Worldcoin is a high-profile identity and financial infrastructure project co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. As of March 2025, the Ethereum-based Layer 2 protocol has verified over 11 million unique users globally, offering a biometric identity solution known as “Worldcoin ID.”
Despite facing regulatory scrutiny, the project continues to expand its presence and refine its technological stack with the launch of its own Layer 2 chain and a new generation of hardware devices.
Overview
Worldcoin is a Layer 2 identity and financial protocol built on Ethereum. It focuses on establishing “proof of personhood” — a method of verifying that an individual online is a unique human rather than a bot.
The core product, Worldcoin ID, is designed to serve as a privacy-preserving digital identity. This identity is verified through an iris-scanning device called the Orb. Users who complete verification can engage in the network and receive WLD token grants.
As a Layer 2, Worldcoin benefits from the security of Ethereum while using rollups and off-chain computation to reduce costs and increase transaction throughput. It is not just EVM-compatible — it also integrates with Optimism and is building its own rollup called Worldcoin Chain.
Key Features
- Proof of Personhood via Worldcoin ID: Unlike most blockchain identity tools, Worldcoin ID uses biometric iris scans via the Orb to verify uniqueness. Users retain control over their biometric data, which is locally processed and not stored by default.
- High-Performance Hardware: The Orb device includes NVIDIA Jetson chipsets, secure elements, and advanced sensors to scan in diverse lighting conditions and detect fraud or tampering.
- Privacy-Preserving by Design: Worldcoin ID leverages zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) and secure multiparty computation (SMPC) to anonymize users’ identities.
- Optimism Integration: Worldcoin’s core infrastructure runs across Ethereum and Optimism, leveraging batching systems and bridges for scalable token distribution.
- Worldcoin Chain Launch: A dedicated Layer 2 rollup built within the Optimism Superchain, Worldcoin Chain prioritizes transactions from verified humans over bots, reinforcing the project’s core identity focus.
Ecosystem Activity
Worldcoin has verified over 11.6 million unique users and has onboarded 25 million app users across 160+ countries.
Key developments include:
- Worldcoin ID 2.0: Integrations with platforms like Reddit, Telegram, Shopify, and Minecraft to distinguish human users from bots.
- Mini Apps: Built-in utilities within the Worldcoin App, including on-chain tools and digital asset transfers.
- Partnerships: Collaborations with Discord, Uniswap, Galxe, Razer, and ongoing discussions with Visa and Rain to integrate stablecoin card payments.
- User Demographics: Adoption is particularly high in Argentina and parts of Africa and Asia, with growing interest in Europe and the U.S.
Funding and Backers
Worldcoin has raised over $240 million to date:
- October 2021: $25M seed round
- 2022: $100M raise at a $3B valuation
- May 2023: $115M Series C led by Blockchain Capital for infrastructure and R&D
Major investors include a16z, Khosla Ventures, and Bain Capital Crypto.
Token Utility
The WLD token is an ERC-20 token designed for:
- Governance: One-person-one-vote mechanisms enabled via Worldcoin ID
- Incentives: Users receive recurring grants after Orb verification
- Payments: Transaction fees and P2P transfers within the Worldcoin App
- Staking: Future support for protocol security participation
As of March 2025, 1.2 billion WLDs are in circulation out of a 10 billion capped supply.
Airdrop Participation
Orb-verified users can claim recurring WLD grants. Details and eligibility vary by jurisdiction. View official airdrop info here.
Why It Matters
Worldcoin represents a novel attempt to solve one of the internet’s biggest problems: verifying that users are real humans. By combining biometric identity verification with Ethereum scalability, it aims to serve as infrastructure for the AI era — enabling secure voting, spam prevention, UBI distribution, and more.
However, its centralized hardware model, data privacy concerns, and ongoing regulatory challenges present major hurdles. Worldcoin is a project to watch not only for its technical design but for how it navigates the evolving legal and ethical terrain of biometric identity.
For more information, visit world.org or follow their updates on Twitter. You can also explore their identity ecosystem at the Worldcoin ID dashboard.
