Worldcoin – one of the most controversial projects in the digital asset space – announced the launch of its WLD token. The company plans to distribute WLD to over two million people across the world.
Besides multiple delays, Worldcoin has faced some serious concerns regarding potential privacy risks since it involves a biometric verification device to receive a World ID. Despite this, the team behind the project believes it could drastically increase economic opportunity and scale a reliable solution for distinguishing humans from AI online while preserving privacy if it’s successful.
A controversial start, subsequent reports of security lapses as well as alleged deceptive marketing practices, have dominated the general discourse on Worldcoin.
The project, led by ChatGPT developer, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, has been registering users across the world with the help of its physical imaging device called the ‘Orb.’ The project aims to give everyone on the planet some WLD tokens after registration while their accounts are anonymized.
But the launch comes at a time when the regulators in the United States have ramped up a crackdown on the token issuers in the country. While Worldcoin is scaling up operations to 35 cities in 20 countries, WLD tokens won’t be available in the US.
The letter by co-founders Alex Blania and Sam Altman announcing the launch read,
“Worldcoin is an attempt at global scale alignment, the journey will be challenging and the outcome is uncertain. But finding new ways to broadly share the coming technological prosperity is a critical challenge of our time. We hope you’ll join us.”
Worldcoin raised $115 million in a Series C funding round led by Blockchain Capital in May this year. The funding round also witnessed participation from a16z, Bain Capital, and Distributed Global.
The end goal of Worldcoin is to eventually show a potential path to AI-funded UBI, a.k.a “universal basic income,” which is a government-run social benefits program that grants every individual the right to receive regular payments. However, Altman believes AI-powered UBI has the potential to address income inequality while combating fraud.
Several community members took a jibe at the unique process of scanning eyeballs to get in, others likened the crypto project to “digital dictatorship.” The privacy argument has had little impact on crypto exchanges such as Binance, which announced plans to list the WLD token on July 24th. Other prominent platforms, including Huobi, KuCoin, and BitMart, also followed suit.