Worldcoin, a much-debated cryptocurrency project founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, is reportedly going to launch its token on Monday, July 24.
On Sunday, July 23, the project’s official Twitter handle tweeted, “It’s time. 24.7.23.” Many speculated that it was the date for the token launch. The latest report by Semafor, citing people familiar with the matter, confirms that the token for the Worldcoin (WLD) project is indeed set to launch on July 24, 2023. The token economics for WLD are yet to be announced.
The Worldcoin project is now live. pic.twitter.com/xZXG4w56Ps
— Worldcoin (@worldcoin) July 24, 2023
What is Worldcoin Project?
The Worldcoin project is launched by Tools for Humanity (TFH), the company co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Alex Blania. The project is focused on solving two problems: online identity authentication and income inequality.
The project promises free Worldcoin tokens in exchange for creating a World ID. At the center of this identification process is a novel biometric device called ”Orb” that scans the human eye’s iris that generates an IrisCode. As human iris patterns are always different, everyone user will have a unique ID.
According to TFH, this will ensure the fundamental right to privacy as it will not require any personal details. The ID requires an eye scan using the Orb, and a unique Word ID is ready to go. The team also released its World ID SDK for developers on Sunday.
Did you hear? The World ID SDK is now publicly available to builders worldwide. Find the developer docs here 👇https://t.co/rNaHvcMApB
— Worldcoin (@worldcoin) July 23, 2023
Once the biometric data is processed locally on the Orb, it is deleted permanently from the device and sent to secure data stores to be encrypted. Only left behind is the IrisCode which is only a set of numbers.
To receive the upcoming WLD token, people who sign up for Worldcoin must have their irises scanned through Orb to ensure that anyone who signs up is human and only signs up once. To scan their irises, people must physically visit the Orb spots in their areas.
The unique World ID can also distinguish humans from bots, a much-needed thing to fight the misuse of AI. Furthermore, this ID could help reduce or eliminate fraud if and when governments decide to distribute universal basic income to their citizens.
TFH has also developed the World App crypto wallet to accommodate the upcoming WLD token. It is currently the only wallet for the Worldcoin ecosystem.
According to the report, the token will not be distributed to US users because of the regulatory mess. The project claims to have 2 million users who will now receive WLD tokens. It was also reported in May that Worldcoin would also offer free NFTs to signees as part of its partnership with the decentralized email service, Dmail.
Although the project has received criticism due to its unorthodox nature, it has recently raised $115 million in Series C funding, led by Blockchain Capital, followed by a16z and others.
