TL:DR,

• Worldcoin WLD officially launched after four years of development, combining biometric eye scan verification with cryptocurrency to create digital identity solutions for the AI era.
• Worldcoin introduces its Orb device for eye‑scan verification, merging digital identity and WLD cryptocurrency while expanding into 20 countries with rapid adoption.
•  Worldcoin plans global expansion with 1,500 orbs across 35 cities in 20 countries, though critics question the balance between digital identity verification and blockchain anonymity principles.

After four years of work, Worldcoin WLD, a new cryptocurrency and digital identity project led by Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, has officially launched. The platform’s goal is to solve a big problem caused by recent advances in artificial intelligence.

Its sophistication makes it harder to tell the difference between content created by people and content produced by algorithms.

The project takes digital identity verification in cryptocurrency by introducing Proof of Personhood consensus mechanisms and biometric eye scans. The main focus: prove that you are human and not some AI bot.

Worldcoin WLD Launches, The Digital Identity Solution for the AI Era

As per Paperview:

Worldcoin is an open-source protocol, supported by a global community of developers, individuals, economists and technologists committed to expanding participation in, and access to, the global economy. The Worldcoin Foundation is the steward and will support and grow the Worldcoin community until it becomes self-sufficient.

Your Eyeball is Your Password: The Futuristic But Controversial Orb

The futuristic “orb” is the highlight behind its verification method. It’s typically an eye scan designed to collect unique markers present in each eye. Similar to the 8-character long password, seed phrase to your crypto wallet and thumb access to your smartphone, your eye will be your unique identifier. This biometric crypto verification tackles authenticity in a world driven by AI. Typically, biometric scans are unique to each individual, a marvel of creation, promoting privacy overall.

A Two-Sided Coin: Digital Identity Paired with a Native Cryptocurrency

Worldcoin (WLD) does more than verify identities; it also creates its own cryptocurrency, the WLD token. Its global app lets users access this digital currency and make safe payments, transfers, and interact with different digital assets. Worldcoin is different from other cryptocurrencies because it allows for easy integration of digital currency and identity verification. This is in line with its goal of creating a platform that is private, open, and decentralized, utilizing World ID for secure transactions.

RELATED: Kenya’s Biometric Data Ruling Sparks Bold Regulatory Shift

Early Signs of Success: 2 Million Users and a Global Footprint

The Worldcoin WLD was able to get over 2 million users during its beta period, a lot by market standards in Web3. The platform is now starting a big expansion plan fueled by this adoptive success. For the past three years, the cryptocurrency has been tested in Chile, Norway, Indonesia, Kenya, Sudan, and Ghana, among other places. The project wants to have 1,500 orbs available in 35 cities in 20 countries by the end of the year, so that more people can sign up for free biometric crypto verification. Additionally, its token is available on various exchanges.

Worldcoin laucnhed in Kenya showing signs of rapid adoption.[Photo: TechCabal]

Deconstructing Proof-of-Personhood: The Tech Behind Uniqueness

Global Universal Basic Income (UBI) and the Worldcoin project are two examples of applications that use Proof of Personhood (PoP). The core aim of the consensus mechanisms is focused on distinguish between AI bots and people.

Several parts make up PoP:

• Deduplication (to make sure that each credential is unique)
• Authentication (to stop fraud and make sure that credentials are owned),
• Recovery (in case credentials are lost or stolen).

There are three parts to the PoP mechanism: Users, Issuers, and Verifiers. Users want to show that they are unique and have their own identity. Then, issuers give PoP credentials to users, and Verifiers check to make sure these credentials are real.

The PoP system needs to make sure that each user only gets one credential. Deduplication comes in to stop fraud. For verification, users have their own credentials, and in case of any lost password(a very common trait), the system often has a user-managed backup, social recovery and re-issuance. To deal with compromised credentials, revocation is necessary. Expiry can also make the Proof of Personhood mechanism more secure.

To achieve the global dream, Worldcoin WLD envisions the system needs to be open to everyone, hard to hack, and have credentials that are only for one person. Different ways to verify identity are looked at, such as online accounts, official ID checks, the web of trust, social graph analysis, and biometrics. Iris biometrics is the best way to do this on a global scale.

World ID is a privacy-protecting, person-bound credential that is issued through the Orb biometric device. Its goal is to prove that someone is a person and that they are unique on a global scale.

The Backlash: Can We Trust Worldcoin With Our Biometric Data?

Worldcoin has been criticized by skeptics, even though it has big plans. The use of biometric data, like eye scans, to prove who you are is one of the biggest worries. While its applications as a digital identity verification are sound, key questions like the privacy risks of storing and handling sensitive data remain a concern. Some critics also say that using blockchain technology to identify people in such a precise way goes against the technology’s main goal of keeping people anonymous.

RELATED: Breaking down crypto identity verification through Worldcoin’s innovations

There has been less criticism of the fact that the United States was not included in beta testing. The world’s biggest economy is important for the adoption of almost everything. Worldcoin should be the same way. From an African point of view, Kenya’s being included in beta testing is a good sign that more African countries will be included in the next phase of the rollout.