About
Worldcoin, rebranded as World Network in late 2024, is an ambitious decentralized identity and financial protocol co-founded by Sam Altman, Alex Blania, and Max Novendstern. The project exists to solve the "proof of personhood" problem in an era of increasingly sophisticated artificial intelligence, where distinguishing between real humans and automated bots has become a critical challenge for digital infrastructure. By providing a privacy-preserving digital passport known as World ID, the network aims to enable a more equitable distribution of resources, foster democratic governance online, and potentially pave the way for an AI-funded universal basic income.
The technical core of the system relies on the Orb, a custom-built biometric imaging device that scans a user’s iris to verify their unique human identity. This process generates an irreversible cryptographic hash, a "digital fingerprint" which is stored on the blockchain without keeping the original biometric images. This ensures that a user can prove they are a unique person without revealing their actual identity, maintaining a high level of privacy while preventing Sybil attacks and bot manipulation within the ecosystem.
Worldcoin transitioned its operations significantly in 2024 and 2025, moving its primary transaction volume to World Chain, a dedicated Layer 2 blockchain built on the OP Stack. This network is designed to prioritize transactions from verified humans over bots, offering a "human-centric" environment where verified users can access gas-free transactions for essential services. The protocol's architecture leverages the security of Ethereum through its Layer 2 scaling solutions, ensuring that the identity and financial layers remain robust and interoperable with the broader Web3 landscape.
The WLD token functions as a utility and governance asset within the World Network. Its primary purpose is to incentivize the growth of the network by rewarding users who undergo verification at an Orb, particularly in underserved markets. Additionally, WLD holders can participate in the governance of the Worldcoin Foundation, voting on protocol upgrades, treasury allocations, and the evolution of the identity protocol. The token is also used for payments within the World App, which serves as the primary portal for managing World ID and digital assets.
Economic sustainability is managed through a long-term distribution schedule that allocates 75% of the total supply to the community over the course of several decades. While the initial supply is capped at 10 billion tokens, the protocol allows for a maximum annual inflation rate of 1.5% after the first fifteen years, subject to governance approval. This structure is intended to balance the immediate need for rapid network expansion with the long-term stability required for a global reserve and identity asset.
