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"After three years in development, digital ID platform Worldcoin officially launched on Monday. Co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Worldcoin aims to provide its users with a verified digital identity, plus a cryptocurrency token-helpfully named Worldcoin (WLD)-and a crypto wallet app."

To get started, new Worldcoin users are asked to download the World App onto their smartphones, scan a QR code, and face the orb to scan both irises. This generates a hash known as IrisHash on the Ethereum-based Optimism blockchain and a digital ID, which Worldcoin touts as a unique way to verify an individual's personhood, avoiding risks of AI-driven fraud. Signing up instantly earns users one Worldcoin (WLD), but after the cryptocurrency was listed in several crypto exchanges, including Binance, new users were rewarded with 25 extra coins. As at July 31, 26 coins equaled $59.

Kenya's interior ministry has suspended the local activities of the Worldcoin crypto-asset project while government agencies assess potential risks to public safety. The project launched on July 24, 2023. It requires users to give their iris scans in exchange for a digital ID, and in some countries users also get free crypto-assets as part of plans to create a new identity and financial network. France and Germany have also raised concerns around the legality of the biometric data collection and storage.