WLD Nosedives Over 20% As Crypto Project Exits Brazil, France, India

Worldcoin (WLD), the iris-biometric scanning cryptocurrency project, saw the value of its native cryptocurrency with the same name nosedive by more than 20% as the controversial initiative paused scanning activities in several regions, including Brazil, India, and France.

Worldcoin, the project co-founded by ChatGPT founder Sam Altman, has paused its offline scanning activities in India, France, and Brazil and plans to exit the countries just a few months after launching its Orb verification services.

Worldcoin remains committed to "working with partners globally to ensure it meets regulatory requirements and provides a safe, secure, and transparent service for verified humans," the crypto project's spokesperson Lily Gordon said.

The spokesperson also noted that the Orb services will be "temporarily scaled back" in India and other countries, but did not provide the specific reason for the decision.

One of the potential reasons for Worldcoin's decision in India could be that the company working on a safe and customized product that meets the requirements of the country.

"Orb-verified proof of personhood services have been temporarily scaled back as the protocol works to develop and roll out a bespoke, safe and orderly process that sufficiently meets the demand for World ID in India," a spokesperson said.

Worldcoin had reportedly "silently discontinued" the orb verification process in India "3-4 months ago" even though flocks gathered in queues in some parts of the country.

News of Worldcoin putting its orb scanning activity on pause in various countries is not surprising considering that Tools for Humanity, the foundation overseeing the crypto project, earlier said that the Orb was a "Limited-time access" initiative in Brazil, India, and France.

However, Worldcoin said it plans to resume its operations in India in 2024.

WLD, the native cryptocurrency of Worldcoin, was trading in the red zone at $3.51 as of 6:27 a.m. ET on Friday, with a 24-hour trading volume up by 9.85% at $230,478,625.

WLD's latest price action represents a 3.48% drop in its value in the past 24 hours and a 32.59% gain over the last seven days.

Data from CoinMarketCap shows that Worldcoin's current circulating supply stands at 103,214,688 WLD, with a market cap of $362,488,552.

The crypto asset linked to the identity-verification project Worldcoin was launched in July this year.

The project attracted the scrutiny of regulators in various parts of the world because of Orwellian features and privacy concerns.