It wasn’t that long ago that the Worldcoin platform stepped onto the crypto scene, introducing a revolutionary concept that aims to change how identity verification and global finance work. The project was founded in 2023, and since then, true to its name, it has circled the world, becoming a subject of controversy and curiosity in every country it has reached.
The hype surrounding the innovative platform also pushed its eponymous token, shortened WLD, into the limelight, causing a growing number of investors and crypto enthusiasts to take an interest in the evolution of the Worldcoin price. WLD is at the core of the Worldcoin ecosystem, facilitating transactions and interactions on the network. With Worldcoin quickly becoming a noteworthy presence in the cryptocurrency realm, it’s worth taking a look at its progress and reach so far.
A crypto with a bold mission
Let’s go back to the beginning and see how it all started. In 2019, OpenAI CEO and co-founder Sam Altman, alongside Max Novendstern and Alex Blania, established Tools for Humanity (TFH), a tech company focused on developing solutions for a fairer economic system.
In 2021, TFH announced they had started working on the Worldcoin project and its native token WLD, which was going to be built on top of the Ethereum blockchain. The goal was to create a global network that would ensure easy access and participation to the digital economy for everyone and, at the same time, provide individuals with a simple way to prove their identities online.
Two years later, Worldcoin had its official launch, emerging as a blockchain-based decentralized platform that gives people the possibility to create unique digital identifiers called World IDs and obtain WLD tokens in exchange for joining the network.
To this end, Worldcoin collects biometric data from its users with the help of state-of-the-art hardware devices called Orbs. These futuristic-looking gadgets use special sensors to scan people’s irises and turn the images into iris codes that are unique to each person, thus serving as a proof of uniqueness and humanness. The code is then used to issue a World ID, which people can use as a digital passport to authenticate on different online platforms.
Worldcoin has distributed its Orbs in various locations around the globe, so anyone can book an appointment at their nearest Orb center to have their irises scanned and receive a World ID, as well as a fixed amount of WLD tokens, which they can store in the World App for easy management.
Humanness in the age of AI
As our lives have become increasingly intertwined with digital technologies, the need for viable digital identification solutions also increases. Digital IDs facilitate access to online products and services and allow us to carry out activities safely in a digital realm fraught with threats and bad actors.
AI’s rapid progress over the past few years has brought numerous advantages, transforming practices and processes across numerous industries, but it has also added new risks and challenges to the digital scene. The prevalence of deepfakes and the concerning use of AI programs for fraud and identity theft has made it more difficult to differentiate between real people and bots while navigating the online scene.
Just a few years back, the very idea of having to prove you’re human and not an AI would have sounded ridiculous. But that was before technological breakthroughs led to an influx of AI models that anyone can use as they please.
In this context, having a tool that can counteract AI misuse and distinguish humans from bots has become a necessity, and that’s exactly what Worldcoin aims to offer through its biometric-based World IDs. By introducing the Proof of Personhood (PoP), World IDs holders can demonstrate their humanity without having to reveal sensitive personal information.
Adoption across the globe
Although Worldcoin hasn’t been around for long, it has seen a fast adoption, expanding its services into a growing number of countries. In 2024, the network registered over 20 million participants and 11,358,416 verified humans.
Since Worldcoin aims to democratize the financial world and facilitate access to a global economy by distributing their tokens to every person on the planet, one of their priorities is to scale their operations and increase their reach. This has prompted them to launch a new version of the Orb that boasts increased iris scanning capabilities and processing verifications five times faster than the previous models. The company is also working on increasing the distribution of Orbs and placing them in selected locations for widespread adoption.
So far, Worldcoin’s Orb network encompasses 78 centers spread across 11 countries, with plans to add many more to the list. For those who don’t want to go through the trouble of finding an Orb and traveling to one of the flagship locations in person, the company has introduced a new service that brings Orbs to people’s doorsteps.
The average number of registrations per week stands at around 40,000, with sign-ups coming from cities like Barcelona, Berlin, Buenos Aires, New York, Seoul, and Tokyo. As expected, Worldcoin adoption tends to be higher in countries where digital currencies enjoy greater acceptance, such as:
- Argentina – users can find Worldcoin Orbs in twenty different locations in Buenos Aires.
- Brazil – the country benefits from two Orbs, both of them located in São Paulo
- Chile – there are currently fourteen Orb locations in Chile, spread across several cities such as Concepción, Vitacura, Huechuraba, La Florida, etc.
- Germany – the country is home to three Orb locations in Berlin.
- Hong Kong – the region is served by one Orb center located at 66 Shanghai Street
- Japan – the capital city of Japan, Tokyo, hosts two prominent Orb locations
