·Sam Altman’s cryptocurrency project “WorldCoin” has launched a new product – the crypto wallet World App. As the first consumer product launched by WorldCoin, it is a crypto wallet on the one hand, and on the other hand, it hopes to become an “ID card” in the AI era.
On May 8, local time, Sam Altman, co-founder of OpenAl, an artificial intelligence agency development agency, launched a new product for his cryptocurrency project WorldCoin, the crypto wallet World App. As the first consumer product launched by WorldCoin, World App is built on the Ethereum sidechain Polygon and can be downloaded and used by anyone at any time.
In the era of large language models (LLM) and ChatGPT, AI is gradually blurring the line between humans and machines. And Altman believes that blockchain technology can play a role in distinguishing humans from AI. When facing consumers, this new application is a crypto wallet on the one hand, and on the other hand, it hopes to become an "ID card" in the AI era.
Altman divided the tasks of the World Coin project into three parts: creating a unique ID verification program (World ID), issuing related cryptocurrencies, and developing related applications, namely World App. Previously, the World ID verification program launched the function of using iris scanning services as identity proof, as well as related encryption services.
The World Coin project's encrypted wallet World App chooses a "minimalist" design and has a relatively simple feature set.
Repackaged WorldCoin Project
Three years ago, Altman co-founded the company with Alex Blania to solve online security problems using physical methods. In addition, the two also proposed the concept of using cryptocurrency as infrastructure to achieve inclusive finance.
The Worldcoin project initially had a rocky start, affected by negative news coverage and turmoil in the crypto industry. As early as 2021, Bloomberg reported that some people questioned the project's promise to give away cryptocurrency to users who agreed to iris scans. Some people quickly viewed it as a crypto scam, while others questioned whether a new startup that collects biometric data could truly protect the privacy of participants.
Privacy and surveillance experts warn that collecting biometric data, even if it is not saved, is still a risky business. In October 2021, Edward Snowden, a well-known NSA whistleblower, also raised concerns about Worldcoin’s ID plans.
According to technology media Coindesk, Ultraman claimed that his cryptocurrency is a cryptocurrency that can be distributed equally to everyone in the world, the so-called "universal basic income plan." However, affected by the turmoil in the encryption industry and the recent popularity of artificial intelligence, in March 2023, Ultraman repackaged it into a project focused on "identity proof" and announced that the World ID protocol will allow application developers to use its biometrics to authenticate humans.
The system is designed to verify that the user is a unique human individual, in other words, to ensure that the key is not created by AI or other online virtual identities. If the user wants to make or receive payments, the application generates a zero-knowledge proof (ZKP for short, a method of verifying information without revealing the content of the information itself) or a mathematical equation that allows individuals to provide only the necessary amount of information to third parties. Technology media Techcrunch believes that this technology can even help people govern artificial intelligence in the future.
“Everything that’s happened in the last six months with AI has led to a better understanding of the project.”
said Tiago Sada, product lead at Tools for Humanity, the company behind Worldcoin.
Wallets and ID cards in the AI era
For users who don’t have a World ID and haven’t done a retina scan, the World App is a more streamlined crypto wallet that’s not much different from apps like Coinbase Wallet and Metamask Wallet, which allow people to buy, sell and store cryptocurrencies.
“In fact, you may find that there are fewer features on the World App than on those wallets, and this is intentional,” Sadar explained.
Tools for Humanity says it designed its wallet app to be easier to use than other wallet services. To avoid overwhelming new crypto users, the app opted for a “minimalist” design, has a relatively simple feature set, and somewhat limits the number of crypto tokens it supports.
The World App is built on Polygon, a blockchain that can send and receive assets from Ethereum, with relatively cheaper user fees. The app will offer a basic version of Polygon for Bitcoin, Ethereum, and stablecoins such as the DAI token pegged to the US dollar, and more tokens will be added in the future.
“I think the World App meets the privacy needs of customers by providing privacy protection and self-storage of passwords for users, and we store passwords for customers in a very user-friendly way,” Sadar explained.
For those with a verified World ID, the World App will act as a digital passport, allowing those with a retina scan to access the same apps and services that World ID holders can, ensuring in this way that the user is a real person.
The beta version of the World App has been available to World ID holders for several months. "Since its debut, 150 people have joined the beta, with more than 500,000 using it every month," Tools for Humanity said in a statement. "On a given day after the beta launch, there were approximately 60,000 transactions and 25,000 identifications on the World App from more than 100,000 people around the world."
Altman previously said that due to the development of artificial intelligence, "the need for systems that provide proof of personality and the need for wealth redistribution and global governance systems" is growing. But to truly reach Altman's ideal state, more than 1 billion people need to join, including those who resist biometrics and encryption.
Although the future provided by World ID is only in theory, Tools for Humanity is already providing affordable services to users, and World ID holders will be allowed to trade for free on the World App. Tools for Humanity claims that its new wallet application is the most popular way to access cryptocurrency today.
According to previous media reports, WorldCoin is also working on a corporate strategy: promoting the technology to other applications to verify user identities. This may be the company's most promising and profitable strategy at present.