FAQ
What is Proof of Personhood?
Proof of Personhood means proving a real, unique, non-sanctioned human is behind a transfer, without revealing who they are. Shield requires it on every deposit. There are two ways to satisfy it: Proof of Clean Hands (full verification, unlimited bridging) or Human Passport (score of 20+, capped bridging).
What is Proof of Innocence (PoI)?
Proof of Innocence is a per-deposit sanctions screening of the depositing address. It runs at both entry and exit against 23 international sanctions and watchlist sources via sanctions.io. Unlike systems that only screen tokens at deposit, Shield screens the address at both entry and exit, paired with identity verification.
What happens if sanctions screening fails?
The attestation flow fails closed: no attestation is issued and no deposit is allowed. If sanctions.io is unreachable, deposits are also blocked until the service recovers.
What’s the difference between PoCH and Human Passport?
PoCH is full identity verification (government ID + liveness scan + sanctions screening) granting unlimited bridging for one year. Human Passport is lighter: a humanity score of 20+ from verifying stamps (GitHub, Google, ENS, etc.), with capped bridging. No government ID required for Passport.
Can I bridge without verifying my identity?
No. Every deposit, public or private, must come from a verified identity, either Proof of Clean Hands or Human Passport. The two modes differ only in what arrives on Aztec, not in the identity requirement.
What is Proof of Clean Hands (PoCH)?
A one-time identity check that proves you’re a real, unique, non-sanctioned person without revealing who you are. You complete a government-ID check and a liveness scan, and you’re screened against 23 international sanctions sources at issuance. On success you receive an on-chain Clean Hands credential (an SBT) that grants unlimited bridging for one year. It uses zero-knowledge proofs: no personal data goes on-chain, and off-chain identity data is threshold-encrypted, never stored in plaintext.
What is a “Clean” token?
Clean tokens (cUSDC today; more as tokens are added) entered Aztec’s private layer through an identity-gated, sanctions-screened bridge. The “Clean” designation means the holder was identity-screened before bridging, giving applications regulatory defensibility.
How long does PoCH verification take?
About 5 minutes. Requires government-issued ID and camera for liveness check.
Does my PoCH expire?
Yes, after one year. Renewal starts at month 11.
What if my Passport score is below 20?
Passport-based bridging requires a score of 20+. Add more stamps at app.passport.xyz . For unlimited bridging without a score check, complete Proof of Clean Hands verification.
Is my personal data stored?
No plaintext PII stored at rest by the bridge, human.tech, or Aztec: identity data is threshold-encrypted at issuance, not discarded. On-chain identity verification uses zero-knowledge proofs; no personal data appears on blockchain.
What wallets are supported?
MetaMask and any WalletConnect-compatible wallet. WaaP is also supported.
Is Shield on mainnet?
Yes. Shield is live on Aztec v5 mainnet (deployment 5.0.0_2026-07-21) as of 2026-07-21, with real ZK proofs. Aztec runs continuous audits and an active bug bounty.
What do I need to get started?
Ethereum mainnet ETH for L1 gas and a token to bridge (currently USDC). The bridge converts a portion of your deposit to FeeJuice for L2 gas automatically.