Worldcoin’s (WLD) token surged 40% on Wednesday following a report that OpenAI is developing a social media platform designed to keep out bots, using biometric checks similar to Worldcoin’s iris-scanning system.
WLD, the native token of the Worldcoin digital ID project, briefly climbed to about $0.65 before trimming gains to trade near $0.53, up roughly 15% over the past 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap.
The jump pushed the coin’s market value to around $1.5 billion, while trading volumes spiked as investors bet on a closer link between OpenAI and the token.
OpenAI Explores Proof-of-Personhood Network
The rally followed a Forbes report saying OpenAI is quietly working on a new social network built around “proof of personhood,” a way to ensure that each account belongs to a real human. The platform is said to be in an early experimental phase, developed by a small team of fewer than 10 people.
People familiar with the project said the company has explored tying account creation to biometric verification, potentially using Apple’s Face ID or the so-called Worldcoin Orb, a spherical device that scans a person’s iris to generate a unique digital identity.
The new project is aimed at tackling a growing problem for social networks, as waves of automated accounts imitate human behavior, push misleading content, and are sometimes used to manipulate cryptocurrency prices, on major platforms.
Unlike traditional platforms that typically rely on phone numbers, email addresses, or behavioral signals to flag fake accounts, a biometric system would attempt to tie each profile to a single, verified individual. Supporters argue that this approach could lead to feeds in which users are assured they are interacting with real people rather than bots.
Privacy Risks Around Biometric Data
Despite the expected benefits of relying on Worldcoin’s Orb for verification, the collection of immutable identifiers such as iris scans has alarmed privacy advocates, who warn that misuse or theft of this data could be especially damaging because, unlike a password, it cannot be changed.
Those worries aren’t new to policymakers, as regulators in several countries have suspended or restricted the Worldcoin project over privacy concerns.
Worldcoin Under Spotlight as OpenAI Plans Take Shape
There is no timetable yet for a launch, and the project could still change significantly before any public release, the report said. For now, traders seem to be betting that any move by OpenAI into social media that relies on biometric identity will highlight Worldcoin and its creative-yet-controversial vision of a crypto-based digital ID system.
