With over 2.2 million signups volunteering for free iris scans in return for digital ID cards, and sometimes free crypto, Worldcoin has shown it has no problems building brand awareness.
Created by ChatGPT founder Sam Altman, the project is looking to create a blockchain-based “identity and financial network.” Since its debut on July 24th, the native coin of the project, WLD, has maintained a steady price between $2 and $2.50, avoiding the “pump and dump” many new crypto tokens suffer from.
However according to Gordon Grant, the co-chief of trading at Genesis Trading, the jury is still out on the token’s prospects, which is why his platform is not yet offering the token to its clients.
He said, “There are folks that have really taken a view about this project, both with the positive and negative side.”
According to the white paper for the project, over the next 15 years it is expected a total of 10 billion WLD tokens will be minted and released. On Monday, the circulating supply stood at 120 million tokens, according to data from Coingecko, meaning roughly 1.2% of the total planned supply is already released.
Enthusiasm is high among some tech players, between the project’s plan to offer a digital ID system based on so-called “proof of personhood,” and its backing by investors including Andreessen Horowitz.
Robert Le, analyst for PitchBook, noted there are no other startups creating blockchain-based digital ID systems on Worldcoin’s scale. Worldcoin is betting that as artificial intelligence bots proliferate, people will find there is a true need to be able to prove online that they are a real person.
Chief of research at CoinShares, James Butterfill, said it is his expectation that the present buyers will be retail investors, since the lack of clarity over whether Worldcoin is a security will leave institutional players hesitant to take a stake in it.
According to SSData, the Securities and Exchange Commission has labelled over 50 altcoins, tokens which are smaller than Bitcoin or Ether, as securities.
Since November of 2022, data watchdogs in Germany have placed Worldcoin under investigation, and Kenya ordered the project to cease its scanning of irises, due to fears over risks to the public.
Riyad Carey, a research analyst at blockchain analytics firm Kaiko said, “It’s never bullish for a token to be investigated by regulators.”
