Despite being controversial, Worldcoin is one of the latest cryptocurrencies, taking the industry by storm. This coin was created by Sam Altman, a renowned tech entrepreneur. Altman is the former President of Y Combinator, the world’s most prestigious startup accelerator, and the current CEO of OpenAI, an artificial intelligence company that created the famous ChatGPT chatbot.
This article will examine Worldcoin, its characteristics, goals, and controversies.
What Is Worldcoin (WLD)?
It is a biometric cryptocurrency project founded in 2019 by Sam Altman. It uses an eyeball scanner to verify user identity for transactions. If that sounds spooky, it’s because it is.
Worldcoin has deployed its iris scanners across the globe and issues people 25 free WLD tokens in exchange for their iris scans. It issues every scanned user a “World ID,” which Altman says would help authenticate humans online to counter fake online identities facilitated by artificial intelligence.
Thanks to Altman’s connections, Worldcoin raised tens of millions of dollars to develop its technology while still under wraps. After four years of development, the project was finally launched in July 2023, causing a buzz in crypto news circles. It has drawn both fanfare and intense skepticism.
Controversies
It’s not difficult to see why Worldcoin is controversial. The company aims to build a global database of identities supposedly for online authentication. Indeed, bots and fake identities are major problems on the internet, and their sophistication can get a boost from ChatGPT, the other tool Altman chairs. Malicious actors could abuse ChatGPT or similar large language models (LLMs) to mimic human conversations and amass an army of legitimate-looking bot accounts on social media platforms.
This project issues a World ID to every user who scans their eyeball, and Altman proposes these scans as a viable solution for online authentication. But, a big problem may occur if the database falls into the wrong hands. Suppose malicious actors get their hands on World IDs, they could successfully impersonate people to steal information or money from unsuspecting friends, family, colleagues, etc.
Worldcoin feels like a trojan horse to some, with the WLD token being a disguise to amass the world’s largest identity database, but that hasn’t stopped many people from signing up.
WLD Token: Future Prospects?
WLD is a Layer 2 Ethereum-based token. It’s hosted on the Ethereum blockchain but has its own token economics. WLD has a total supply of 10 billion tokens. The number of tokens currently circulating is 130 million. WLD’s price currently hovers around $1, giving it a market capitalization of around $130 million.
WLD’s token can increase in value if more people sign up for World IDs and use the token. Worldcoin claims that 16 million people have signed up already, including 2 million in the beta phase.
However, this project’s operation can be hampered by regulatory pushback. Shortly after launching, the Kenyan government banned Worldcoin from its borders, citing privacy and security concerns. Kenya claimed that Worldcoin was first ordered to suspend eye scans but did not comply, and it responded with a full suspension. Other countries could follow suit and hinder the project’s growth.
Due to regulatory concerns, Worldcoin is also not operating in the United States of America, the biggest cryptocurrency market.
How Can I Get WLD Tokens?
You can get 25 tokens by scanning your eyeball at a Worldcoin orb operator, though you should beware of privacy and security risks. However, you can skip this step and acquire WLD tokens on a crypto exchange. Many popular exchanges now support this token, including Binance, Huobi, Gate.io, Coinex, etc.
