify real human identities to prevent sybil attacks and ensure fair participation in crypto applications like airdrops and DAO voting, with three main approaches emerging: biometric hand scanning (Humanity Protocol), biometric eye scanning (Worldcoin), and zero-knowledge proofs of Web2 credentials (zkPass). The competitive landscape centers on different technological moats - hardware/branding, developer APIs, and cryptographic IP - with success ultimately depending on which platforms can integrate these identity proofs into compelling user experiences that people actually want to use. We'll also share some interesting articles, portfolio updates and market highlights.
a) What are stablecoins used for?
• Stablecoin payments have exploded to a $72.3 billion annualized run rate by February 2025, with B2B transactions leading at $36 billion annually as enterprises adopt stablecoins for cross-border payments and treasury management.
• USDT dominates with ~90% market share primarily on the Tron blockchain, while Asia leads adoption with the Singapore-China corridor being the most active payment route.
Stablecoins are real. We team up with Dragonfly and Castle Island Ventures to answer WHAT stablecoins are being used for by working with 20 stablecoin companies.
b) Introducing Sonar
• Echo is launching Sonar, a new product that allows crypto founders to self-host public token sales without needing approval or endorsement from lead investors, addressing founder complaints about Echo's private sale structure and group requirements.
• Sonar provides flexible, compliant tools for various sale formats across different blockchains while protecting investor privacy by default, aiming to recreate ICO-era market dynamics where investors directly discover and participate in projects they research themselves.
Today, we are announcing Sonar - a new product by Echo that lets anyone host a public token sale.
a) Understanding Berachain’s consensus layer and our role in it
• Infrared operates as a collective of 8 validators on Berachain's Proof of Liquidity consensus system, controlling about 40% of total BERA stake but receiving 64% of all boost through their iBGT liquid staking token that retains BGT for delegation.
• They use a strategy optimization algorithm that automatically manages BGT allocation and validator boosting every few hours to maximize returns for users while participating in Berachain's unique system where liquidity provision directly contributes to network security and reward distribution.
b) DNET: Towards Heterogeneous Multiprocessing for Deep Learning
• DNET is developing a distributed AI inference network that connects heterogeneous computing devices into a unified system to break up the concentration of AI computing power among a few large entities and reduce costs through better hardware utilization.
• The project uses a graph-centric compiler design with multiple intermediate representations to abstract away hardware complexities, allowing developers to deploy machine learning models across diverse devices without worrying about individual node specifications or vendor lock-in.
Optimize any AI model on any engine, across all hardware. Dria's topology-aware compiler and peer-to-peer runtime merge CPUs, GPUs, NPUs & chiplets into one fabric-maximising utilisation, cutting inference cost and ending vendor lock-in.
Humans are the new blockspace --> and Proof of Humanity (PoH) is the meta-game
PoH aims to verify real human IDs to prevent sybil attacks + ensure fair participation in dApps, especially airdrops and votes. Sybil-resistant identity is fast becoming the liquidity layer of crypto --> depends on proving one real human ≠ many wallets. AI bots + sybil farms skew airdrops, DAO votes, even L2 mempools. A verifiable “real human” primitive lets dApps gate rewards, subsidise gas, and restore 1-person-1-vote.
The current wave of PoH projects attacks the problem from three angles:
• Biometric - hand: Humanity Protocol uses a low-cost phone/palm-vein scan; “human-layer L2” API
• Biometric - eye: Worldcoin has the largest live network; bespoke Orb hardware; gas-subsidised L2
• Data-proofs: zkPass uses browser-side ZK proofs of Web-2 credentials; no new hardware
Humanity Protocol --> the Hand
• Smartphone palm enrolment, palm scanning soon for offline access --> the identity graph
• Testnet: ~8m+ unique (human) IDs, 10m wallets, token $H soon
• Identity Validators (e.g. OKX) issue ZK credentials that never leak raw biometrics + leveraging zkTLS for reusable credentials
• Use-cases: fairdrops, DAO voting and IRL payments
Worldcoin --> the Eye
• Iris Orb has a Jetson chipset (5× AI throughput, 30 % fewer parts) + plugs into a privacy engine called AMPC (50m uniqueness checks/sec)
• Stats: 8m+ verified humans, 18m World App users, token $WLD
• Partnered with Razer and Visa and Match Group to pilot Digital Dating
• World Chain (Optimism stack) subsidises gas for World ID holders
• Intense CAPEX but strongest uniqueness in improving privacy
zkPass --> the Data Oracle
• Browser zkTLS lets you prove Web2 data (bank balance, age, passport data) without sharing the data itself
• Adoption: 4.5m ZK proofs, 500k wallets; 57 partners + 70 data sources live so far
Conclusion
Palm vs Iris vs Data now defines the competitive elements of PoH:
• Humanity Protocol aims to to mass-deploy palm scanners and capture offline touch-points
• Worldcoin is doubling down on scale, hardware UX and consumer super-app strategy (cards, miniApps, integrations with web2 giants)
• zkPass positions itself as the middleware for any Web2 --> crypto credentials
• Each tech stack implies a different moat: hardware and branding (Worldcoin), developer APIs & validator incentives (Humanity) and lastly cryptographic IP & partner distribution (zkPass)
The winners will be the dApps and chains that combines these proofs into UX people actually want/need
*Disclosure: The information provided on this newsletter is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute professional nor investment advice.
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