On July 13, Worldcoin, an identity verification and cryptocurrency project, announced that it reached a milestone of 2 million signups for its World ID program.
The global reach of the company was facilitated by the deployment of Orbs, its first custom biometric imaging devices, as per Worldcoin. The company introduced these devices as part of the project’s global tour, and their availability has coincided with an average of over 40,000 weekly sign-ups for a verified World ID — the company’s digital identity passport.
Worldcoin said it anticipates that Orb availability will increase over the next several months in order to meet rising demand. It also noted that other apps, such as Okta’s Auth0 and Talent Protocol, have begun to use World ID and Worldcoin in their access procedures. It said that both integrations occurred over the week ending July 7.
Worldcoin’s latest registrations are part of its broader mission of making digital identity verification accessible globally. According to reports cited by Worldcoin, more than 4.4 billion people worldwide either lack legal identity or have an ID that cannot be verified digitally. The company said that this issue becomes a significant barrier for those trying to access financial services and implied that World ID could solve this.
Worldcoin is growing but faces backlash
The latest growth represents a doubling of users in approximately half a year, as Worldcoin previously passed 1 million sign-ups in January. Furthermore, it is not the project’s only notable milestone in recent months, as Worldcoin also launched its wallet app and announced a $115 million funding round in May.
Worldcoin is primarily notable due to the early involvement of Sam Altman, who is currently the CEO of OpenAI. That company created the popular ChatGPT app.
Despite Worldcoin’s success and industry ties, Worldcoin has also faced backlash. Bitcoin podcast host Peter McCormack and former Ethereum developer Hudson Jameson have both criticized the project’s goals and implications for privacy.
A key part of Worldcoin’s future plans includes the launch of its associated cryptocurrency (WLD). This currency, intended to be used as a reward, payment for in-app features, and a means to influence governance, has not yet gone live
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Mike Dalton
Before transitioning to crypto writing in 2018, Mike studied library and information sciences. Currently, he resides on Canada’s West Coast.
Jacob Oliver
Jacob Oliver is a recovering academic and English teacher turned crypto journalist and web3 writer. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Washington.
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