What's happening to Sam Altman's 'magic ball' project?

After exactly one year, Sam Altman's digital citizenship project Worldcoin has attracted more than 10 million users but is banned in some countries.

Worldcoin has taken the global market by storm since its launch on July 24, 2023. Project co-founder Sam Altman , CEO of OpenAI, has painted a sci-fi-like vision. In it, Worldcoin aims to create digital identities and a global financial network by scanning each person's iris. The biometric collection device is called the Orb . The project also launched the WLD token and a digital ID.

Sam Altman and the "magic ball" Orb used to scan retinas to get data for World ID. Photo: X/ Sama

Supporters say it’s an innovative approach that could be used to identify people with robots and AI. Opponents say collecting biometric data on a large scale is too risky, with concerns that it could be misused and lead to other related data privacy issues.

Despite the skepticism, Worldcoin has received a lot of attention. The project has attracted 2.4 million subscribers in the four months since its launch. The World App, the project’s e-wallet, now has 10 million users.

Worldcoin operates in over 160 countries with around two million daily users and over 70 million transactions processed. The network’s transaction processing speed has recently been reduced to around 7.1 transactions per second, making Worldcoin one of the world’s leading self-custody wallets. In July, the project announced the expansion of 1,500 biometric collection devices globally.

With its reputation and controversy, Worldcoin has faced continued regulatory hurdles around the world. Several regulatory agencies have put the project under scrutiny. In late May, Hong Kong ordered Worldcoin to cease operations due to privacy and personal data concerns, as well as the belief that the collection and scanning of irises was unnecessary.

Earlier in March, Spain became the first country to ban Worldcoin from collecting biometric data. Portugal and Kenya also forced the project to halt operations. India and South Korea are investigating Worldcoin. Germany has also begun looking into whether the company complies with European Union data protection regulations.

Despite the risks, analysts say there is still plenty of room for growth in the decentralized identity (DiD) market. Entering its second year, Worldcoin faces significant pressure from well-founded regulatory concerns. Experts predict the coming months will be a life-or-death phase for the project. If it can overcome regulatory hurdles and increase transparency, Worldcoin could move closer to its goal of creating a global decentralized identity system.

Sam Altman's 'magic ball' project is in trouble again
Worldcoin, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's retina-scanning and cryptocurrency giveaway project, is banned in Spain over privacy concerns. 

ChatGPT owner's cryptocurrency project is accused of being a spy
Worldcoin, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's iris-scanning project for free cryptocurrency, is seen as a "threat to the state". 

Sam Altman's 'magic ball' project is at risk of dying young
Worldcoin, a project by Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, that allows users to scan their irises to receive free cryptocurrency, has lost interest despite being launched just a month ago.