The CEO of OpenAI (the company developing ChatGPT) Sam Altman launched a new crypto token. It’s called Worldcoin, and is affiliated with an eponymous firm where Altman is one of the co-founders. ChatGPT, Altman’s involvement, introducing new crypto – this is enough to start a new hype train. However, the intrigue doesn’t end there, the company introduces a concept involving futuristic silver spheres that scan individuals’ eyes to grant them cryptocurrency. Let’s delve into the details of Worldcoin to understand what it’s all about. Everything has a starting point. In the crypto world, that point was Bitcoin (BTCUSD), and as a result it has taken an enormous share of the whole market. Over time, other cryptocurrencies appeared, leading to a decrease in BTC dominance – now, it stands at about 50%. Consequently, other coins’ capitalization has been growing, as depicted in the chart below. It shows the dominance of all cryptocurrencies, excluding the top 10 by market cap. And, who knows, Worldcoin might become one of the cryptocurrencies contributing to this upward trend. Do you remember the movie ‘I Origins’? In a similar vein, Worldcoin utilizes the concept of scanning people’s eyes, akin to Michael Pitt’s character, who took photographs of eyes to find their owners. However, Worldcoin’s purpose is different. Worldcoin is a governance DeFi token. The main idea behind it is that, together with the evolution of artificial intelligence technologies, it will become challenging to distinguish between real human beings and AIs. The way to address this, Worldcoin suggests, is not the Voight-Kampff test but the scanning of your retina using a special silver sphere named The Orb. These orbs are located at various points worldwide where people, wishing to share their biometric information and receive cryptocurrency in return, can have their iris scanned. Every scan transforms into a unique code that is stored in a global biometry database. In other words, it’s suggested that users will no longer need emails, phone numbers, IDs, and other conventional verification methods. All that is necessary is to look into the camera. Beyond the initial cryptocurrency reward for undergoing biometric scanning – creators of the project promise that people will continue to get more crypto in the future as an unconditional basic income. Worldcoin has already made its debut on different crypto exchanges. Nevertheless, not all investors view this coin with unwavering optimism. Concerns have been raised, particularly regarding the creation of a comprehensive database containing biometric information of all Earth’s citizens, as it may present security challenges. Plus, an unconditional basic income for everyone raises further questions. Anyway, Worldcoin and its ecosystem are things which investors should track. It’s hard to know now whether this crypto will be a big player in the market, or will be forgotten in half a year similar to numerous other crypto projects. In any case, conducting thorough analysis and paying close attention is crucial for success in these markets. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors.
