Worldcoin's Ambitious Rollout of Iris-Scanning Global Digital Currency Sparks Mixed Reactions | Blockster

Worldcoin, the iris-scanning cryptocurrency project led by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, has commenced its international rollout, presenting a sci-fi-tinged vision of a "new global digital currency." However, the actual realization of this vision may significantly vary depending on the user's location.

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Today, Worldcoin introduced its "World ID" decentralized identity protocol and "WLD" cryptocurrency tokens, making them available in 35 cities. Users can submit their iris scans to local "orb" devices and receive a share of WLD as a reward for being human.

While Worldcoin claims to have verified two million volunteers' World IDs across 30 countries since its founding in 2019, complaints have surfaced in developing countries, where users claim they never received any currency for providing their eyeprints.

Altman envisions Worldcoin's basketball-sized metal orb, similar to India's Aadhaar system, as a means to facilitate universal basic income, a favorite form of economic redistribution in the tech world.
"Worldcoin is as an attempt at global scale alignment, acknowledging the challenge and uncertainty involved in sharing technological prosperity broadly."

Alex Blania and Sam Altman, Co-founders of Worldcoin
During its beta stage, Worldcoin reported enrolling over 40,000 people per week into its World ID program. The startup plans to increase its orb capacity worldwide to 1,500, aiming to enhance sign-up capacity fivefold.

Worldcoin has received substantial funding from prominent tech investors, such as Andreessen Horowitz and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman. Their backing is partly intended to address the AI-amplified income inequality era, which Altman's OpenAI and others contribute to.

Universal basic income advocates, including Altman and former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang, believe it can provide a stable economic foundation for workers facing displacement or redundancy due to AI systems.

However, Worldcoin's redistributive vision faces challenges, particularly in the United States. Regulatory uncertainty arising from the SEC's cryptocurrency crackdown has made it too risky for the company to operate fully in the US. Altman acknowledges that the US, while significant, is only a fraction of the global population, and the project's success doesn't solely depend on its operations in the country.

Blania, the company's co-founder, hopes that Worldcoin will shed its association with the crypto industry over time and be recognized as a technology used to build specific products.

Worldcoin's journey to its official launch has been tumultuous, encountering various obstacles. A BuzzFeed News investigation revealed numerous complaints from Orb users worldwide who claimed they were never compensated for their iris scans. Orb operators have also reported harassment, arrests, and late payments while convincing people to use the costly devices.

Moreover, Worldcoin's growing collection of biometrics data has led to a small black market for World IDs. Buyers in China were reportedly purchasing verified IDs from users in Cambodia and Kenya for a fee. Additionally, hackers have found ways to install password-stealing malware on several orb devices.

As Worldcoin embarks on its global rollout across major cities across the world, the concerns surrounding privacy, security, and regulatory compliance cast uncertainty on its vision for a "new global digital currency." As the project navigates these challenges, its future remains uncertain, and the world will be closely observing its developments.