tl;dr
Sam Altman's World project has launched in the U.S., planning to deploy 7,500 iris-scanning Orb devices across six cities: Atlanta, Austin, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, and San Francisco. The technology verifies human identity to differentiate real people from AI bots, rewarding users with WLD tok...
Sam Altman’s Worldcoin has officially launched in the United States, aiming to deploy 7,500 iris-scanning Orb devices across six major cities: Atlanta, Austin, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, and San Francisco. This technology verifies human identity to distinguish real people from AI-driven bots, rewarding verified users with WLD tokens connected to a unique World ID.
Alongside this rollout, Worldcoin is introducing new features including crypto-backed loans through the lending platform Morpho and prediction markets via Kalshi. Additionally, the company plans to issue a Visa card later this year, allowing users to spend WLD tokens and other digital assets on everyday purchases.
In a notable partnership, Worldcoin is collaborating with Match Group to pilot the use of World ID for age verification on Tinder in Japan. This move marks the project’s entry into the online dating space, leveraging blockchain-based identity verification for user safety and compliance.
Despite these innovations, Worldcoin faces ongoing privacy and regulatory challenges worldwide. The project insists it does not store biometric data to mitigate privacy risks; however, it has encountered raids, suspensions, and data deletion orders in countries such as Kenya, Germany, Brazil, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Authorities have raised concerns about GDPR compliance, potential misuse of data, and broader privacy violations, sparking intense debate and scrutiny.
Sam Altman stresses the urgency of developing systems that maintain human authenticity in an increasingly AI-driven internet landscape, emphasizing the importance of keeping humans “special and central.” As Worldcoin navigates these hurdles, it exemplifies the complex tension between innovation, privacy rights, and regulatory frameworks in the rapidly evolving digital identity ecosystem.