Worldcoin (WLD) Cryptocurrency: Comprehensive Overview
Core Definition and Technology
Worldcoin (WLD) is a cryptocurrency linked to an identity protocol called World ID that aims to provide "proof-of-personhood," enabling people to prove they're unique humans online without revealing their real-world identity. World, also known as World Network, is a humanity verification project and financial network that was developed and launched as the cryptocurrency project Worldcoin. The project was rebranded as World in 2024, at which point it had partnerships with the governments of Taiwan and Malaysia concerning digital identity verification.
Core Technology and Blockchain Architecture
Biometric Verification System
The backbone of Worldcoin is a specialized biometric device called the Orb, which uses advanced iris-scanning technology and real-time neural networks to verify human uniqueness with high accuracy while processing all biometric data locally for privacy. The Orb verifies humanness through the use of specialized hardware and several neural networks that run in real time on the device, generates and signs an iris code which is subsequently checked for uniqueness in the uniqueness service, and if successful the public key of the World ID is added to a set of verified World IDs.
According to Tools for Humanity, iris codes are used because irises have more randomness and complexity than fingerprints or faces, and are also less susceptible to change. The Iris Recognition Inference System (IRIS) represents the step-by-step process that transforms an iris image into an iris code, the numeric representation of one's iris texture, and is the core engine that validates a person's uniqueness at an Orb and allows the secure verification of their World ID.
Privacy Architecture
Sophisticated cryptographic techniques like zero-knowledge proofs enable users to verify their humanity without revealing personal information. The system employs the Semaphore protocol, originally developed by the Ethereum Privacy and Scaling Exploration (PSE) group, with modifications to support global scale, allowing users to prove their humanity to any verifier while maintaining their privacy through sophisticated cryptographic techniques.
In May 2024, World switched its data storage to a secure multi-party computation (MPC) encryption method, stating the move was part of its efforts to comply with the EU's General Data Protection Regulation, and according to World, after stored iris codes were migrated to their new SMPC system, the old codes were then deleted.
Blockchain Infrastructure
WLD is described as part of a larger effort to drive a more unified and equitable global economy, with the token to be a Layer 2 Ethereum-based cryptocurrency that leverages the security of the Ethereum blockchain while having its own economy. Worldcoin (WLD) exists as an ERC‑20 token on Ethereum, and as such, WLD inherits the Proof of Stake consensus security of Ethereum's Consensus Layer.
The network operates on World Chain, a dedicated blockchain built on the OP Stack (Optimism's technology) designed to prioritize transactions from verified humans. Built on the OP Stack and powered by reth, World Chain prioritizes scalability and accessibility for real users, providing the rails for a frictionless onchain UX, with verified World ID holders receiving priority access to blockspace, ensuring everyday users can transact even during peak network demand.
Primary Use Cases and Real-World Applications
Identity Verification
World hopes to provide a reliable way to authenticate humans online via World ID accounts, to counter bots and fake virtual identities facilitated by artificial intelligence. Once the scan is complete, the system assigns the user a World ID, which can be used for a variety of online applications, such as logging into websites or participating in secure voting systems.
Ecosystem Integrations
Worldcoin has incorporated its World ID feature with several mainstream platforms, including Reddit, Discord, and Minecraft, allowing users to verify their human identity across these platforms using World ID, potentially receiving VIP roles. In early 2025, Razer began incorporating World ID to facilitate "human-only" modes or servers in games, cutting out bots.
World announced an upcoming debit card project with Visa and partnered with Match Group, which owns dating apps such as Tinder.
Financial Applications
The token's primary utilities are governance (allowing holders to vote on the protocol's future) and paying for services like transaction fees on World Chain. Verified World ID users can enjoy gas-free transactions on-chain.
Universal Basic Income Vision
If successful, Worldcoin could drastically increase economic opportunity, scale a reliable solution for distinguishing humans from AI online while preserving privacy, enable global democratic processes, and eventually show a potential path to AI-funded UBI.
Founding Team, Key Developers, and Project History
Founding Team
Contributors to the project include Tools for Humanity, a company founded in 2019 by Sam Altman, Max Novendstern, and Alex Blania. As of 2025, Altman was the chairman of Tools for Humanity and Blania was the CEO.
Max Novendstern was a former investment associate at Bridgewater Associates and worked previously for a money transfer startup called Wave; Alex Blania had been studying theoretical physics at the California Institute of Technology and the Max Planck Society; by early 2021, Novendstern had moved on to launch another startup while Blania stayed, becoming Worldcoin's CEO.
Project Timeline
In October 2021, the project raised an initial $25 million by investors such as Andreessen Horowitz, and within six months, an additional $100 million was raised, pushing the token's total value up to $3 billion. After accumulating $250 million in funding from venture capital firms such as Andreessen Horowitz, it launched out of beta in 2023.
Worldcoin officially launched on July 24, 2023, introducing both the WLD token and the World ID system to enable community-led governance and global identity verification.
User Growth
World was reported in May 2023 to have onboarded approximately two million users in 33 countries. As of September 2025, World had approximately 33 million World App users, of which 15 million were verified.
Tokenomics: Supply, Distribution, and Mechanics
Total and Circulating Supply
WLD is an ERC-20 token with a fixed maximum supply of 10 billion for its first 15 years. The circulating supply of Worldcoin is 2,724,991,759 tokens and the total supply is 10,000,000,000 tokens.
Token Allocation and Distribution
Before launch, 75% of all WLD were allocated to the World Community, while 25% were allocated to early investors in Tools for Humanity ("TFH"), the development team, and a small reserve held by TFH. The Worldcoin allocation includes Worldcoin Community at 75.00%, TFH Investors at 13.78%, Initial Development Team at 10.02% and TFH Reserve at 1.20%.
Distribution Mechanism
Worldcoin's tokenomics is unique in that the majority of WLD tokens will be freely available to claim by individuals over time – simply for engaging in World Network and verifying their human uniqueness. Individuals can claim WLD tokens by verifying unique humanness via the Orb, with the first WLD amount an individual can claim (currently 16 WLD) constituting about ⅓ of the total amount, while the remaining amount is claimable over the next 11 months.
Inflation and Supply Mechanics
WLD supply will be capped at 10 billion tokens for 15 years, at which point the governance of the network can decide to implement an inflation rate of up to 1.5%, as well as how to allocate the minted tokens. The circulating supply of WLD increases with network scale and user growth.
Consensus Mechanism and Network Security Model
Ethereum-Based Security
WLD inherits the Proof of Stake consensus security of Ethereum's Consensus Layer, and transactions that involve WLD on Ethereum are subject to Ethereum's gas market and finality properties.
Layer 2 Scaling
The World App and many user interactions also utilize the Optimism network (an Optimistic Rollup), which batches transactions off‑chain and posts data to Ethereum for security, and Optimism's design relies on Fraud Proofs and an L2 Sequencer while ultimately settling on Ethereum, improving throughput and lowering fees.
World Chain Innovation
World Chain itself is built in a way that provides unique benefits to verified humans, with verified humans having their gas fees subsidized by fees collected from non-verified humans (i.e. bots), a way of making sure humans benefit from the increased commercial activity by on-chain agents.
Key Partnerships and Ecosystem Integrations
Government and Institutional Partnerships
By late 2024, World had partnerships with Taiwan and Malaysia concerning digital identity verification.
Commercial Partnerships
World announced an upcoming debit card project with Visa and partnered with Match Group, which owns dating apps such as Tinder. In early 2025, Razer began incorporating World ID to facilitate "human-only" modes or servers in games, cutting out bots.
Developer Ecosystem
The Worldcoin token (WLD), alongside World ID, powers a diverse range of "Mini Apps" for utility, entertainment, and social engagement, including financial tools like ORO for daily rewards, UNO for token management, and creative apps like World Art for NFT minting.
Competitive Advantages and Unique Value Proposition
Proof of Personhood at Scale
Worldcoin is building a uniqueness verification system in an adversarial environment on a scale of billions of people. In a time of increasingly powerful AI, the most reliable way to issue a global proof of human is through custom biometric hardware.
Privacy-Preserving Design
A particularly innovative aspect of Worldcoin's architecture is its implementation of privacy-preserving deduplication, with the system able to verify that an individual hasn't previously enrolled without maintaining a centralized database of personal information, achieved through a combination of biometric processing and cryptographic protocols, where iris codes are compared using Hamming distance calculations while maintaining strict privacy guarantees through local processing and zero-knowledge proofs.
Inclusive Financial Access
By leveraging advanced iris biometrics, Worldcoin provides individuals with a unique cryptographic identity, known as World ID, which can be used across various platforms and applications, with the project envisioning a future where identity verification is decentralized, seamless, and accessible to everyone, particularly in regions where traditional identification systems are inefficient or nonexistent.
Current Development Activity and Roadmap Highlights
Recent Technological Advances
In September 2024, World introduced the facial comparison program Face Auth, a competitor to Apple's Face ID software, and in October 2024, World launched a new edition of Orb, its eye-scanning hardware, and also launched Deep Face, an anti-deepfake feature for users with World IDs.
Platform Expansion
In April 2025, the World App enabled a private chat feature allowing users to send messages and tokens. World launched its operations in the USA on May 1, 2025, with locations in Atlanta, Austin, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, and San Francisco, and Razer stores.
Future Development Plans
The project is exploring other verification methods, such as passport verification via NFC, to enhance convenience and coverage, and plans to integrate World ID verification into mainstream communication platforms (like FaceTime, WhatsApp, and Zoom), and build a "mini-app" ecosystem within World App for third-party developers to participate.
One of the long-term visions is to explore Worldcoin as a potential pathway for AI-funded universal basic income in the future.
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