World open-sources ProveKit, a zero-knowledge identity proving toolkit

World, formerly known as Worldcoin, the human identity startup co-founded by OpenAI chief Sam Altman, has open-sourced ProveKit, a zero-knowledge identity proving toolkit.The launch makes ProveKit available to developers outside World after the toolkit was used in World ID through early access in April, a World Foundation spokesperson told The Block.World said ProveKit lets users generate cryptographic proofs directly on their own phones or browsers. The toolkit can be used to prove claims such as age, nationality or ownership of a valid identity document without revealing the underlying personal data. The verifier only receives confirmation of the specific claim being proven, World said."We are now launching ProveKit open source because we believe this technology is key for privacy-preserving authentication and must be neutral and permissionless," the spokesperson said.World said the toolkit uses local proof generation instead of delegated proving, meaning sensitive personal information does not need to be sent to external servers for processing. World said this reduces the risk of data exposure and keeps users in control of their personal information.Earlier this week, veteran cybersecurity investigative journalist Brian Krebs reported that the New Orleans field office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating dark web service Nexus, which is selling scans of more than 153 million U.S. and Canadian driver's licenses, with the data appearing to have been siphoned from identity verification company IDScan.net."Identity documents should only be authenticated using zero-knowledge proofs," Remco Bloemen, head of blockchain at World Foundation, said in an X post. "Stop revealing all your personal details just to prove you have a valid driver's license."World's ProveKitProveKit had been in development for about two years, the spokesperson noted. The toolkit supports Noir, the Rust-inspired language developed by Aztec for writing zero-knowledge applications, and allows developers to create new provable claims without requiring those claims to be included directly in an app bundle, World said.It added that ProveKit is designed to run on standard consumer hardware, including smartphones and browsers. Based on benchmarks, it can complete proofs in seconds on a typical phone and in under 30 seconds on a low-end device used in testing.World said the data remains inaccessible to World Foundation, Tools for Humanity or any other third party since World ID credentials can store information from NFC chip-enabled identity documents locally on a user's device. NFC, or Near Field Communication, is a short-range wireless technology, and NFC chip-enabled documents include passports and national ID cards that can be read by a smartphone when held nearby. The spokesperson said such documents are cryptographically signed by the issuing authority, allowing that signature to be verified and proven in a zero-knowledge circuit.ProveKit targets 128-bit post-quantum security and does not require a trusted setup. The spokesperson said this means the best-known attacks, including quantum attacks, are expected to remain computationally infeasible at that security level.ProveKit v1 is production-ready and optimized for off-chain verification, such as by servers, computers and mobile devices, World said. It added that it is also developing ProveKit v2, which is expected to reduce proof size, proving time and memory usage, while adding more efficient on-chain verification."One path we're exploring is support for Groth16, a zk-SNARK proving scheme whose proofs are very efficient to verify on blockchains including World Chain, Ethereum, Base, and Solana," the spokesperson said. "The previous version of World ID was based on the Ethereum Foundation's Semaphore protocol, which also uses Groth16," they added.World continues to push privacy-preserving identity tools at a time when its biometric identity project has faced scrutiny from regulators in several markets, including Spain, Kenya, Brazil, Indonesia, South Korea, Hong Kong and the Philippines. World has said it continues to engage with regulators as it expands globally.Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.© 2026 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.