Ika’s Airdrop Distribution Secured by human.tech’s Programmable Privacy

Ika, a parallel Multi Party Computation (MPC) protocol built on SUI, is launching its mainnet alongside the $IKA token, which will power gas fees, secure signer nodes through staking, and enable governance.

The $IKA airdrop claim is live. To comply with regulations and avoid distribution to sanctioned entities, Ika is partnering with human.tech to verify high-value recipients using Proof of Clean Hands, a zero-knowledge identity verification system with on-chain integrity checks.

Clean Hands will verify users’ accepted digital credentials (driver’s license, residence card, passport, voter card, and other government-issued IDs across 180 countries) through a zk KYC flow, while enforcing privacy guarantees and compliance rules at the smart contract level during initial verification. Upon successful verification, users receive a Proof of Clean Hands Soulbound Token on Sui, which allows them to prove compliance on-chain and claim their airdrop allocation without exposing personal data or linking their real-world identity to their wallet.

The verification will disqualify users from restricted jurisdictions and OFAC-sanctioned entities, while preserving the privacy of eligible participants. This approach helps Ika navigate the muddied waters of regulation by adopting a preemptive, ground-up strategy. It prevents token distribution to sanctioned entities in good faith, enables stronger enforcement, and establishes on-chain audit trails for compliance,  all while respecting user privacy.

About Ika

Ika is the first sub-second MPC network, scaling to 10,000 tps and hundreds of signer nodes, with zero-trust security. Powering multi-chain coordination on the Sui blockchain.

Why Geo Fencing Falls Short

Geo-fencing techniques, such as IP blocking and VPN detection, are commonly used to restrict users from jurisdictions like the United States, aiming to avoid regulatory enforcement in the absence of clear legal guidelines on crypto asset classification. These methods are imprecise, easily circumvented, and have not proven as adequately sufficient. Some projects have been pursued legally despite using geo-fencing.

Meanwhile, U.S. regulations explicitly prohibit airdrops to OFAC-sanctioned entities, many of whom are listed for illicit activities. Without verifiable identity and jurisdiction checks, geo-fencing alone cannot prevent sanctioned users from participating.

Legacy KYC Isn’t Built for Permissionless Protocols

Legacy KYC systems were designed for traditional finance, where banks serve as intermediaries. These systems are fundamentally incompatible with decentralized, permissionless protocols that prioritize anonymity and financial sovereignty.

Even if KYC data were stored on-chain, it would be immutable, permanently undermining the right to be forgotten and remaining non-compliant with data regulatory practices such as GDPR.

Decentralized systems require decentralized solutions using applied cryptography, such as zero-knowledge proofs, threshold encryption, and smart contract access control. These approaches provide privacy, verifiable accountability, and security enforced not by institutions, but by cryptography itself.

human.tech’s Proof of Clean Hands

Zero-knowledge KYC can prevent honeypots and massive surveillance, but falls short in scenarios requiring user data retention for regulatory investigations. human.tech's Proof of Clean Hands makes zk KYC compatible for compliance by combining provable threshold encryption, programmable access controls, and on-chain policy enforcement.

Built on Human Network, this enables users to encrypt sensitive data while proving it was encrypted correctly, and to set specific conditions for when it can be decrypted.  Apart from the standard zk KYC process, additional on-chain integrity checks can be enforced through policy engines such as IP blocking of sanctioned countries, screen sanctioned entities, time locks, transaction rate limits, etc. This is achieved by combining four elements with zk KYC.

1. Users encrypt data with provable encryption and agree to transparent, on-chain decryption conditions

2. Human Network provides threshold decryption without accessing content, triggered only on proper authorization and smart contract rules being met

3. Programmable access control through smart contracts by defining specific conditions for decryption - through ongoing on-chain monitoring,

4. The observer node (credential issuer or verifying protocol) stores encrypted user data, which can only be decrypted through collaboration with Human Network, ensuring no single party can control the decryption process.

How Proof of Clean Hands works for Ika’s Airdrop

Proof of Clean Hands is built on programmable privacy, allowing protocols to define custom rules for compliance and user privacy. This includes setting fine-grained decryption conditions during verification to meet jurisdictional data availability requirements or mitigate the risks of anonymity misuse.

This design gives protocols greater flexibility to align with regulatory expectations while tailoring the user experience and privacy level to the specific needs of the dApp and its user base.

In Ika’s case, airdrop recipients are disqualified if they are from restricted jurisdictions or appear on OFAC sanction lists. Verified users can claim the airdrop by presenting zero-knowledge proofs of identity, generated locally through the Proof of Clean Hands flow, without disclosing any personal information.

To preserve privacy while ensuring regulatory compatibility, Ika configures decryption logic that prevents unilateral access to encrypted user data. Here, decryption is gated by programmable, on-chain rules, such as daily rate limits and other smart contract-enforced conditions. These controls are enforced through Human Network’s threshold decryption, which is secured by EigenLayer and Symbiotic’s shared security model. Multiple parties must authorize any decryption event, ensuring that no single entity can access user data independently.

1. Connect Wallet Users connect their wallet to the Ika airdrop portal.

2. Eligibility Check The system checks whether the wallet is eligible for an allocation.

3. Redirect to Human ID Eligible users are redirected to Human ID for verification.

4. Identity Verification Users complete verification by submitting an accepted digital credential (driver’s license, passport, residence card, voter card, etc.) and performing a liveness check.

5. Mint Proof of Clean Hands After successfully verifying their identity, users create an additional proof by minting the Proof of Clean Hands Soulbound Token (SBT) on Sui.

6. Return to Airdrop Portal Users return to the Ika claim page, where their verified status is recognized.

7. Claim Airdrop With the Proof of Clean Hands SBT in their wallet, users can claim their airdrop allocation.

Sanctions Screening Process

As part of the Proof of Clean Hands process, Human ID checks whether the user appears on any global sanctions lists using name and date of birth obtained during the zk KYC process. These queries are run through sanctions.io and include checks against:

• Politically Exposed Persons (PEP) lists

• OFAC Specially Designated Nationals (SDN)

• UK Treasury Sanctions List

• EU Consolidated Sanctions List

• FATF Black and Grey Lists

• FBI Most Wanted

• FINCEN 311 and 9714 Special Measures

• Interpol Red Notices

• U.S. BIS Military End User List

Each query returns a confidence score between 0 and 1. If a match exceeds a confidence threshold of 0.93, the user is flagged and no credentials are issued. If the user is not flagged and is requesting Clean Hands credentials for the first time, Human ID issues a signed credential. These credentials are typically valid for one year, depending on the protocol’s settings.

Compliant Aidrop with Zero Knowledge Credentials

Instead of defaulting to crude geoblocking or full KYC that risks user data, Ika’s integration with human.tech’s Proof of Clean Hands, exemplifies how protocols can stay compliant without sacrificing privacy. Airdrop regulation sits in a gray zone, with regulation by enforcement being the norm, this approach offers a viable way forward by making accountability verifiable, and programmable access controls to comply when needed, without having to keep a backdoor.