The Spanish Red Cross is deploying sovereign identity solutions on Ethereum to protect your data

The Spanish Red Cross is revolutionizing humanitarian assistance by incorporating Ethereum technology and ZK proofs to ensure the complete privacy of vulnerable beneficiaries.

The organization has announced the implementation of a humanitarian aid system based on the Ethereum blockchain that uses zero-knowledge proofs (ZK) to safeguard the privacy of its beneficiaries.

This is a strategic move to modernize the delivery of social aid, launching a digital platform that replaces the old paper vouchers with digital credits easy to use and completely safe.

The new system, developed in partnership with the technology company BLOOCK, uses Ethereum's infrastructure as a trust seal that certifies each transaction without storing personal information on the network. This architecture allows for the combination of two values ​​that are often difficult to reconcile in this field: full transparency for donors and absolute confidentiality for the beneficiaries. Thus, each contribution can be verified in real time, while the identity of those receiving the aid remains protected.

Francisco López Romero, the organization's technology director, emphasized that no one should have to sacrifice their privacy to receive support. Therefore, through Ethereum technology and ZK proofs, beneficiaries can manage their funds from a mobile app and use them at local businesses via QR codes. From the perspective of businesses and users, the transactions function just like any other digital payment, eliminating the feeling of being identified as a recipient of aid, while simultaneously strengthening community integration.

The power of Ethereum and ZK proofs in humanitarian action

The adoption of the Ethereum network by the Spanish Red Cross responds to the need for the most robust and battle-tested decentralized infrastructure in the crypto ecosystem. 

When using tokens under the ERC-20 standardThe Red Cross can issue aid loans that are programmable and traceable in terms of financial flow, but completely anonymous in terms of personal identity. This is where Zero-Knowledge Proof technology or Zero-Knowledge Proofs becomes essential.

ZK proofs allow one party to demonstrate to another that a claim is true—for example, "this user is entitled to this aid"—without revealing any additional information, such as the user's name, address, or history. In practice, this means the blockchain acts as a digital notary public, confirming that a transaction is legitimate and authorized, but without any sensitive data being recorded on the public blockchain, where it would be visible to everyone forever.

Thanks to this architecture, any attempt to trace information on the Ethereum network would only reveal encoded sequences and temporary records impossible to link to real identities. In other words, control of the information remains with the recipient, who manages their credentials independently from their own mobile device. This ensures a balance between operational transparency and personal privacy, a key aspect for organizations managing humanitarian aid in digital environments.

Digital identity and blockchain are revolutionizing humanitarian aid

The adoption of sovereign digital identity solutions is changing how humanitarian organizations are accountable to their donors. For years, transparency in NGOs has been a challenge, especially because verification and auditing processes relied on manual reporting, which could be slow or prone to errors. Now, thanks to blockchain technology, donors can verify with complete certainty that every contribution reaches a real beneficiary and is used in authorized commerce, without having to rely solely on intermediary documents.

This progress is complemented by the integration of smart contracts into the Ethereum network, which automate key tasks such as fund distribution and transaction validation. 

By replacing traditional bureaucratic management with verifiable digital processes, initiatives like those driven by the Red Cross are reducing operating costs and accelerating the flow of aid. The result is a more agile, reliable, and transparent system that redefines security and efficiency in international cooperation.