Worldcoin (WLD): Proving You Are Human With an Iris Scan
Co-founded by Sam Altman: the Orb, World ID and World Chain
WLD is the token of World, formerly Worldcoin, a project that aims to prove online that someone is a real and unique human. Its method, scanning irises with a device called the Orb, has drawn both interest and controversy.
1. Who is behind World
The project was started in 2019 by OpenAI’s chief executive Sam Altman together with Alex Blania and others. The company Tools for Humanity builds the technology and the Orb, while the non-profit World Foundation oversees the token and protocol. It launched with the WLD token in July 2023 and renamed itself World in October 2024.
Its stated goal is to spread ‘proof of personhood’, a digital way to tell humans from bots, in an age when AI can write and act like people. It also plans wallets, payments and other financial services built on that proof.
2. How the Orb and World ID work
A user looks into the Orb, a spherical camera, to confirm they are a unique person, and receives a ‘World ID’ in the World App on their phone. The project says iris images are deleted from the Orb, only encrypted codes are kept, and zero-knowledge proofs (cryptography that proves a fact without revealing the data) keep a person’s logins at different apps unlinked.
WLD has a maximum supply of 10 billion tokens, set aside for verified users, ecosystem support and governance. In October 2024 World Chain, an Ethereum layer-2 built with the OP Stack, went live; it gives verified humans priority for their transactions and helps cover their fees.
3. Uses and milestones
WLD was first issued on OP Mainnet and Ethereum before World Chain became its main home. World App works as a wallet and a platform for ‘mini apps’, and World ID has become a sign-in check for services that want real people rather than bots.
In April 2025 World announced it would bring Orbs to several US cities and unveiled a portable ‘Orb Mini’ and plans for a payment card. On the Crypto Nation map, WLD is the city-hall tower of the World Chain neighbourhood in the L2 Suburbs, as the token that represents that layer-2.
4. Things to know: privacy, regulation and supply
Because it collects biometric data, regulators in several countries have investigated or halted it. Kenya suspended sign-ups in August 2023, and Spain and Portugal (March 2024), Hong Kong (May 2024) and Indonesia (May 2025) also stepped in on privacy grounds. The company stresses its privacy safeguards and continued talks with authorities.
Critics also question whether handing over biometric data in exchange for tokens is fully informed consent. A large share of all WLD is locked and released over time, so circulating supply keeps growing, and Orb production and network operations rely heavily on a few companies.
Written from information public up to October 2026. It does not recommend or rate any coin and is not investment advice. If something is wrong, please tell us through the contact page.