Overview
Worldcoin, now called World, was co-founded by Sam Altman (CEO of OpenAI) and Alex Blania, and developed by the company Tools for Humanity. It launched in July 2023.
Its goal: as AI makes it harder to tell people from bots online, World wants to give every human a private digital proof of being human, called World ID, and to share its WLD token with everyone who signs up.
How it works
- A person visits an Orb, a silver device that scans their iris to confirm they are a unique human.
- They receive a World ID in the World App, which they can use to prove they are human online without revealing who they are.
- Verified users receive WLD tokens.
World says the iris images are deleted and only an encrypted code is kept. Apps such as games and dating apps (including a Tinder partnership) can use World ID. In May 2025, World launched in the US, with a Visa card and Stripe integration. A smaller Orb Mini device was due to ship in 2026. World also runs World Chain, an Ethereum Layer 2.
The WLD token
| WLD at a glance | |
|---|---|
| Maximum supply | 10 billion WLD |
| In circulation (Oct 2026) | about 3.7 billion |
| Price (29 Oct 2026) | about $0.44 |
| All-time high | about $11.74 (March 2024) |
| Market cap | about $1.6 billion (#59) |
New WLD is released every day to users, the team and investors. From July 2026, the daily release was cut by about 43%. The World Foundation has also sold WLD to raise money, for example 226 million WLD in March 2026.
Risks
- Privacy and regulation. Authorities in countries including Spain, Portugal, Kenya, Germany, Brazil and South Korea have banned, fined or suspended World’s operations over data concerns.
- Supply. Most WLD is still to be released, adding constant selling pressure.
- Adoption. It needs hundreds of millions of users to fulfil its vision.
- Centralization. Tools for Humanity controls the Orbs and much of the system.
Worldcoin vs. the competition
| Worldcoin | Bittensor | Grass | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Focus | Proof of human identity | AI marketplace | Web data for AI |
| Users contribute | Iris scan | AI work | Internet bandwidth |
| Token | WLD | TAO | GRASS |
Our verdict
World is trying to solve one of the internet’s most important problems in the AI era, with serious backing and millions of users. But its iris-scanning approach faces strong pushback, its token supply keeps expanding, and WLD has lost about 96% of its value. WLD is a very high-risk investment, and anyone signing up should understand the privacy trade-offs.
This review is for information only and is not financial advice.