TrustLayer is the decentralized human trust layer for Web3 — a Base-native protocol that publishes portable, sybil-resistant Trust Scores derived from peer vouches and on-chain proofs. Any dApp can verify a user is a real human in a single Solidity call, without KYC or biometrics.

Yes. Creating a Trust ID, vouching peers, and earning $TRUST rewards is free. Only optional premium tiers or write operations charge $TRUST fees.

Does TrustLayer require KYC or biometrics?

No. TrustLayer never collects KYC, iris scans, or personal data. Identity comes from peer vouches and wallet signatures — reputation is math, not documents.

What is the $TRUST token?

$TRUST is TrustLayer's native token on Base with a fixed 1B supply. It powers vouching rewards, badge fees, staking gates, and revenue-funded buyback-and-burn.

How does TrustLayer compare to Worldcoin?

TrustLayer requires no biometric hardware, is fully non-custodial, and lives on Base. Worldcoin uses iris scans and centralized orb hardware. See the full comparison at /vs/worldcoin.

Proof of personhood · Proof of personhood

TrustLayer Protocol vs Worldcoin (World ID)

TrustLayer Protocol (peer-vouched human trust scores on base) and Worldcoin (World ID) (iris-scan proof of personhood) both aim at sybil resistance, but they disagree on 8 of 12 measurable attributes. This page compares them field by field from published protocol behaviour — no marketing scores, no invented metrics.

TrustLayer Protocol

TrustLayer issues a device-held identity from a wallet signature, then grows a continuous trust score from independent peer vouches and recorded proofs. Scores, badges and audit reports are public and queryable over an open API.

Openness 10/10

Worldcoin (World ID)

World ID proves a person enrolled once at an Orb, producing a binary human signal backed by an iris template hash. It is strong on uniqueness and dependent on proprietary hardware distribution.

Openness 5/10

Attribute comparison

Attribute	TrustLayer Protocol	Worldcoin (World ID)
Category	Proof of personhood	Proof of personhood
Network	Base (EVM)	Ethereum / Optimism / World Chain
How a person is proven	Wallet signature (EIP-191) plus mutual peer vouches	Iris biometric enrolment on Orb hardware, zero-knowledge nullifier on chain
Biometric data	None collected	Required to verify
KYC requirement	No KYC	No KYC
Hardware needed	Any phone or laptop	Purpose-built hardware
Key custody	User holds the keys	Shared between user and operator
Reputation model	Continuous score that moves with real activity	Binary human / not human
Native token	$TRUST	$WLD
Public read API	Yes	Yes
Open source core	Yes	Yes
Who can revoke you	No central operator can revoke an identity; keys stay on the device	Foundation and Orb operators control enrolment and verification rollout

8 of 12 attributes differ; 4 are identical.

Openness criteria, scored openly

The matrix scores what a protocol asks of a user and how much of the result stays verifiable in public. It is not a quality, security or market ranking, and it is not derived from TrustLayer trust scores.

Criterion	TrustLayer Protocol	Worldcoin (World ID)
No biometric collectionmax 2	2/2 — None collected	0/2 — Required to verify
No KYC requirementmax 2	2/2 — No KYC	2/2 — No KYC
No specialised hardwaremax 1	1/1 — Any phone or laptop	0/1 — Purpose-built hardware
User-held keysmax 2	2/2 — User holds the keys	1/2 — Shared between user and operator
Continuous reputationmax 1	1/1 — Continuous score that moves with real activity	0/1 — Binary human / not human
Public read APImax 1	1/1 — Documented public endpoints	1/1 — Documented public endpoints
Open source coremax 1	1/1 — Core implementation is public	1/1 — Core implementation is public
Total	10/10	5/10

Best fit for TrustLayer Protocol

Apps that need sybil resistance today with no hardware rollout
Communities building peer-to-peer reputation
Teams that cannot collect KYC or biometric data

Best fit for Worldcoin (World ID)

Projects that require Orb-grade physical uniqueness
Markets with Orb operator coverage

Verdict

On the openness criteria below, TrustLayer Protocol scores 10/10 and Worldcoin (World ID) scores 5/10 — 8 of 12 attributes differ. TrustLayer Protocol asks less of the user up front; Worldcoin (World ID) offers a stronger external anchor where its trust assumptions are acceptable. Pick by what you must not collect, and by whether you need a one-off human check or a score that keeps moving.

Frequently asked questions

What is the main difference between TrustLayer Protocol and Worldcoin (World ID)?▼

Network: TrustLayer Protocol — Base (EVM); Worldcoin (World ID) — Ethereum / Optimism / World Chain.

Does TrustLayer Protocol or Worldcoin (World ID) require biometrics or KYC?▼

TrustLayer Protocol: none collected, no kyc. Worldcoin (World ID): required to verify, no kyc.

Which one can a developer query from an API?▼

TrustLayer Protocol and Worldcoin (World ID)

Can TrustLayer Protocol and Worldcoin (World ID) be used together?▼

Yes. They produce independent signals, so apps commonly combine a personhood check with a continuous reputation score before granting access or rewards.

Check a wallet against TrustLayer now

Trust scores, verifier counts and score factors are public and queryable — one request, no key required for read endpoints.

Get a Trust ID Read the API docs

Keep reading

All ecosystem comparisons In-depth TrustLayer vs worldcoin write-up Live trust leaderboard Public trust reports