Sam Altman, the name behind ChatGPT and OpenAI, has been developing a crypto product, Worldcoin. According to a press release shared with Bitcoinist, the project is finally going global after years of development and a long beta phase.
Worldcoin was first launched in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. It received criticism for its objective: to scan its users’ eyeballs in exchange for access to the “world’s largest identity and financial network.”
Sam Altman Builds Network With Your Eyeballs
According to the release, Sam Altman’s project recently transitioned to the Optimism (OP) mainnet, the second layer Ethereum scalability solution. In addition, the project released its World ID development kit and announced the launch of its WLD token.
Now, the project is available in 35 cities and 20 countries worldwide, with the ambition to expand further. Users can sign up via the Orb, verify their accounts, and onboard the blockchain-based platform in these locations.
Worldcoin project co-founder and CEO of Tools for Humanity, the company behind the development of critical components of the project’s ecosystem, Alex Blania, stated the following regarding today’s launch:
In the age of AI, the need for proof of personhood is no longer a topic of serious debate; instead, the critical question is whether or not the proof of personhood solutions we have can be privacy-first, decentralized and maximally inclusive.
The project recently celebrated onboarding over 2 million users; this new launch and Sam Altman’s popularity ChatGPT’s success could significantly boost this number. Ultimately, Worldcoin wants to provide billions of people with a “verifiable digital identity.”
As a result, these users could gain access to financial services, government aid, healthcare, and other benefits. The Worldcoin token, trading under the ticker WLD, is critical in achieving this objective.
The asset will be “freely distributed to people just for being a unique human.” In other words, users will get paid by verifying their identities on the platform. Balnia added:
Through its unique technology, Worldcoin aims to provide anyone in the world, regardless of background, geography or income, access to the growing digital and global economy in a privacy preserving and decentralized way. These protocol-level aims align closely with ours for World App.
As of this writing, the Orb-verified World ID services, locations where users can verify their identities, are available in the following cities: Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Miami, Seoul, and in over 120 countries via the App Store and Google Pay.
Related Reading: Sam Altman’s Worldcoin Project Receives $115 Million Investment
As of this writing, Bitcoin (BTC) trades at $29,800 with sideways price action on the daily chart.
Cover image from Unsplash, chart from Tradingview