The World Network (formerly WorldCoin) WLD token surged more than 27% on Wednesday after a Forbes report linking the controversial crypto project to OpenAI’s broader effort to fight online bots.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman wants to create a “biometric social network” to help online platforms verify users and remove AI-generated accounts, Forbes reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Sources familiar with the project’s development told Forbes that the OpenAI team has considered using Apple’s Face ID or World Orb, which scans a person’s iris to provide a unique identification.
World is a crypto project co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and last year raised $135 million in a token sale to a16z and Bain Capital Crypto. The core of the project is World ID, a decentralized and privacy-focused identification system that uses Orb, a custom-built biometric device that scans users’ irises and generates unique identifiers in compliance with privacy standards.
The token rallied shortly after the report, outperforming most major cryptocurrencies for a while, even though it did not confirm any formal collaboration between OpenAI and World.
The World Network has attracted both curiosity and criticism since its launch. While the project claims to have verified millions of people worldwide, it has also faced regulatory pushback, including a temporary suspension in Kenya and inquiries in the UK over how it processes personal data.
Still, the idea of linking biometric verification to online identity is gaining traction, especially as generic AI tools are flooding social media with spam and misinformation.
Read more: The untold story of WorldCoin’s launch: Inside the orb