Rarimo is a unique ecosystem that combines zero-knowledge (ZK) technology, decentralized registries, and cross-chain interoperability. The project lays the foundation for private, self-sovereign identities protected from censorship and tracking. With components like the ZK Registry, zk‑Passport, Bionetta, and its interchain infrastructure, Rarimo provides developers and users with tools focused on privacy and multi-network compatibility.
Contents
- Introduction to Rarimo
- ZK Registry — The Privacy Core
- Toolset: Passport, Bionetta, Graph
- Cross-Chain Infrastructure & Cosmos SDK Core
- Application Ecosystem
- Real Use Cases: Freedom Tool and RariMe
- Technical Challenges and Solutions
- Conclusion
1. Introduction to Rarimo
Rarimo is an open-source platform built on the concept of a permissionless ZK Registry, reimagining social graphs, user actions, and identity in Web3. Unlike centralized DID systems, Rarimo allows proof generation on the client side while keeping the aggregated state verifiable on-chain. The project raised $2.5 million in funding and is supported by Vitalik Buterin and other ZK cryptography pioneers.
The goal of Rarimo is to establish a “social layer” for Web3—an environment where interactions, reputations, and user connections are formed privately and securely. By combining ZK proofs, cross-chain compatibility, and a modular architecture, the platform provides developers with a solid foundation for building privacy-respecting decentralized services.
2. ZK Registry — The Privacy Core
The ZK Registry is a decentralized registry based on ZK Rollup technology and forms the backbone of Rarimo’s architecture. It enables the recording of abstract claims using zero-knowledge proofs without storing raw data. Instead, only hashes and cryptographic commitments are saved, allowing verification without revealing content.
This allows users to prove facts (e.g., age, nationality) without disclosing personal data, offering strong privacy and control. ZK Rollups make the system scalable, cost-efficient, and secure. Built-in synchronization with multiple blockchains enables cross-chain interaction by design.
Key Properties of ZK Registry:
- Privacy: Data remains hidden; only proof of existence is shared.
- Censorship resistance: No central authority or control point.
- Interoperability: Synchronizes with multiple blockchain networks.
- Flexibility: Enables identity systems, voting, reputations, and more.
Thanks to its versatility, the ZK Registry can serve as a foundational layer for decentralized Web3 solutions—from privacy-enabled wallets to DAO identification and verifiable voting systems.
3. Toolset: zk‑Passport, Bionetta, and zk‑Graph
Rarimo offers a powerful suite of ZK tools designed for privacy-preserving identity, reputation, and verification systems in Web3. These tools allow users to prove key facts—such as age, citizenship, or uniqueness—without revealing private information. Local proof generation and adaptable verification methods make the toolkit suitable for wallets, DAOs, voting protocols, and social apps.
| Tool | Purpose | Features |
|---|---|---|
| zk‑Passport | Transforms physical passports into private digital identities | NFC scan; data stays on-device; ZK proof of authenticity is generated |
| Bionetta | Verifies biometric inputs using ZK‑ML | Facial recognition and liveness check without exposing raw image or data |
| zk‑Graph | Builds private social and reputation graphs | Proves activity and trust without revealing full network connections |
Together, these tools form a universal stack for privacy-first Web3 applications. They are already deployed in products like the RariMe wallet, Freedom Tool voting platform, and decentralized governance solutions.
4. Cross-Chain Infrastructure & Cosmos SDK Core
At the heart of Rarimo’s infrastructure is Rarimo-core—a blockchain built with Cosmos SDK and Tendermint. It handles operations, bridge logic, oracle voting, and threshold signature generation (TSS) across multiple networks.
Oracles monitor events across chains, vote to validate them, and once consensus is reached, generate a TSS proof of state. This proof is accepted by smart contracts on Ethereum, Solana, and other blockchains, enabling secure and decentralized cross-chain synchronization.
Thanks to the modularity of Cosmos SDK, Rarimo is scalable and easily integrates with new chains, making it a robust solution for multi-network identity systems.
5. Application Ecosystem
Several real-world products are already powered by Rarimo. The RariMe wallet enables identity recovery without seed phrases, using biometric data that remains fully private. Freedom Tool, another flagship product, allows anonymous voting with identity verification via zk‑Passport, ensuring both trust and privacy.
Rarimo also integrates with platforms like Opinion Markets, Agora debates, and Blocksurvey, including use in election tools in countries with limited democratic access. Its support for WorldID and Polygon ID expands compatibility across major Web3 ecosystems.
6. Real Use Cases: Freedom Tool and RariMe
Rarimo’s technology has already proven effective in real scenarios, solving pressing challenges in identity, privacy, and usability. These two flagship use cases demonstrate how ZK proofs and decentralized infrastructure work in practice—especially in contexts where privacy is critical.
- Freedom Tool — A decentralized platform for anonymous, verified voting. The user scans their passport via NFC, and a ZK proof is generated locally. An anonymous token is issued for casting a vote, with no personal data leaving the device. The platform is used in regions with restricted civil freedoms.
- RariMe — A multi-chain crypto wallet with biometric recovery instead of seed phrases. A facial image is hashed and stored only on the user’s device, enhancing security and simplifying account recovery without exposing sensitive data to servers.
Both tools show how Rarimo's technologies can deliver user-friendly and secure solutions without compromising on decentralization or privacy.
7. Technical Challenges and How Rarimo Solves Them
Building private ZK registries presents several challenges. One is generating ZK proofs client-side. Rarimo addresses this with lightweight ZK‑ML models and optimized libraries suitable even for mobile devices.
Data consistency across chains is ensured through Rollups with state pagination, enabling efficient synchronization across Ethereum and others. To decentralize bridging, Rarimo uses an oracle + TSS model with staking to prevent centralized control.
Privacy is preserved via local data storage, hashing, and segmentation, so personal inputs never leave the user’s device. Rarimo’s documentation provides full details on architecture, module lifecycles, and oracle logic—making integration straightforward for developers.
8. Conclusion
Rarimo is a forward-thinking and technologically advanced project that combines ZK registries, cross-chain interoperability, and private identity systems. Built on Cosmos SDK and powered by tools like zk‑Passport, Bionetta, and zk‑Graph, along with real-world applications, the platform serves as a comprehensive foundation for building the next generation of privacy-focused Web3 services.
A message to developers: Rarimo is open to collaboration, integration, and experimentation. With support for ERC‑7812, open-source code, and a modular architecture, it offers a flexible and robust environment for creating secure, user-friendly, and feature-rich digital solutions.
If you believe in digital privacy, self-sovereign identity, and seamless cross-chain interaction, Rarimo stands out as a foundational infrastructure for the Web3 applications of the future.
