The WorldCoin (WLD) cryptocurrency project is reportedly planning to raise up to $50 million through discounted token sales.
According to BitKe, the project, co-founded by OpenAI’s Sam Altman, will offer WLD tokens at a suggested price of $1. This represents a significant reduction from the current $2.51.
Tools for Humanity, the main developer of Worldcoin, is overseeing the sale.
Discounted Token Sale
In October, Worldcoin was suspended in Kenya as numerous individuals gathered at various locations to register and undergo eye tests in return for 25 WLD tokens, worth about Ksh7,700 ($54.60) at the time.
The project was investigated for collecting data from local residents without proper permission from authorities. Nonetheless, the program has attracted over 2.5 million individuals worldwide.
Tools For Humanity (TFH) has begun discussions with investors to potentially raise additional funds through a WLD token sale.
According to recent talks, TFH is exploring an off-market sale of WLD, with the goal of securing up to $50 million. The proposed token price is $1 for WLD, a significant discount compared to the current spot price of $2.50.
Worldcoin utilizes WLD as an incentive to drive user participation in the protocol, rewarding individuals who receive eye scans with tokens. The token was officially launched on July 24, 2023, with over 2 million people eligible to receive initial allocations.
The project unveiled its plans to decentralize the network and introduced its first grant program designed to support developers.
In the latest funding round, the Series C investment totaling $115 million was led by Blockchain Capital with additional support from FT Partners. TFH has notable investors including a16z crypto, Bain Capital Crypto, Distributed Global, and Khosla Ventures.
In the initial fundraising effort, investors participated in acquiring both equity shares and token warrants in TFH.
Worldcoin Digital Identity Project
Led by CEO Alex Blania, Worldcoin aims to build an advanced digital identity system leveraging biometric authentication methods such as face and iris authentication.
The project, which has been in development for three years, seeks to assign a unique global ID to each user using the concept of so-called ‘personal proof’. This is expected to have a significant economic impact as it becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish between humans and AI robots.
Notable backers, having raised $125 million since its founding in 2019, include Andreessen Horowitz, Khosla Ventures, and Reid Hoffman.
Despite flaws in its data privacy and marketing practices, including claims that it collected personal data that wasn’t made public, the startup boasts more than 2 million unique World IDs and has secured $115 million in funding.
As described in a December 6 blog post, Worldcoin’s grants will be distributed in WLD tokens, with 2 million coins earmarked across three tracks within the Worldcoin Tech Tree.
The first track, Community Grants, holds up to 5,000 WLD for sponsorships, hackathons, and similar initiatives. Moving to the second track, project grants aim to support practical projects with grants of up to 25,000 WLD.
The “Wave0” program, a $5 million grant initiative, supports developers to create resilient technologies and equitable systems on the Worldcoin blockchain.
These grants, distributed in WLD tokens, aim to power innovative projects within the Worldcoin community, focusing on areas such as privacy, biometrics, and applications leveraging World ID. In line with the “Worldcoin Tech Tree”, this initiative targets creators, technologists and organizations contributing to the growth of the Worldcoin ecosystem.
This could highlight Worldcoin’s commitment to a strong community that solves global problems, raises awareness, and promotes the role of technology in solving issues such as income inequality and governance.