Worldcoin, the “global” cryptocurrency project (WDC), could soon receive an additional $100 million in funding, with the project’s blockchain network scheduled to launch within six weeks.
OpenAI CEO, Sam Altman, is in preliminary talks to raise funding for the development of the project aimed at creating a collectively owned cryptocurrency Worldcoin, which he is co-founding. The Financial Times reports this, citing sources familiar with the negotiations.
The Worldcoin team expects to raise $100 million in the near future, which the sources say will be invested in the project by “existing and new investors.” In 2022, the project had already raised $100 million through a private token sale. Worldcoin received Series A funding from venture capital funds a16z, Digital Currency Group, Coinbase Ventures, and big names such as FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and LinkedIn Co-Founder Reid Hoffman.
It’s also reported that the project is preparing to launch its blockchain network and start generating blocks within the next six weeks. Moreover, Worldcoin recently released a cryptocurrency wallet World App for “verified humans.”
The Worldcoin project (WDC) was founded in early 2020 by Alex Blania, Sam Altman, and Max Novendstern to create a new global economic instrument. The developers plan to distribute WDC tokens in equal shares to all global citizens. Fair distribution of the cryptocurrency is expected with the help of the IrisHash identification technology, based on iris scanning of each user, as its pattern is absolutely unique for all inhabitants of the world. However, this decision raised public wariness due to privacy and data security issues. Media reaction to the project was negative, with critics comparing it to bribing poor people and pointing to possible leaks of personal data.
Raising $100 million in additional funding will be a significant step for the Worldcoin project, allowing its team to continue developing and achieving its goals. The new investment is planned to help the project expand its global audience and improve its infrastructure to support large-scale transactions and interactions with AI.
Besides, one of the project’s goals is to promote global acceptance of cryptocurrencies. According to researchers, the total number of crypto users may reach 1 billion by 2030. Current estimates suggest that this figure exceeds 300 million.
UPD: Tools for Humanity, the parent company of the Worldcoin project, confirmed the successful raising of $115 million in funding. The Series C round was led by venture capital firm Blockchain Capital, with other participants including Andreessen Horowitz, Bain Capital Crypto, and Distributed Global.
