Worldcoin,
the
project
that
hands
out
free
cryptocurrency
in
exchange
for
biometric
data,
is
experiencing
a
shortage
of
the
orbs
that
scan
everyone’s
eyeballs,
according
to
a
new
report
from
Semafor.
But
Tools
for
Humanity,
the
startup
behind
Worldcoin,
seems
to
think
that’s
a
good
sign.
Apparently,
10
million
people
in
160
countries
have
been
willing
to
hand
over
their
scans
in
exchange
for
some
free
crypto.
Tools for Humanity was founded in 2019 by OpenAI’s Sam Altman and CEO Alex Blania as a form of universal basic income experiment. Everyone who’s willing to get their eyes scanned gets 10 Worldcoin (roughly $50 in total at the current price) and three Worldcoin every two weeks after that, according to Semafor. The program isn’t available to people inside the U.S. right now, which Americans can interpret as either a good or bad sign, depending on your feelings about crypto.
Semafor
reports
there
are
somewhere
between
300
and
500
Worldcoin
orbs
out
there
in
the
world
right
now,
and
while
the
initial
idea
was
to
make
the
devices
mobile
so
they
could
be
moved
around
to
wherever
people
congregate,
it
appears
the
idea
is
so
popular
Worldcoin
can
remain
stationary
and
allow
people
to
come
to
them.
In
fact,
they’re
getting
swamped
with
so
many
people
the
orbs
can’t
be
produced
fast
enough.
Everyone loves free money, even if they have to hand over sensitive data, but what’s the business model? Despite having some very high-profile investors, that part isn’t clear, at least officially. Worldcoin announced its own blockchain built on the Ethereum network last week and World Assets, a subsidiary of the Worldcoin Foundation, announced on Tuesday it’ll be selling a whole lot of crypto in the near future, according to CoinTelegraph.
Curiously,
anyone
who
tries
to
visit
the
announcement
page
from
inside
the
U.S.
is
met
with
a
notice
that
it
can’t
be
accessed
by
Americans,
as
you
can
see
in
the
screenshot
below.
The
U.S.
has
cracked
down
on
cryptocurrency
in
recent
years
following
the
spectacular
implosion
of
FTX
thanks
to
the
shenanigans
of
Sam
Bankman-Fried.
But
Worldcoin
is
more
than
happy
to
push
its
orb
scanner
into
other
parts
of
the
world.
Screenshot: Worldcoin
Tools
for
Humanity
is
obviously
aware
of
how
dystopian
the
entire
concept
sounds.
And
the
company
insists
it
takes
privacy
very
seriously.
“To prioritize privacy, all of the liveness verification occurs on the device itself. Additionally, anyone can verify their humanness at an Orb without providing information such as names, email addresses, phone numbers, social profiles, etc,” the Worldcoin website explains.
Semafor
reports
that
intense
skepticism
of
Worldcoin
is
waning,
though
the
news
outlet
simply
cites
a
Business
Insider
article
from
July
2023
in
an
attempt
to
prove
that
point.
The
headline
to
that
piece
doesn’t
exactly
sell
the
assertion
very
well:
“We
tried
out
Sam
Altman’s
eyeball-scanning
Worldcoin
orbs.
It
all
felt
too
low-key
to
be
truly
dystopian.”
Because,
as
we
all
know,
low-key
endeavors
are
never
sketchy.
And
creating
your
own
currency
out
of
thin
air
doesn’t
raise
any
red
flags
historically.
The
price
of
Worldcoin
has
been
on
quite
a
rollercoaster
since
launching
in
July
2023,
hovering
between
$1-2
for
the
first
few
months
before
seeing
a
big
surge
in
February
and
an
all-time
high
in
March
of
just
over
$10.60,
according
to
CoinMarketCap.
The
price
has
since
pulled
back
and
sits
at
about
$5
today.
Tools
for
Humanity
didn’t
respond
to
questions
emailed
Wednesday
about
the
orb
shortage.
We’ll
update
this
post
if
we
hear
back.
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