Plan to Deploy 7,500 Orbs Across the United States
Worldcoin, led by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, has begun trading in the United States and has also started collecting iris data in the country.
The developer of Worldcoin, Tools for Humanity (TFH), held the "At Last" event on the 30th (local time) in San Francisco, USA. Yonhap News
The developer of Worldcoin, Tools for Humanity (TFH), held the "At Last" event on the 30th (local time) in San Francisco, USA, and announced the official entry of World, its digital identity and financial network, into the US market.
TFH is a foundation co-founded by OpenAI CEO Altman and Alex Blania, which launched the iris recognition-based cryptocurrency Worldcoin in July 2023.
Using a device called the "Orb," individuals' irises are collected and converted into data, which is then linked to the blockchain. Once a person is verified as real, a "World ID" is issued and a certain amount of coins is granted. With this ID, users can create a "World App," a virtual asset wallet, to store their Worldcoin.
Alex Blania, CEO of TFH, stated, "US users can obtain World ID, World’s unique identity verification method, in six cities: Atlanta, Austin, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, and San Francisco." TFH also explained that, starting from May 1, Worldcoin will be available for trading on US cryptocurrency exchanges.
This is the first time TFH is collecting iris data in the United States. Until now, World has primarily offered its services in regions such as South America and Africa. Despite TFH’s claim that it does not store iris data, the company has faced regulatory scrutiny in the US and some other countries due to concerns over personal data privacy.
Worldcoin has been available on domestic cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb, the world's largest exchange Binance, and Singapore-based exchange Bitget, but it had not been traded in the US.
In these regions, users can access the main features of the World App and receive Worldcoin. The Orb is also operated at dedicated locations across the US, as well as at partner stores such as game company Razer outlets.
Blania, the CEO, stated, "Soon, the service will be available in Seattle, Las Vegas, San Diego, Orlando, and we plan to further expand to additional regions." He added, "By the end of this year, we plan to deploy 7,500 Orbs across the US, which is four times the number currently deployed worldwide."
He explained, "Since the event last October, the number of users has doubled in just six months," and "Currently, the World App has 26 million users, of which 12 million have completed verification."
TFH plans to introduce an identity verification system in collaboration with global dating platform company Match Group to support trust-based connections in digital environments. The company also plans to launch the "World Card" within this year in partnership with global card company Visa. In addition, it announced the release of the "Orb Mini," a smartphone-sized device that is significantly smaller than the current soccer ball-sized Orb.
During his keynote address, Sam Altman reflected, "I looked back on five years ago when I first spoke with Blania," and said, "At that time, it was long before ChatGPT was released, and as AI continued to advance, we wondered what that would mean. We realized that there needed to be a way to identify and verify people in the age of AI."
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