Crypto Altruism Podcast Episode 176 - Rarimo - ZK Social Graphs for a More Open and Free World
In episode 176, we’re excited to welcome Kitty Horlick, Director of RariLabs, the organization dedicated to advancing the privacy first, ZK social protocol Rarimo. We discuss how zero-knowledge proofs can enhance privacy and protect data, explore Rarimo’s Freedom Tool that empowers citizens living under oppressive regimes to have a voice - including its impactful deployments in countries like Iran and Russia - dive into the Proof of Humanity Aggregator that defends against Sybil and bot attacks, and explore the future of privacy-preserving tools at scale.
Three Key Takeaways
Zero Knowledge Proofs allow individuals to share aspects of their identity without revealing who they are. This enables individuals to build a verifiable reputation online, while also having control over which aspects of their identity and credentials that they share.
In traditional online voting, there is no way to verify eligibility while keeping the system completely surveillance free and untraceable. This can discourage individuals, especially in oppressive regimes, from participating in online voting. Rarimo’s Freedom Tool uses ZK proofs to address these challenges, creating a tool that allows dissidents and activists living under oppressive regimes to signal their dissatisfaction towards the regime while also keeping their identity safe.
RariMe is a ZK privacy preserving identity tool that allows individuals to scan their passport and create an incognito profile based on the data in the passport. Individuals can then use this privately stored identity profile to generate proofs that verify their reputation and credentials without having to reveal their identity. This allows any individual in Web3 to create a ZK passport and profile.
Follow Kitty and Rarimo
Episode Time Stamps
02:25 - What was your “Ah hah” moment that first got you excited about cryptocurrency/web3?
04:20 - To start things off, can you please give listeners an intro to the mission of Rarimo?
11:10 - Currently, it can be very difficult for individuals to build an onchain reputation and identity, while also being able to protect their privacy and data. How can ZK proofs help address this?
13:40 - Online voting is an accessible way for individuals to participate in their democracies, or for community organizations & NGOs to conduct elections and gather public input. However, online voting often faces several challenges, including a lack of transparency and being prone to Sybil and cyber attacks. Tell me more about how Freedom Tool addresses this?
20:35 - Can you tell me more about the project pilots launched in Iran and Russia?
29:55 - One of the challenges with online voting, as mentioned earlier, is sybil and bot attacks. To help address this, I understand that you recently aggregated four prominent identity providers, including Worldcoin, Unstopabble Domains, Gitcoin Passport, and more. Can you tell me more about your Proof of Humanity Aggregator?
32:25 - Another important aspect of your work is creating tooling to allow individuals to store and disclose credentials in a privacy-preserving way. Can you tell me more about the RariMe wallet and app?
36:20 - What’s the best way for listeners to get in touch and learn more about Rarimo?
38:20 - To wrap things up, if you could name one thing that excites you most about the social impact potential of web3, what would it be and why?
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DISCLAIMER
While we may discuss specific web3 projects or cryptocurrencies on this podcast, please do not take any of this as investment advice, and please make sure to do your own research on potential investment opportunities, or any opportunity. We host a variety of guests on this podcast with the sole purpose of highlighting the social impact use cases of this technology. That being said, Crypto Altruism does not endorse any of these projects, and we recognize that, since this is an emerging sector, some may be operating in regulatory grey areas, and as such, we cannot confirm their legality in the jurisdictions in which they operate, especially as it pertains to decentralized finance protocols. So, before getting involved with any project, it’s important that you do your own research and confirm the legality of the project. More available HERE.
