What is Worldcoin?
Worldcoin is a unique project utilizing the Proof of Personhood mechanism to verify users’ identities through “iris scanning” using an Orb. The goal of Worldcoin is to create a global identification and financial system that facilitates easy access to cryptocurrency for users through “iris scanning” and rewards them with WLD tokens.
The idea behind Worldcoin originates from its two founders, Sam Altman (CEO of OpenAI) and Alex Blania, aiming to create a digital identity protocol to support distinguishing between real humans and artificial intelligence.
To achieve this, the project develops the Orb to scan users’ irises and provide each user with a unique digital identity “passport” called World ID.
How Worldcoin Works
To verify identity on Worldcoin, users need to create a private key and public key through the World App. Then, they visit a point with an installed Orb to scan their iris. If the process is successful, users will be confirmed as real humans by the protocol and receive a World ID, similar to a global digital passport.
The process of using the Orb to verify identity goes as follows:
- The Orb scans and captures the user’s iris.
- The Orb’s captured iris image is converted into a hash function and sent to the Worldcoin server to check if the user has registered before.
- If the user hasn’t registered, the hash function is added to the Worldcoin database and blockchain.
- Users receive free WLD tokens along with their World ID and access to the Worldcoin World App.
Worldcoin Products
World ID
World ID is a decentralized identification solution designed to protect privacy, utilizing the Proof of Personhood mechanism. This mechanism allows each user to prove they are a “real human” rather than a “bot.” It’s implemented to prevent users from abusing the benefits provided by Worldcoin and to guard against Sybil Attacks.
World App
Before using the World App, users need to verify their identity through World ID after downloading the app on iOS and Android. The World App functions as a cryptocurrency wallet but also offers additional features:
- Users can receive, send, and trade tokens through the World App. Additionally, they can easily onboard and offboard funds through integrated services like Moonpay and Ramp.
- Apart from basic wallet functions, the World App provides “Learn to Earn” courses to help new users understand cryptocurrency better. Users who haven’t verified with World ID can still access learning materials, but rewards for “Earn” are only for those who have verified their identity with World ID.
- Users who have verified their identity with World ID in eligible countries can receive Worldcoin Grants monthly. The World App notifies users of new Grants, and they can request to receive them in WLD tokens using their verified World ID.
Key Features of Worldcoin
“The Orb” is a solution that Worldcoin employs to address various issues through biometric technology while safeguarding users’ privacy using zero-knowledge proof technology.
Participating in the financial economy can entail many identity verification-related risks. By using Orb’s iris scanning technology, Worldcoin hopes to address several issues:
- Uniqueness: The human iris is unique and cannot be copied, and using iris images helps users avoid data errors.
- Fraud resistance: The iris cannot be copied, helping prevent fraud.
- Practicality: Rapid development in imaging technology and easy accessibility.
If the iris scanning process from users goes well, the information comparison will create a narrow peak at 0, meaning user identification will be accurate and fast. However, there are still many sources of error, leading to identification not meeting requirements and increasing error rates during the comparison process.
Team
Worldcoin was founded by OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman, and Alex Blania.
- Sam Altman serves as the CEO of OpenAI and previously was the President of Y Combinator, a renowned startup accelerator and training center.
- Alex Blania is the CEO and co-founder of Worldcoin, contributing to building and developing the project.
Investors
Worldcoin successfully raised $115 million in Series C funding, led by Blockchain Capital, with participation from investment funds such as a16z, Bain Capital Ventures, and Distributed Global.
Previously, Worldcoin successfully raised funding in two previous rounds of $100 million (March 2022) and $25 million (October 2021), with participation from renowned crypto investment funds like Coinbase Ventures, CoinFund, etc.
Partnerships
Worldcoin is currently partnering with various entities, with Optimism being the main partner to deploy their two main products, World ID and World App, on this Layer 2 blockchain’s mainnet. User transactions on Worldcoin currently constitute about 44% of total activities on the OP Mainnet.
What is WLD Token?
Basic Information
- Token Name: Worldcoin
- Ticker: WLD
- Blockchain: Ethereum
- Token Contract: Ethereum: 0x163f8C2467924be0ae7B5347228CABF260318753
- Token Type: ERC-20
- Total Supply: 10,000,000,000 WLD
- Circulating Supply: Updating
WLD Token Allocation
- Worldcoin Community: 75%
- TFH Investors: 13.5%
- Initial Development Team: 9.8%
- TFH Reserve: 1.7%
WLD Token Vesting
During the first year after the launch of Worldcoin’s mainnet, most of the WLD tokens in the market came from the community. However, starting from August 2024, which is one year after the mainnet launch, the number of WLD tokens from the development team, investors, and other sources will begin to be unlocked and introduced to the market.
Looking at the timeline chart of WLD token unlocking below, we can see that the number of WLD tokens from these sources will increase significantly and be introduced more into the market in 2024. This will be a period when the number of unlocked WLD tokens entering the market will spike, and if this period is unstable, unlocking a large number of WLD tokens like this will pose risks to investors.
WLD Token Utility
- Governance rights: WLD Token owners will have governance rights over the project and participate in voting on platform governance proposals.
- Transaction fees: WLD Token can be used as a transaction fee for activities on the WorldApp.
- Asset: Users can store WLD Token as a form of virtual asset and use it to pay for goods and services on WorldApp, as well as perform other money transfer activities.
Buying and Selling WLD Token
WLD token can be traded on Binance, OKX, ByBit, Bitget, BingX, etc.
Roadmap
Recently, Worldcoin announced the launch of World chain. World chain operates similarly to Layer-2 solutions on Ethereum to promote the scalability and growth of World ID. World chain aims to be a Supperchain and is scheduled to launch this June.
Similar Projects
Worldcoin belongs to the AI category along with: FET, AGIX, etc.
Conclusion
Worldcoin is a project using the Proof of Personhood mechanism to verify users’ identities through iris scanning with an Orb, and they can receive WLD tokens for free. The project aims to expand access to cryptocurrency for many users globally, but it takes time to validate the feasibility of this project.
Through the article “What is Worldcoin? Information about WLD Token,” have you understood Worldcoin? If not, please leave a comment below to have your questions answered!
