we hosted an amazing AMA with HUMANODE on the 27th of MayAnd here we will put some of the best questions:
Q1. Can you please introduce yourselves as well as HUMANODE ?
Hi, I’m Fiona. I’m the community manager for Humanode. I’ve been in the decentralized space since 2018. I simply started with small investment, but then I figured out that the decentralized space has got so much more than just buying coins, so I began learning deeply about the blockchain technology itself, and became more and more involved.Hi, I am Shannon Higgins, a core member and media lead for Humanode. I was originally a photojournalist, a radio host, and an entrepreneur based in Tokyo Japan. As an entrepreneur I have been working in the high tech industry, mostly in layer-1 technology based telecommunication protocols and products. I am a newbie in crypto and the decentralized space, and have only been here since 2019.Humanode is also a vision of a decentralized private ownership and signature of anything that exists in the world, from your NFT’s to financial transactions.Humanode is the project our team felt was absolutely necessary in order to realize actual decentralization in this space, rather than the sad current state of “centralized decentralization” in which the centralization of power, at times, is worse than the traditional financial institutions.It enables you to have an auditable pseudonymous biometric identification that allows you to own something, not because a company or government allows you to, but because it is bound to you by your biometric identity.Taking a step further, by “staking your biometric identity” in the Humanode Network, it enables you to verify transactions, or voice your opinion in governance of the systems, not because you own mining equipment or have “bought the right to do so” by staking assets, but as your biological right, because you are a living human being, no matter what race, gender, age, belief, or where you come from or how much you own.We believe that the ownership of such networks that establish your biological identity and rights, should in no way be owned by a small group of people, or corporations like google or facebook, nor any government. That would amount to digital slavery.The system, platform, and technology that enables this needs to be equally owned by all human beings who participate in the network, because as I say, we are talking about our own biological rights here. That is why Humanode verification nodes, or “human nodes” will equally share all transaction fees or service fees generated by the network, and will co-own the technology and network.
Q2. What are the advantages of Your project ?
There are actually quite a few advantages. If we are looking at the Humanode Network and its Dao, it is structured in a way that one human = one node = one vote.This is possible because we do not stake money or hardware. We stake our biometric identity.We are not based on PoS or PoW, but are based on Proof-of-Uniqueness, and Proof-Of-Existence. One person can only create one node. One node has one vote.If you are, it will allow you access to your wallet, tokens, and services. This is done WITHOUT telling us or anyone else who you are, where you live, what you believe, if you are male or female, or how much money you own or do not own.Humanode is a Substrate based blockchain network that will allow you to create a crypto-Biometric Identity, through crypto-biometrics, that will allow the system to know that you are a unique human being, if you are registered or not in the system.The other advantage is, aside from the Humanode Network itself, our crypto-biometric identity solution is an EVM compatible layer-1 technology that has one of the strongest sybil resistance around, and can be ported or integrated into other DAO’s, Platforms, and services. It can enhance the sybil resistance of dapps and services.Many existing services, networks, and DAOs are looking to use the Humanode Biometric identity to fight sybil attacks, become sybil resistant, and to their users are actual human beings. ORE ID and Circles UBI, along with a number of other networks and services which will be announced soon, are partners who will be utilizing our technology.This means that we will also be generating service fees generating income for the network
Q3. please tell us about the goal you want to achieve in this year.
The top 3 events this year are probably the following 3.We will be launching testnet v3 on May 31st, and you will be able to participate. Just join and stay in our social media channels, and you will be able to get the necessary info.The second event will be our Token generating event that will happen this summer,And Mainnet launch will also happen this summer!There are also a few upcoming events that you all don’t want to miss!One is our conference that is happening next week on gather.town https://app.gather.town/events/pwsNfdJJ22eKgX5nqwGZWe will also be having a hackathon with a $30,000 prize pool, so if you are a hacker or builder, join us there! https://hackathon.humanode.io/
Q4. Every project has a story behind their name, Can you tell us more about the story behind this? Who are the team behind this project? can tell us their background?
The founders have been in the crypto industry since 2013, and founded their own fund and research institute named Paradigm Fund, some of you may know. Both our founders were excited about decentralization, but as they moved forward, they realized that DeFi was becoming more and more centralized and needed to find a way to make it decentralized again. The other thing they were worried about was the fact that privacy was becoming a commodity to be sold without the users actual consent.So, we decided to build a system that would not only allow true decentralization, but would be able to create a system that would ensure our privacy. One Human, One Node, One Vote… Thus Human Node, and Humanode.We currently have 25 members, from 15 different countries. All of them are senior level developers, cryptographers, economists, and professionals. I can truly say that we have an amazing team with some of the sharpest minds around.We currently have 25 members, from 15 different countries. All of them are senior level developers, cryptographers, economists, and professionals. I can truly say that we have an amazing team with some of the sharpest minds around. https://twitter.com/Paradigm_fund
Q5. NFT is one of the hottest and most sought-after topics in the blockchain space right now. Can you share your opinion on NFT with us? Do you think NFT will disrupt the current financial system? What is Your project’s approach to the NFT sector?
Let me take this one Fiona. One of my favorite topicsIn his latest whitepaper, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin introduces the idea of Soulbound tokens (SBTs) and Decentralized Society (DeSoc).The whitepaper goes into great detail about how this system would work, and it’s clear that Buterin has given a lot of thought to the subject. While the idea is still in its early stages, it has the potential to change the way we interact with each other online.Having said that, the paper lacks some details on how “Soulbound tokens” can be achieved.Just looking at the NFT market in general, artists can tie their biometric identity to their creations, and users could tie their biometrics to the tokens they own as proof of ownership.Our crypto biometric solution can easily make this a reality, by tying one’s biometric identity to the NFTs turning them into Soulbound tokens (SBTs).The same could happen with NFTs utilizing biometric identification to prove prior ownership.You may know that in some markets, “Who owned the product (like a house, or car)” is often a factor that affects the price. A few years ago, a friend of mine bought a used Lamborghini for about $80,000. After he bought it, he found that Keith Richards had owned the car. He then turned around and sold it for $200,000 by advertising the fact that it was Keith Richards’ Lamborghini.The same could happen with NFTs utilizing
metric identification to prove prior ownership.
And here we will put best questions from our members and HUMANODE fans:
Q1
Humanode will implement the Fath hypothesis as the mechanism for monetary supply adjustment
and proportional distribution of emission. So what is the main idea behind the Fath hypothesis?
The main idea behind the Fath hypothesis is that the supply of currency should meet the need and demand of the market to keep the currency stable.
What we do is compare the growth of the network, say, from the first year, to the second year. If there is a 20% growth, the system issues 20% more HMND tokens to ALL token holders. If you had 100 tokens, you will now have 120 tokens. If someone else had 10,000 tokens, that person would get an additional 2,000 tokens, and own 12,000 tokens.
Now, in year 3, if there is a 10% decline in growth compared to year 2, 10% of all tokens will be burned from all accounts. But not to worry. This is to adjust the supply of the coins in the system. If you are super rich, and own 1% of the coins in the system, even after a 20% increase, or a 10% decrease, you will still own exactly 1% of the system.
So, once again in a nutshell, the system is designed to make sure the monetary supply meets the demand, unlike monetary systems (Including traditional currencies like the GBP or the USD… ) in which the value of the currency is devalued as more and more money just gets printed, or minted. If you are interested in the topic, I wrote an article about it, so feel free to read it when you have the time.
https://blog.humanode.io/fath-a-monetary-system-to-mitigate-currency-devaluation-and-deflation/
Q2
Does your project support staking programs? if yes. How does your stake system work? What is the requirement for users if they want to stake in your platform? Do you have a Token Burning plan to increase Token value and attract Investors to invest?
This may be a shock for all… but HUMANODE does NOT have a staking program. Instead we have FATH. And because we have FATH, we do not need a Token Burning plan either.
For people who choose to become validator nodes (Human Nodes) by staking their biometric identity, you will earn transaction fees and service fees through what we call a “cost based fee system”.
Since all nodes are equal to each other, the fees are shared equally.Some may think… but how will I make big money sustainably ???
But think of this. If Humanode is successful and becomes a standard for dapps or services to use for biometric identification, there will be a lot of transaction fees and service fees generated. We already have over 10 partners that have signed agreements for our services.
With a solution that provides strong sybil resistance, and makes the onboarding process extra simple and safe, also allowing the users not having to remember a single password… wouldn’t it be normal if there is a large growth? Wouldn’t it be normal for the earned fees to increase by many times?
And if this growth is backed by actual growth and demand, rather than “pumping and dumping and hype”… the newly minted tokens that are distributed by FATH kicking in will be quite valuable. To me, this smells like a true opportunity.
Q3
Can you elaborate more on how the DAO in HumanNode Network works? How do you get community actively involved in your DAO system?
Any Human Node can participate in governance by making a proposal to the system, and having it accepted. This means, governance is based on helping the community through action and ideas, and it is not based on tokens or capital.
Everyone involved in the governance has one vote each, and has equal voting power as 1 vote. Everyone who is a Citizen or above can vote on proposals, participate in Formation, Nominate proposals of non-human nodes, receive voting delegation and make product proposals.
In addition, Senators and above can participate in Fee distribution proposals.
Legate and above can participate in Monetary policy proposals, Protocol level proposals, and Administrative proposals.
Finally, only the Consul, who has been involved in governance for 4 years or more, can make Vortex core proposals, and have limited Veto power.
One thing that is important to remember, is the fact that the governors do NOT get any extra rights or payments just because they are a governor. What they get is the power to make proposals and propose for other people depending on their tier.
No matter if you are new to governance, or the founder of the company, or the richest man in history, your voting power is exactly 1 vote, which is no stronger than any other node in the system.
And if the system doesn’t work, well we can always vote to change it =)
Q4
The Humanode network is a protocol that can prove one’s unique identity through private biometric authentication schemes. How does the Humanode network efficiently achieve this while also maintaining the highest level of security and data Privacy??
To sign up, the user will go through a live video based 3D face scan and liveness detection, to prove that they are not only unique, but that they are living human beings.
The 3D face mapping vector of the neural network (which makes your face look like a bloated blob and almost unrecognizable) will be converted to numerical values and will be encrypted before leaving the user’s phone.
For your information, the connection between client and server is end-to-end encrypted. Biometric data is then stored, decrypted and processed in a distributed network of secure enclaves – Intel SGXs and AMD SEV.
Liveness detection data is verified during the face scanning session and deleted right after it. It’s impossible to go through authentication without liveness. People running the encrypted servers are appointed by Humanode DAO and unable to see the data inside.
One last thing to remember. The only thing the system checks for when a person scans his biometrics is a zero knowledge proof 1 to n matching to see if these biometrics exist in the system, or not yet. If they exist, the person signing in gets access to his wallets, data, and services. No one else has access to this data. If the person does not exist in the system yet, they get the option to create their biometric identity.
Q5
Security is the top concern of every project. But currently, a lot of tokens and blockchain have been hacked, so what security mechanisms does HUMANODE have? And do you have insurance for users?
Privacy and the protection of the biometric data, which is the key for every single user in the Humanode network is the #1 priority.
Fortunately, one of our partners is a company known as FaceTec, which is the #1 company in the world when it comes to liveness detection and security of the biometric data. We took the technology of FaceTec, and further made it secure by making the data private and decentralized.
As of this year, the chance that the system will mistake you for someone else is 1/125,000,000 and it is expected to become x10 accurate within the next 2 years.
If you are able to hack into the system, or spoof even one identity, you can claim a $200,000 reward through our partner FaceTec. There have been hundreds of thousands of serious attempts, but none have succeeded. And you are more than welcome to be the first one to claim the reward!
Yes, it is true that nothing is 100% secure. And it is an uphill battle. Having said that, privacy and security is what we fight for, and a majority of our development will be focused on making the most secure decentralized solution on this planet.
Q6
I noticed that the #HumanNode Hub is currently on Testnet, can you please guide me on how to participate in your Testnet? When do we expect the Mainnet version to be released?
We are currently in preparation to launch Testnet v3. Testnet v3 will be the foundation of the Mainnet, and is EVM compatible, meaning developers can test their dapps on our chain. v3 will go live on March 31st. Until then, if you want to, you can join testnet v2 which is currently live. https://desktop-app.testnet2.stages.humanode.io/
Q7
I see that Nodes in Humanode network are created through unique biometric validation. How many types of Nodes are there in HUMANODE? What does this system consist of? How can you validate the identity of each user? What biometric options will be available?
In general, there are 2 types of nodes. Human nodes, which are the registered validator nodes. We will also be launching “bio authentication nodes” for those who have their biometrics scanned for services, and bio-identification.
Q8
How big is your team and how can we get introduced with the rest of your team members and founders? Can community interact with them like you?
Thank you so much for answering my question.
Well, the Core team is 25 people, but yes you can meet many of them in our social channels, and even better, you can hang out with us in gather.town during the Humanode Conference next week! https://conference.humanode.io/
Q9
I read that, #HumanNode help successfully counter SYBIL ATTACKS.
Kindly explain us the process? What’s the difference between multimodal biometric and Biochemical biometric?
Thank you. This is a good question. Currently we are using liveness detection and face scan as our modality of choice, but we will add more as we move forward.
As for biochemical biometrics, it is a great solution, but let’s say it is currently impossible, I mean… of course it will require a hardware that is not available on your phone or personal computer. Thus, it is not a first choice for now.
Q10
I am interested to invest in your project. When and where can I buy your tokens?? Is it already listed exchanges??
Our TGE will be in Q3. We will never do any IDO.
It will be a fair non-over price token sale for everyone who is interested.
We will post the announcement in our Twitter. Stay tuned!
https://twitter.com/humanode_io
And this was the end of our AMA with HUMANODE.
You can find us here😎
Website:http://humanode.io/
Telegram Community:https://t.me/humanode
Telegram Channel: https://t.me/humanodes
Twitter: https://twitter.com/humanode_io
White paper: https://papers.humanode.io/whitepaper.pdf