Worldcoin Unveils World Chain with Human-Centric Features
Worldcoin, the cryptocurrency project co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, is set to launch a new blockchain network named World Chain in mid-2024. The network is developed to prioritize human users, aiming to distinguish between human and non-human actors on the internet and alleviate congestion on existing blockchains. World Chain will use World ID, a biometric identity system that uses iris scanning for verification, to enable a Proof of Personhood on the network. This verification is intended to combat automated transactions that currently contribute to network congestion and high gas fees.
World Chain, which will be permissionless and open-source, is expected to integrate with the Ethereum network as a Layer 2 solution. The blockchain is designed to provide free gas for casual transactions to verified human users and prioritize their transactions over those made by bots. The Worldcoin Foundation will initially sponsor the chain, with the aim of scaling Worldcoin and the Ethereum network to potentially over a billion users.
The announcement of World Chain follows the successful enrollment of approximately 10 million individuals across 160 countries who have used World ID to perform 75 million transactions. The company's goal with World Chain is to facilitate a more inclusive and efficient blockchain ecosystem, supporting a vast array of decentralized financial and identity applications. The WLD token, associated with Worldcoin, is expected to be usable for fee payments on the network, with Ether remaining the native token.
