Yesterday (24th July 2023), Worldcoin token (WLD), founded by OpenAI's Sam Altman and Alex Blania launched. The project is said to have been in the works since 2021 and was "created to help build an identity & financial network connecting billions of people in the Age of AI."¹
The project has received criticisms from people for privacy and security concerns especially around its scanning machine, the Orb. Vitalek has shared his thoughts about it too.
So What is Worldcoin?
This is a protocol that aims to provide "proof-of-personhood" (PoP) to everyone and distinguish them as real humans from AI or bots. This is done through their iris-scanning machine, the Orb and through an app called WorldApp, using the global identity protocol, World ID.
Worldcoin aims to produce a large number of these machines and make them available in public places around the world so anyone can get an ID.
To understand better, let's take a closer look at these things that comprise or make up the Worldcoin ecosystem.
World ID
A digital passport or identity protocol that enables anyone prove they are a unique and real person while remaining anonymous by verifying their humanness digitally through zero-knowledge proofs via a biometric device called the Orb.³
World ID aims to be personbound, meaning an ID should only be used by the individual it was issued to and can't be used by other people. And it should always be possible to regain possession of a lost or stolen World ID.⁴
One can get a World ID by downloading the World App. But to be fully verified, one must personally visit an Orb machine to scan his/her iris.
World App
The first wallet app that supports the creation of a World ID. It serves as the user interface for people to get a World ID.
The app is used by Orb-verified individuals to receive their WLD tokens, "to seamlessly sign in to websites, mobile apps (Discord etc) and crypto dapps proving they’re a unique and real person without sharing personal data like names or email addresses." Accordingly, except when using to transact with third party apps, there are no fees to use the wallet and has 24 hour support.⁵
The application provides a walkthrough for users to verify their humanness in the Orb, records "an individual’s World ID credentials and implements the cryptographic protocols to share those credentials with third parties in a privacy preserving manner."⁶
The app however doesn't support every cryptocurrency but focused on Worldcoin and Ethereum functionalities for simplicity and familiarity of use.
It is available for download on the Apple Store for iOS and on Google Play for Android.
The Orb
This is the iris-scanning device developed by Tools for Humanity (TFH) for the Worldcoin project. It is claimed to be the "first custom biometric imaging device built to verify humanness and uniqueness in a secure and privacy-preserving way."⁷
- It scans and captures the person's iris
- The captured image are then further processed to generate a unique identifier deriving it from the iris code.
- Then it associates it with their World ID.
Here are some of the Orbs installed in various places:
Credits to Bankless HQ
Is an Orb near you?
Apparently, a total of 1.5k Orbs are already available and installed in over 35 cities in 20 countries around the globe and Worldcoin intends to distribute more (50k Orbs).⁸
These are the cities where Orbs can be found:
To check the make up of the device, they have shared it here. And for more information on how the data obtained by the Orb are used, visit the FAQs.
Per data obtained from the Whitepaper, there are over 2 million people already Orb-verified, of which 32% are from Asia, 31.4% from Africa, 19% from Latin America, 17.3% in are from Europe and 0.3% from others.⁹
WLD Token
WLD is the Worldcoin's utility token with governance properties, empowering users by giving them a say over the future of the protocol. It is based on the Ethereum ERC-20 design and is globally and freely distributed to people (who participate in the network), for both utility and future governance, just for being a unique individual.¹⁰
- Ticker: WLD
- Initial Supply: 10 billion
- Circulating Supply: 143 million, this will be the maximum token at launch (43M WLD allocated to Orb-verified users during pre-launch, 100M loaned to market makers outside of the US)
- Inflation Rate: Up to 1.5% per year after 15 years. Default inflation rate is 0% unless it will be changed by governance.
- Network: ERC-20 (Ethereum Mainnet and Optimism)
Allocation
- 75% for Community, ecosystem fund and for network operations (unlocked)
- 13.5% to THF investors (locked for 12 months)
- 9.8% to Initial Dev Team (locked for 12 months)
- 1.7% THF Reserve (locked for 12 months)
User grants
These are WLD tokens allocated to verified users at certain point in time and when claimed (via the World App) are sent to their Optimism wallet. Tokens not claimed will be included in the Worldcoin Community Pool.
Welcome Grant = 1 WLD
Each user who verify themselves on the Orb can claim it via the World App. This is expected to decrease over time.
Recurring grants = 25 WLD
Orb-verified individual can claim at launch and next grants further. These grants are allocated by smart contracts and the amounts are expected to decrease over time.
Grant Reservations
These are granted on a first-come-first-served basis to users who are not yet verified by the Orb. The amount will be 25 WLD (same as Orb-verified users). They can claim these ones they get verified. Reservations expire after a year.
The token is currently ranked #124 on CMC in terms of total market cap and is tradable on Binance, Kucoin, Uniswap V2 & V3, Bithumb, OKX and many more CEX.
Summary (TL;DR)
Worldcoin protocol is trying to provide "Proof-of-Personhood" (PoP) to people around the world by creating a World ID through the use of its mobile application called World App and then verifying themselves by scanning their iris via the Orb. Here's the process:
- Download the World App.
- Create your World ID.
- Go to the nearest place where there is an Orb to get their World ID Orb-verified.
Verified users are incentivized with WLD tokens (welcome and recurring grants) which are claimable through the World App.
Accordingly, the World ID can be used as a proof of humanness through the Wallet App when signing in to other applications including Web 2, sending and receiving selected tokens.
What are your thoughts? Would you have your iris scanned as a proof of your digital identity?
Info Sources: Worldcoin Website / Worldcoin Blog / Whitepaper
Lead image created on Canva. Photo from Worldcoin. Image/s linked to their sources. 25072023/10:20ph