Worldcoin claimed that demand for its global World ID verifications doubled during its first week of launch, despite the early regulatory issues it faced in multiple jurisdictions.
In a statement dated Aug. 6, Worldcoin said the release of new Orbs has increased weekly verification rates globally, building on the already high verification rate for this year. Previous reports had revealed that Worldcoin attracted more than 2 million registrations before launch.
Worldcoin further claimed that World App, the designated wallet for the project, tripled its active users and registered a tenfold increase in its weekly account creations over the same period.
The statement echoes a previous disclosure from founder Sam Altman, who said the project was onboarding eight users per second as he shared video of several people lining up to use the project’s eye-scanning technology.
Regulatory issues
Since its launch, Worldcoin has faced strict scrutiny over how it handles the private data it collects in several countries, including Kenya, Britain, France, and Germany.
Germany’s top privacy regulator has been investigating the company’s data collection practices since November 2022, while data watchdogs in other countries have raised concerns about Worldcoin’s activities.
In Kenya, Worldcoin was suspended indefinitely on August 2, pending the verification of the authenticity and legality of its activities. Authorities in the African country warned it would take action against any person contributing to the operation of the project.
Meanwhile, prominent members of the crypto community, including Peter McCormack, the host of the “What Bitcoin Did” podcast, have criticized the reliance on biometrics to verify identities. Worldcoin requires a person to scan their iris through one of their Orbs to confirm they are human. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said biometric scanning was “sufficient” for privacy protection.
Worldcoin told CryptoSlate that it complies with local laws that govern the collection of personal data in all of its operating markets.
WLD struggles
Despite the early claims of success, the value of the Worldcoin WLD token is down 11% in the past seven days and is trading at $2.03 as of writing, according to from CryptoSlate facts.
During this period, on-chain data from Etherscan shows that the project has fewer than 6,000 holders and has experienced only 23,655 transfers.
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