Billions launches blockchain aid platform for Spanish Red Cross

The Spanish Red Cross has partnered with Billions Network, a decentralized proof of personhood (PoP) solution from Privado ID, to launch a blockchain-based digital payments platform for aid recipients which does not store any identifying information nor biometrics.

Created with the help of Barcelona-based technical infrastructure company Bloock, the RedChain platform is designed to provide financial transparency to donors and protect the identity of the aid recipients at the same time. Unlike some blockchain-based initiatives that rely on biometric identifiers or data collection, the new platform verifies outcomes without recording who received the aid, the organizations say in an announcement.

“People seeking assistance shouldn’t have to choose between getting help and protecting their privacy,” says Francisco López Romero, CTO at the Red Cross in Catalonia. “We designed this system so donors can verify their contributions made a real difference, and beneficiaries can access support without fear of being tracked, profiled, or stigmatized.”

Blockchain technology has become a popular tool in the humanitarian aid sector as it enables organizations to record transactions for transparency in near real time. However, projects such as the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) Iris Scan Biometric Database and the World Food Programme’s (WFP) Building Blocks have been criticized for their lack of transparency and privacy considerations, especially when it comes to biometric data.

Even well-intentioned projects can be at risk of exposing vulnerable populations to surveillance, profiling and discrimination, the Red Cross notes. This is why RedChain serves only as a verification layer, anchoring cryptographic proofs of transactions without storing any identifying information. Beneficiary information, such as names, contact details and case records, remains off-chain in systems controlled by the aid group.

Through the program, recipients can receive digital aid credits to their personal mobile wallet, with no bank account needed. The credits can be spent at authorized local merchants through a QR code. The merchant cannot tell that the transaction is different from any other.

“What Creu Roja [Red Cross] built here is a credential system, not a surveillance system”, says Evin McMullen, CEO and co-founder of Billions Network. “Recipients hold proof of their eligibility in their own wallet. They present it when needed, reveal nothing else, and move on with their lives.”

Billions Network: Verification without biometrics

Billions Network was launched in early 2025, offering privacy-focused verification that relies on a smartphone and a passport, without biometrics. The firm’s preliminary deployments included tests with Deutsche Bank and HSBC, while the firm is also working with the government of India on identity verification for the Aadhaar system.

Soon after, it introduced a mobile app which allows identity verification through NFC scans of biometric passports or national ID cards and performs biometric liveness checks and cryptographic proofs using Privado ID’s KYC and infrastructure stack.

The company is dipping its toes into other areas. In a recent Biometric Update podcast, McMullen has made the case for using blockchains to make verifiable claims, such as the claim of age based on a passport.

For its project with the Spanish Red Cross, Billions Network worked with Bloock to develop aid credits as ERC-20 tokens deployed on Ethereum smart contracts. These tokens represent designated funds while maintaining holder anonymity. The system records only cryptographic hashes, timestamps, and integrity anchors on the public blockchain during transactions, storing actual spending records in private, off-chain databases.

According to the organizations, the architecture enables full reconstruction of the audit trail using on-chain proofs while keeping personal data confidential.

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Article Topics

Billions Network  |  blockchain  |  Bloock  |  data privacy  |  decentralized ID  |  humanitarian  |  identity verification  |  proof of personhood  |  Red Cross  |  RedChain