At a recent press conference, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced that the project would be renamed to World Network (commonly known as World) to better reflect its new goals and growth strategy. World will continue to focus on its three core products: World Chain, World ID, and Worldcoin.

The founder of World stated that the project's current goal is to create a network that distinguishes between humans and agents potentially influenced by AI, such as chatbots and virtual assistants.

The Layer 2 World Chain, developed in collaboration with Alchemy and Dune, aims to become a "humans-only" community. Built on the OP Stack toolkit, World Chain focuses on user identity solutions within the blockchain space. Participants in the ecosystem gain several benefits in the market while mitigating the risk of attacks.

What is World Network?

World Network (formerly Worldcoin) is an open-source decentralized protocol that provides access to the global economy. The community of users holds ultimate authority over oversight and decision-making. The development team builds various tools for the project, including:

World ID: A privacy-focused digital identity solution, addressing identity risks by verifying a unique identity for each individual.
Worldcoin Token: The first token to be distributed globally and free for all users, intended for future utility and governance purposes.
World App: A self-custodial app that facilitates payments, purchases, and global transfers using Worldcoin tokens, digital assets, stablecoins, and traditional currencies.

The project's unique digital identity, powered by World ID, plays a crucial role in representing human presence in AI-driven online environments. The platform provides users with equal opportunities in the global economy while maintaining privacy and security through decentralization.

Currently, the project has over 10 million registered users in 160 countries, with 7 million having verified their identity through World ID. Despite being a groundbreaking solution at the project's launch, World has faced several legal challenges, including accusations of user data theft.

South Korea recently fined World over $830,000 for data privacy violations. In December 2023, World halted Orb operations in countries like India, Brazil, and France.

Several World offices in Hong Kong were raided by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (PCPD), who seized documents and investigated allegations of serious privacy violations. World asserts that the project is built on a commitment to maximum data protection and individual privacy.

World has launched a bug bounty program, offering rewards ranging from $200 to $5,000 for users reporting issues. The program is managed by Tools for Humanity (TFH). Participants can report bugs related to the mobile app, smart contracts, hardware, web applications, APIs, etc. Vulnerabilities will be handled by HackerOne to fulfill the project's transparency commitment.

The project, initiated by Sam Altman and Alex Blania, has received substantial funding from notable investors in the tech and crypto sectors. Silicon Valley giants like Andreessen Horowitz, Coinbase Ventures, 1confirmation, Blockchange, Day One Ventures, and CoinFund have actively contributed to the project.

Other notable private investors, such as Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn, and Sam Bankman-Fried, have also shown their support for Worldcoin. The accumulated investments have propelled Worldcoin to an impressive unicorn valuation of $1 billion, indicating strong market recognition.

See more: Worldcoin (WLD) halts Orb verification services in several countries

WLD token information

Token name: Worldcoin
Symbol: WLD
Standard: ERC-20
Blockchain: Ethereum
Total supply: 10,000,000,000 WLD
Self-reported circulating supply: 545,295,898.47 WLD

Price movement and exchanges

The price of WLD did not react positively following the rebranding and Layer 2 development announcement. Currently, WLD is priced at $2.17, down 3.74% over the past 24 hours. However, the token still saw an increase of over 27% in the past week and 47.04% in the past month.

Investors can buy WLD tokens on popular exchanges such as Binance, OKX, Bybit, Gate.io, and KuCoin.

Features of Worldcoin

The Orb

Earlier in the article, we explored the necessity of a custom hardware device utilizing iris biometrics to achieve inclusivity and fraud resistance, thus ensuring fairness for all users, regardless of their location or background. The Orb is a device initially prototyped and created by Tools for Humanity.

Worldcoin

Decentralizing the issuance of this credential comes down to four parts: the uniqueness verification service, the development and production of biometric verification devices, the deployment of devices all over the world; and fraud prevention mechanisms.

An inclusive plan

The company's founder, Sam Altman, is keen on inclusive initiatives like universal basic income and global wealth redistribution. Worldcoin believes that encouraging the widespread adoption of a single currency is the first step towards achieving a decentralized digital economy and collective ownership worldwide.

Currently, cryptocurrencies have not achieved universal adoption, with only 3% of the global population having used them, and approximately 30% in developing countries lacking access to bank accounts.

To address these issues, Worldcoin aims to distribute 80% of its total supply to the global population. It plans to achieve this by incentivizing as many new "unique users" as possible, with a special focus on individuals in developing nations. The company has already deployed over 25 operators worldwide to begin distributing Worldcoin to users.

Worldcoin asserts that its eye scan technology is a necessary measure to verify users' identities and ensure they are human without compromising their privacy. Despite the use of eye scans, the company claims it is not intrusive.

An intriguing approach

One of the most notable and controversial aspects of Worldcoin is its user registration process. To receive a free share of Worldcoin, users must undergo an eye scan to prove their uniqueness as a "unique human," according to Worldcoin's explanation.

Worldcoin justifies this process as necessary to verify the uniqueness of each account, ensuring that individuals can register and claim their reward only once, thus ensuring a fair distribution of Worldcoin's supply.

To participate, users must contact an "Orb operator" equipped with a spherical custom-made device known as the Orb, which scans their eyes. The Orb captures a high-resolution image of the user's eyes and converts the iris biometric information into an IrisHash, a unique identifier. Worldcoin stores this IrisHash in a database to confirm human uniqueness while erasing all other personal data, including the original eye image.

Worldcoin asserts that using iris biometric information for its Proof-of-Personhood ensures uniqueness with minimal intrusion. The aim is to secure the currency without requiring users to divulge excessive personal information.

However, some within the crypto community, including privacy advocates, have raised concerns and criticized Worldcoin's protocol. The public's response to having their iris biometric information classified and stored will undoubtedly be a significant factor in shaping the future of Worldcoin's approach.

How does Worldcoin work?

Worldcoin operates in three straightforward steps:

Step 1: Download the World App:

To get started with Worldcoin, individuals need to download the World App. This app allows users to create their Worldcoin account and access a digital wallet that supports Worldcoin, Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other digital and traditional currencies, including stablecoins. The World App is managed by Tools for Humanity, a contributor to the Worldcoin system.

Step 2: Sign up for World ID:

While it is possible to use the World App without signing up for World ID, individuals interested in receiving a free share of Worldcoin Tokens and other digital currencies must register for World ID. This can be done by visiting a Worldcoin Operator and verifying their unique personhood at an Orb. In the future, this verification process may be expanded to include other methods.

Step 3: Receive your free share of Worldcoin and other digital currencies:

Once a user has successfully verified their unique personhood, they can use their World ID within the World App to learn about digital currencies and receive free airdrops of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and more. After the mainnet launch, individuals in countries where the Worldcoin Token is available, as stated in the Terms and Conditions, will also be eligible to use their World ID to claim their portion of free Worldcoin Tokens.

Project links

Website: https://worldcoin.org/
X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/worldcoin
Discord: https://discord.com/invite/worldcoin

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