Worldcoin (WLD), the crypto project co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, has announced its rebranding to “World Network” or simply “World”.
Co-founders Altman and Alex Blania made this announcement during a high-profile event in San Francisco on Friday. They outlined a comprehensive suite of technological and structural updates aimed at expanding the project’s global reach.
“Our mission is to accelerate every person,” stated the company leadership, explaining the rationale behind the name change. This rebranding represents more than a cosmetic update; it accompanies several substantial technological improvements to the platform’s core infrastructure.
Notably, at the heart of these updates is the next-generation Orb, the project’s distinctive retinal scanning device. Built on NVIDIA’s Jetson chipset, the new hardware boasts nearly five times the AI processing capability of its predecessor. The streamlined design features 30% fewer components, making manufacturing more efficient while maintaining complete auditability through a removable memory card.
The company also unveiled World ID 3.0, their most sophisticated identification system. This upgrade introduces enhanced privacy protections and new anti-fraud measures while enabling users to store information from physical documents within the World ID app without compromising their identity. The system facilitates WLD token requests, integrating the project’s cryptocurrency component more seamlessly into its ecosystem.
The World App has also significantly upgraded to version 3.0, introducing a Mini Apps platform for third-party integration and World Pay, a new payment solution with advanced security features. Perhaps most notably, the project announced its Mainnet L2 solution, World Chain, which has gained support from industry leaders, including Optimism, Alchemy, Uniswap, Safe, Dune, and Etherscan.
The transformation of Worldcoin is gaining significant momentum, with around 15 million World ID holders and World App users having either completed or initiated their migration to World Chain. The project is ambitiously targeting an expansion from its current base of approximately 7 million verified users to a staggering 700 million, underscoring its commitment to becoming a key player in the digital identity and financial services landscape despite facing regulatory hurdles.
However, this progress unfolds against a backdrop of heightened regulatory scrutiny in various regions. Earlier this month, authorities in Singapore initiated investigations into unauthorized account trading and potential violations of payment services regulations by the firm.
Moreover, regulators in other jurisdictions, including France, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Colombia, and Argentina, have expressed concerns about collecting biometric data, leading to inquiries into possible privacy infringements.
That said, following the announcement of the scaling plan, WLD, the project’s native token, initially surged by approximately 14%. However, it has since slightly declined, trading at $2.38 at press time, reflecting a 3.76% drop over the past 24 hours. Despite this recent dip, the coin has shown strong weekly growth of around 16%, outperforming Bitcoin.
