Privacy remains one of the key challenges for blockchain-based identity systems, particularly as users are increasingly demanding control over how, when, and with whom they share their personal data.
Although a great many solutions have been engineered to address such demand, many still require users to surrender sensitive information to centralized entities – or expose more personal data than is strictly necessary. Neither is true of Holonym, a privacy-preserving project that leverages advanced cryptographic techniques to enable safe identity verification.
Through its unique protocol architecture, Holonym aims to strike a delicate balance between proving personhood and protecting personal information, potentially setting a new standard for digital identity in the web3 era.
A fresh approach to digital identity
Incidentally, Holonym is not the only privacy-centric web3 project promising to succeed where predecessors have failed. In fact, there is a veritable digital identity arms race ongoing. Holonym’s main competition is probably Worldcoin (recently rebranded to World) which compels users to scan their eyeballs to create their very own digital ID.
Both projects take multi-faceted approaches to digital identity. In the case of Holonym, it has developed privacy-first infrastructure built around three core protocols: Mishti Network for key derivation, Zeronym for privacy-preserving ID verification, and Silk, a human-friendly web3 wallet that can be embedded in any decentralized application (dApp).
World, meanwhile, offers World ID, a proof of humanity and ‘digital passport’ for the internet, the World App, and its own Ethereum Layer-2 blockchain, World Chain.
Naturally, identity is central to the vision of each enterprise. Holonym’s Human Keys generates secure, high-entropy keys based on various human-friendly data points such as biometrics, security questions, passwords, and unique personal knowledge. Thus, users can easily obtain a tamper-proof verification of their identity and complete onboarding (use the ID to prove they are who they say they are) without actually revealing their identity.
This versatility stands in stark contrast to World’s more rigid approach of requiring iris scans for identity verification, with sign-ups from certain countries receiving WLD tokens in turn. Indeed, World has faced criticism over its collection and storage of biometric data, with some privacy campaigners drawing comparisons to controversial Silicon Valley data practices. Others remain suspicious owing to the dystopic connotations of its 5G-enabled iris-scanning Orb.
Holonym’s vision for digital identity solutions has gained plenty of traction of late, evidenced by its $5.5 million funding raise to advance global digital personhood. Moreover, the launch of its Holonym Ambassador Program demonstrates the project’s commitment to community engagement and education around digital privacy as a ‘digital right’.
The practical impact of Holonym is already visible through integrations like Hinkal, an institutional-grade protocol for confidential on-chain transactions which has incorporated Zeronym for identity verification. Holonym’s reduction of issuer fees for ID verification with Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKPs) has also made privacy-focused identity solutions more accessible to a wider audience.
Privacy is a right, not a privilege
According to the AuthenticID State of Identity Fraud Report 2024, cybercrimes including identity fraud could cost the world about $9.5 trillion annually by the end of 2024.
While privacy should effectively be treated as a right, the open-borders nature of the internet means that many of us live our lives as open books: our digital footprints are writ large and security is an afterthought.
Holonym’s three-protocol approach creates a comprehensive framework to tackle this problem: the Mishti Network secures data custody via strong identity proofs and minimal-trust authentication; Zeronym enables private credential issuance and verification; and Silk rounds out the suite by offering a user-friendly interface to simplify the adoption of these privacy-preserving technologies.
In short, Holonym cuts centralized intermediaries and ‘trusted custodians’ out of the picture: your data and private keys are never sitting on a centralized server, vulnerable to theft or misuse.
Future of decentralized identitiy
The future of decentralized identity lies in solutions that can balance security, usability, and privacy. The success of both Holonym and World to this point proves that public appetite for such solutions is strong.
With AI-powered cyber threats ramping up, the ability to verify one’s identity while maintaining privacy shouldn’t be taken for granted. Let’s all pray that the good guys stay one step ahead of the bad.
Featured image credit: Sajad Nori/Unsplash
