OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman on Monday launched Worldcoin, a cryptocurrency project that distributes a crypto token, the WLD, to people “just for being a unique individual”.
By issuing crypto tokens in return for biometric data, the project aims to work both as a global universal basic income and an authentication system to distinguish between humans and robots.
Since the project’s beta phase, it has gained 2 million users. With the launch, Worldcoin is expanding its “orbing” operations to 35 cities in 20 countries.
Those who register in specific countries will receive the WLD cryptocurrency token from Worldcoin as an incentive.
As crypto winter shows signs of thawing, “Worldcoin is an attempt at global scale alignment, the journey will be challenging and the outcome is uncertain,” Sam Altman and co-founder Alex Blania said in a roll-out announcement.
But it has drawn criticism from tech experts over perceived privacy risks.
Read more: What is Worldcoin and what does it mean for our privacy?
