Prove you’re human without selling your eyes
The identity trade nobody should make
Every identity solution in crypto asks for a trade you should not have to make: scan your biometrics with proprietary hardware, or hand your government ID to a centralized KYC provider. Biometric identity projects have been banned or suspended in over 10 countries, and KYC databases remain honeypots for hackers.
The Ethos approach
Instead of asking whether a machine can verify this is human, Ethos has trusted humans verify each other. Three independent verifications through a video call, voice call, or in person meeting, by community members who stake their own credibility on the attestation.
Why it works
Both sides have skin in the game. The applicant’s bond costs 800 credibility score and permanent loss of verified status if broken, and a verifier who confirms people who should not be verified can be slashed, which revokes every verification they have ever performed.
The result
1,300+ humans verified and growing. In the first five days after verification opened to any human verified member with a credibility score above 1600, 169 new verification bonds were created and 66 people were verified.
Biometrics vs. KYC vs. Ethos
| Biometric PoP | Traditional KYC | Ethos HV | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Biometrics required | Iris / face scan | Photo ID + selfie | None |
| Hardware needed | Specialized device | Phone camera | Any device |
| Centralized data risk | High | High | None |
| Regulatory bans | 10+ countries | Varies | Zero |
| Cost to integrate | Partnership req’d | $$$ per verification | Free API |
| Onchain | Partial | Offchain | Fully onchain |
| Fraud accountability | None | None | Bond + slashing |
How you could use this
Your users are already being impersonated.
Human Verification is live, free to integrate, and requires zero changes to your existing stack.