Crypto
What Is Worldcoin? Here’s What To Know About The Eyeball-Scanning Crypto Project Launched By OpenAI’s Sam Altman
Topline
Worldcoin, the ambitious cryptocurrency and digital ID project spearheaded by OpenAI chief Sam Altman, launched on Monday after years in development, promising to verify users’ identity by scanning their eyes and potentially solving one of the more pressing problems posed by recent advances in artificial intelligence that have made it harder to tell whether something was made by humans or an algorithm.
Sam Altman cofounded Worldcoin.
Key Facts
At the heart of the Worldcoin project is an eye-scanning “orb,” which must be used in-person and gives users a unique digital identity to verify they are a real human and not a bot.
A cryptocurrency—which can be used once a user has verified their identity and is also named Worldcoin—and an app that allows users to make payments, purchase and transfers with it, as well as other digital assets, are also key parts of the project.
After collecting more than 2 million users during a beta period, Worldcoin on Monday said it is now going to ramp up its eyeball-scanning operations to 35 cities across 20 countries.
The Worldcoin cryptocurrency token has also been issued to eligible people taking part in the beta and is now tradable, the project said.
Several exchanges have now listed the token or stated their intention to do so, including Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume.
Alex Blania, who cofounded Worldcoin with Altman, said the need to prove a person is real is “no longer a topic of serious debate” in the age of AI, adding that Worldcoin hopes to build a “privacy-first, decentralized and maximally inclusive” way of addressing this problem.
What We Don’t Know
The Worldcoin cryptocurrency is not currently available in the U.S., the Financial Times reported. It’s not clear when, or if, this will change, and comes amid a broader push by U.S. regulators to crack down on digital assets amid growing concerns it helps facilitate fraud and speculation. Altman told the FT the “U.S. does not make or break a project like this,” though he did say the group did not anticipate the project would become a “world minus the U.S. coin.”
Tangent
Since its informal launch several years ago, the Worldcoin project has had its fair share of critics. Key concerns revolve around the use of biometric data—the eye scans—to verify users’ identity, particularly the privacy risks involved with collecting, storing and using such data. To some, the fact that the project incentivized early users to sign up in exchange for some of the cryptocurrency functioned as an outlandish bribe. Given that a key use of the blockchain, the technology underpinning cryptocurrencies and other distributed networks, is to obscure one’s identity, others disagree with the very premise of Worldcoin being used to identify people in such a personal and precise manner.
What To Watch For
Altman said he hopes to get 2 billion users signed up to Worldcoin now the platform has formally launched. It’s unclear how quickly the company will be able to scale, particularly given the need for in-person appointments. Worldcoin’s website says it is actively onboarding orb operators in additional locations and that 2,000 orbs have been manufactured.
Crucial Quote
Altman said a project like Worldcoin “feels especially important in the AI era” when it’s becoming increasingly difficult to tell the work of humans and machines apart. “Like any really ambitious project, maybe it works out and maybe it doesn’t, but trying stuff like this is how progress happens,” Altman said. “In either case, we especially love our haters, it gives us energy, please keep it coming!
Further Reading
Sam Altman’s Worldcoin begins international rollout (FT)
AI Could Cause Human ‘Extinction,’ Tech Leaders Warn (Forbes)
World’s popular digital currency rises as high as $99,073 on expectations Trump will ease legal and regulatory hurdles.
Bitcoin is nearing the $100,000 mark as crypto enthusiasts bet that United States President-elect Donald Trump will usher in a more welcoming regulatory environment for digital assets.
The world’s most popular digital currency rose as high as $99,073 on Thursday, extending its surge since Trump’s re-election on November 5.
The commodity has risen more than 60 percent since election day as investors anticipate Trump’s incoming administration to ease regulatory and legal hurdles to its use.
Trump, who called the asset a “scam” during his first term, accepted campaign donations in cryptocurrency, and has pledged to make the US “the crypto capital of the planet” and accumulate a national bitcoin reserve.
Trump and his three sons in September also announced the launch of their own crypto business, World Liberty Financial, which investors have taken as a promising sign of the president-elect’s belief in the sector.
In another bullish signal for the sector on Thursday, United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chair, Gary Gensler, who was widely disliked among crypto investors for his aggressive enforcement actions targeting the sector, confirmed that he would step down in January.
Trump had pledged to fire Gensler on “day one” of his administration, though the president does not have the authority to remove the SEC chair before the end of his or her term.
While viewed by supporters as a ticket to big returns and financial freedom, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are known for their volatility and have faced government crackdowns in several parts of the world.
After climbing to a record high of $69,000 in late 2021, Bitcoin plunged to less than $16,000 over the following year.
The commodity burst past its previous peak in March after gaining more than 300 percent since November 2022.
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Shemaroo Entertainment and PWR Chain Announce Strategic Partnership to Revolutionize India’s Digital Entertainment through Blockchain Innovation – Press release Bitcoin News
WisdomTree has launched a new cryptocurrency exchange-traded product (ETP), the US asset manager announced today, with a focus on the XRP digital currency.
The new WisdomTree Physical XRP (XRPW), joins the firm’s $1.1bn lineup of physically backed cryptocurrency products, designed to provide European investors with a straightforward, regulated means of investing in digital assets without direct ownership.
The XRP asset, native to the XRP Ledger (XRPL), has carved out a unique role for itself in the digital currency landscape, as a blockchain optimised for cross-border payments and high-speed transactions.
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