Worldcoin: Why This Cryptocurrency Wants To Scan Your Eyeballs
5 min read
Worldcoin -the cryptocurrency that has been the talk of the internet in recent days wants to scan your eyeballs.
Should you be worried?
Here’s everything you need to know – what is Worldcoin, how does it work, and why does Worldcoin want to scan your eyeballs?
After three years in development, Co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, the digital ID platform Worldcoin officially launched on Monday. This coin focuses on offering its users a verified digital identity, alongside a cryptocurrency token—helpfully named Worldcoin (WLD)—and a crypto wallet app.
With the advancement in technology, and specifically artificial intelligence, it is becoming increasingly challenging to differentiate real human activity, text, and digital artwork from anything generated by AI. And, that’s the challenge that Worldcoin hopes to address. The company proposes to help resolve this confusion by deploying a sort of digital passport, based on what it calls “proof of personhood.”
“The goal is simple: A global financial and identity network based on proof of personhood,” Altman wrote on Twitter. “This feels especially important in the AI era. I’m hopeful Worldcoin can contribute to conversations about how we share access, benefits, and governance of future AI systems.”
According to Worldcoin’s platform, users are required to scan their iris during a verification process. The scanned details will generate personal and secure identification codes, which will be saved on a decentralized blockchain, and the company claims they cannot be duplicated or spoofed to create false identities or engage in fraud.
The company says that it signed up more than 2 million users in the beta testing stage. It now plans to roll out scanning operations in dozens of cities in 20 countries worldwide.
What Is Worldcoin?
Worldcoin is a digital identification platform that aims to provide each person on earth with a convenient way to verify that they are a real human and not a bot or an AI algorithm.
The company building Worldcoin—Tools for Humanity—was cofounded by Altman, who is better known for creating ChatGPT. Ironically, Altman has played a central role in sparking the current AI gold rush, which has significantly worsened the very problem Worldcoin proposes to solve.
Worldcoin has built its digital passport system using the cryptographic and blockchain tools that support the wider world of cryptocurrency. It also supports the WLD crypto token, plus a payments platform.
How Does Worldcoin Work?
Think of Worldcoin as a three-legged stool: It only works if people adopt and use three mutually reinforcing components.
World ID
The heart of the platform is World ID, which the company claims will enable users to “verify their humanness” online while maintaining their privacy. This so-called “proof of personhood” is created by an iris-scanning device called the Orb.
Much like fingerprints, every person’s iris pattern is different. The Orb scans a user’s iris and uses its structure to create a unique identification code called an IrisCode. The code is not associated with a user’s personal information—it exists solely to prevent people from acquiring more than one World ID.
After the Orb scans your iris and saves an anonymous IrisCode, it then issues your World ID. It also permanently deletes each iris image. The system does not depend on pointing scanners at your eyeballs each time you need to verify your identity.
Each World ID is added to the Worldcoin blockchain, and users deploy a cryptographically secure app to identify themselves.
As of this week’s launch, Worldcoin Orbs are available in Hong Kong, Tokyo, Singapore, Seoul, Paris, Lisbon, Mexico City, São Paulo, Nairobi, New York, San Francisco and approximately 25 other cities around the world.
World App
The World App is the repository for your World ID. Worldcoin claims that the app preserves users’ privacy while also providing access to a growing roster of decentralized finance applications.
The app functions as a crypto wallet, but its primary purpose is to store user credentials so that users can verify themselves on any third-party application.
Besides your World ID, the app can hold Bitcoin, Ethereum and USDC, and the company says more cryptos will be supported in the future.
WLD Cryptocurrency Token
Once users create a World ID and download the World App, they get access to the WLD cryptocurrency token.
WLD was issued to users who took part in the beta program. A large quantity of WLD was airdropped to users on Monday as part of the platform’s official launch. Crypto exchanges have listed WLD for trading, including KuCoin and Binance, the world’s largest exchange by volume.
According to the Worldcoin white paper, a total of 10 billion WLD will be issued over the course of 15 years. Currently, 143 million WLD are circulating as of the official launch. Of this amount, 43 million were allocated to verified World App users, and 100 million were sent to market makers to facilitate trading.
How much is one world coin in Kenyan shillings?
Once users create a World ID and download the World App, they get access to the WLD cryptocurrency token.
The current price of 1World is KES 17.20 per 1WO. With a circulating supply of 0 1WO, it means that 1World has a total market cap of KES 0.00. The amount of 1World traded has fallen by KES 0.00 in the last 24 hours, which is a 0.00% decrease. Additionally, on the last day, KES 0.00 worth of 1WO has been traded.
1WO to KES
| Amount | Today at 11:35 am |
|---|---|
| 1 1WO | KES 17.19 |
| 5 1WO | KES 85.97 |
| 10 1WO | KES 171.94 |
| 50 1WO | KES 859.70 |
Is Worldcoin Safe?
How safe is it?
The project has already received a fair amount of criticism for its lofty goals and dubious methods.
Privacy and security are two of the main concerns surrounding Worldcoin. Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of the crypto platform Ethereum, has said iris scans may reveal personal information such as medical conditions and that the orbs themselves may not be secure.
He argued that the platform’s iris scans could be harvesting more information than the company is letting on, or that someone could potentially scan someone else’s iris in order to determine whether they had a World ID.
Second, the company has been criticized for using deceptive marketing practices. An article shared by MIT Technology Review in April 2022 noted Worldcoin used “deceptive marketing practices, and that they collected more personal data than it revealed. Additionally, Wordcoin failed to obtain meaningful informed consent.”
“We want to make it very clear that Worldcoin is not a data company and our business model does not involve exploiting or selling personal user data,” in a 25-page rebuttal to MIT Technology Review’s criticisms, the company wrote. “Worldcoin is only interested in a user’s uniqueness—i.e., to ensure that they have not signed up for Worldcoin before—not their identity.”
Thirdly, there are concerns about exploitation by Worldcoin, especially considering its focus and promotion of the platform in developing countries. A significant portion of new users are in Asia and Africa, raising concerns about exploitation.
“Most alarming to me is how the WorldCoin team has boasted about how many users they have. When in reality they have been exploiting people in developing countries,” tweeted pseudonymous crypto influencer ZachXBT.
Lastly, Worldcoin was funded by Sam Bankman-Fried, in October 2021, known for founding the failed crypto exchange FTX.
About Author
