Worldcoin has launched a system upgrade and promised stronger user security in order to solve the cryptocurrency’s privacy and centralization issues.
Worldcoin has been chastised for a number of vulnerabilities, including the potential for fraud and a lack of data security. Analysts also saw the threat to user privacy and decentralisation as a violation of Bitcoin’s core ideals (BTC).
Zero-knowledge proofs’ role in increasing privacy
Worldcoin announced that it would be implementing a proof-of-personhood system that uses zero-knowledge proofs (ZKP) to allow for anonymous acts.
By 2023, the goal is to collect biometric data from one billion people, and hundreds of thousands of eyes have already been scanned. Worldcoin claims to be employing Semaphore, a privacy system developed on top of the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain. In this example, the system allows users to authenticate their membership without revealing their genuine identity, which is in this case, to Worldcoin.
It’s the same technology that’s used in mixing services to obfuscate crypto transactions so they’re harder to track.
Is the criticism over Worldcoin over?
While the company claims to be working to protect user privacy, analysts say it’s still difficult to dismiss concerns about a private firm gathering personal data and potentially using it in the future. Worldcoin, according to Bob Reid, CEO of blockchain financial payments business Everest, is still failing on basic principles like privacy and decentralisation.
Reid went on to say that the site doesn’t allow users to modify or control their identities once they’ve entered the information, which is a source of concern. The concern is that the information gathered by Worldcoin could fall into the wrong hands.
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