Worldcoin Crypto Recovers Lost Gains Amid OpenAI Drama Involving Founder

The value of the native cryptocurrency of the iris biometric cryptocurrency project Worldcoin (WLD) slowly recovered its lost gains over the weekend following the emergence of news regarding the possible return of Sam Altman, co-founder of OpenAI and Worldcoin, to the AI company.

On Sunday, WLD experienced a gain of 22% after a price drop of 12% following the news of Altman's removal as CEO of OpenAI and from its board Friday.

"Mr. Altman's departure follows a deliberative review process by the board, which concluded that he was not consistently candid in his communications with the board, hindering its ability to exercise its responsibilities," OpenAI said in a blog post, adding, "The board no longer has confidence in his ability to continue leading OpenAI."

According to the post, Altman failed to provide consistency in his communication with the board, which, as a result "hindered its ability to exercise its responsibilities," propelling the board to arrive at the decision that Altman is no longer fit to run the AI company.

"We believe new leadership is necessary as we move forward. As the leader of the company's research, product, and safety functions, Mira [Murati] is exceptionally qualified to step into the role of interim CEO. We have the utmost confidence in her ability to lead OpenAI during this transition period," it said.

Several talents at OpenAI resigned following the ouster of Altman but it is believed that Microsoft, one of its investors and reportedly owns 49% of its shares, is currently doing damage control and pushing the board to restore Altman as the CEO for fears of a potential mass exodus of talent, Reuters reported.

Altman also co-founded Worldcoin, which took a direct hit over the weekend because of the surprising turn of events at OpenAI just a little over a year after it was introduced to the public.

WLD has been gradually recovering since Saturday and was trading in the green zone at $2.06 as of 5:06 a.m. ET Sunday, with a 24-hour trading volume up by 0.38% at $199,774,88.

WLD's price action has represented a 21.53% spike over the past 24 hours and a 21.01% gain over the last seven days.

Data from CoinMarketCap revealed that Woldcoin's total circulating supply stands at 114,558,923 WLD with its value still climbing by 21.08% at a $262,307,150 market cap.