What Is Worldcoin Crypto And How Does It Work?

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What is Worldcoin and how does it work?

In October 2021 the official launch of Worldcoin was announced with some pretty grand claims.

The dev team stated that Worldcoin is a cryptocurrency for “everyone on the planet” and unveiled ambitious plans to get in the hands of as many people as possible around the globe.

How? By giving every single person a free chunk of cryptocurrency in the belief that this is the only true way to engage people with digital currency and open the economic doors to those who would otherwise be left out in the cold.

There is one small catch, however. In order to qualify for free crypto you have to agree to have your eyes scanned by a special device called simply the ‘Orb’.

Like a fingerprint, everyone’s iris pattern is unique and by scanning your eyes Orb will determine whether you qualify for free coins or not.

If you’re concerned about privacy, the Worldcoin team claims they use what’s called ‘zero knowledge cryptography’ which promises to keep your personal information safe, as part of a biometric ‘Proof-of-Personhood’ system.

Orb Operators are being recruited in communities across the world, and it’s their responsibility to promote Worldcoin and establish the crypto where they live.

Worldcoin wallet app

The team are also developing a dedicated Worldcoin wallet app which is designed to enable people with no prior crypto experience to learn about crypto, find local Orb operations, claim their share, send global payments and use the coin as an ERC-20 token through the Ethereum ecosystem.

It is estimated that more than 100,000 people around the world have signed up for Worldcoin, which is the brainchild of Alex Blania and Open AI CEO Sam Altman (pictured above).

However, since the launch things have been pretty quiet and there are few progress reports in the crypto media.

Although they are still in the trial stage, it would be interesting to know if the team are still pressing forward with the project or whether the initial excitement has cooled off.

Worldcoin criticism

Worldcoin has come in for wide-ranging criticism from several quarters, including Edward Snowden, and it has been dubbed the ‘CIAs wet dream’.

Other analysts have warned that the crypto is ‘a disaster waiting to happen’ due to the potential risk of fraud and concerns about how user data will ultimately be safeguarded.

Is Worldcoin crypto a good investment?

At the time of writing, Worldcoin was not officially trading on the open market so it’s difficult to say whether it’ll be a good investment or not.

The idea sounds appealing, especially as it has the potential to empower communities who have so far not engaged with crypto.

However, it’s a tough sell and the concerns about privacy will be hard to overcome, especially as a core principle of the currency involves the biometric mapping of billions of people.

Where can I buy Worldcoin?

At present, Worldcoin is not actively trading. The official launch is due sometime later in 2022 and exchanges supporting the token will be announced then.

In 2022 Worldcoin raised $100 million from investors, valuing all the tokens that will exist at around $3 billion.

Keep checking back to find out how you can buy and invest in the Worldcoin crypto when the project goes live.

Tip: If you’re looking to find out which exchanges are selling a specific crypto or token, head over to CoinMarketCap and search for the coin you’re interested in.

Scroll down past the price data and company information to find a list of exchanges currently selling the token in question.

In the case of Worldcoin, be sure you’re looking the correct token as there is another token – WorldCoin (WDC) – already trading which is completely unrelated to the Worldcoin project.

Confusing, right? It appears there’s a dispute over the naming of the new token which is ongoing.