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Worldcoin, an ambitious cryptocurrency project conceived by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Alex Blania, has begun its global rollout with the promise of increasing economic opportunity and preserving privacy. The project, which has raised about $250 million from prominent backers, aims to provide every individual with a unique digital identity, World ID, created through an iris scan by a biometric device known as the ‘Orb’. This allows users to prove their human identity online while preserving their privacy.

The Worldcoin services can be accessed via the World App, the first protocol-compatible wallet software developed by the startup. Despite facing criticism for allegedly exploiting practices in less affluent countries, the startup has already seen over two million users across 30 different countries verify their World IDs using the Orb. Moreover, the project is now ramping up its operations in 35 cities across 20 different countries, with early adopters in certain countries receiving Worldcoin’s cryptocurrency token WLD.

The project caps its total supply to 10 billion “WLD” tokens for the first 15 years and holds 20% of all its tokens. As of its global launch, the maximum circulating supply of these ERC-20 based tokens stands at 143 million.

Co-founder Alex Blania sees a significant role for the World ID beyond the crypto space, specifically in the age of generative AI chatbots. He believes World IDs will be crucial in distinguishing real humans from AI bots online, thereby preserving digital integrity. Moreover, Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, plans to list Worldcoin, marking another significant milestone for the startup.

Altman envisions Worldcoin as a vital tool for shaping a future economy driven by generative AI. He sees potential for World IDs in facilitating Universal Basic Income (UBI) distributions by minimizing fraud, laying the groundwork for a future where AI “does more and more of the work people now do.”

Despite uncertainties and challenges, the founders remain optimistic about Worldcoin’s ability to share technological prosperity. Their goal is to create a global scale alignment, fostering a network that benefits everyone and offering a glimpse into a future with an AI-supported economy.