World, the rebranded digital identity and cryptocurrency venture from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, has officially launched in the US, bringing its biometric verification technology and digital token ecosystem to American consumers.
Worldcoin rebrands as ‘World’
The move marks a strategic shift for the company, which had initially rolled out its controversial iris-scanning “orb” devices across international markets, citing regulatory resistance from the Biden administration.
Crypto Tide Turning
With the political tide in Washington now turning more favourably toward crypto — spurred by Donald Trump’s vow to make the US “the crypto capital of the planet” — World is betting that the US will become its most important market.
Speaking at a launch event in San Francisco, Altman positioned the technology as a safeguard in the age of generative AI: “It’s a way to make sure humans remain central and special in a world where the internet has a lot of AI-driven content.”
Solving a Critical Problem
At its core, World aims to solve a critical problem at the intersection of identity and payments: distinguishing real humans from machines in digital environments.
As advanced AI systems increasingly mimic human behaviour, the need for robust proof-of-personhood systems becomes more urgent.
World’s answer is biometric verification through unique iris signatures, captured via metallic, basketball-sized “orbs”.
These scans generate an anonymous World ID that can be used to access services and, crucially, to interact with the World token — a native digital asset intended for use within the network.
Implications for Digital Payments
The project’s implications for digital payments are significant.
By combining biometric identity verification with token-based transactions, World proposes a new architecture for trust in online payments — especially in scenarios where traditional KYC (Know Your Customer) frameworks are impractical.
For instance, World IDs could enable secure, pseudonymous payments in decentralised finance (DeFi) applications, gig economy platforms, or social media monetisation systems without requiring users to reveal their personal details.
The company has raised more than $200 million in funding from prominent investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Khosla Ventures and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman.
Despite this backing, the venture has faced regulatory hurdles and privacy criticism.
Data protection authorities in Spain, France, Hong Kong and other jurisdictions have blocked or investigated World over concerns about biometric data collection, especially regarding minors.
The company insists that all data is anonymised and not retained beyond the identity verification process.
Looking ahead, World plans to scale its hardware footprint dramatically, with a new factory in Richardson, Texas, expected to produce 10,000 orbs for the US market over the next year.
It is also developing handheld and webcam-integrated versions of the technology, aiming for broader accessibility.
World’s partnership with Match Group, the parent company of dating platforms such as Tinder, represents a first step towards commercial adoption.
Its potential use cases span government services, online safety, social media verification, and cross-border digital payments.
Altman’s ambition is clear: to build a global, decentralised identity layer compatible with the rapidly evolving world of AI and tokenised finance.
Whether US regulators and consumers will embrace that vision remains to be seen — but with the convergence of digital identity and programmable payments now underway, World’s controversial gamble may prove prescient.
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