The Worldcoin project, led by Sam Altman from OpenAI, is reaching a crucial stage with the planned release of Worldcoin tokens to early contributors starting July 24.
The project recently disclosed an extension in the token unlock period for team members, prolonging it from 3 to 5 years.
As Worldcoin approaches this significant milestone, the market has responded positively with the Worldcoin token (WLD) seeing a surge of over 30% in the last 24 hours, now priced at $2.67.
This price increase is noteworthy as it signifies a recovery from the token’s recent drop below $2 last week.
Insights Into Token Distribution
Worldcoin employs a unique method of token distribution involving a human verification process where individuals are assigned World IDs after iris scanning using a device called the orb.
Despite reports that this process has been eliminated, verified World ID holders have already claimed over 211 million WLD tokens, representing more than 77% of the existing 275 million WLD token supply.
This initiative is facilitated by Tools for Humanity, under the leadership of CEO Alex Blania, aiming to blend advanced technology with cryptocurrency incentives.
According to the latest update, the upcoming token unlock will involve investors and Tools for Humanity team members receiving their initial distributions of WILD tokens into the supply. The project stated:
Commencing on July 24, 2024, around 2M WLD held by TFH investors and team members will unlock daily. The extended unlock schedule reduces this amount by about 40% from the original value (around 3.3M WLD per day).
Worldcoin shared a chart illustrating the predicted circulating supply, mentioning that the extended unlock schedule will decelerate the rise in circulating supply.
This strategic move aims to promote long-term success within the project’s ecosystem as the Worldcoin Foundation and World Assets jointly possess an extensive community fund totaling 7.22 billion WLD allocated for this purpose.
By managing the release of these funds, the organization looks to reduce potential market disruptions while contributing back to project infrastructure or community projects.
Worldcoin’s Ongoing Regulatory Challenges
Despite Worldcoin’s recent developments, such as the current announcement, the project remains embroiled in regulatory challenges in various regions due to privacy issues.
Earlier in June, operations in Spain were temporarily suspended by Worldcoin until at least the end of 2024 due to an investigation by the Spanish Agency for Data Protection (AEPD) into the company’s data practices.
Prior to this incident, Worldcoin also faced an order from Hong Kong’s Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (PCPD) to cease operations in the region.
This cease order followed Hong Kong’s PCPD announcement at the start of the year regarding an investigation into Worldcoin’s activities as they posed potential risks to personal data privacy.
Featured image created with DALL-E, Chart from TradingView