When Worldcoin was officially launched a month ago, people were thronging orb centres across the globe to get their irises scanned. The initial buzz that generated mayhem seems to be marred by a number of challenges now. The value of worldcoin has dropped by 46% since its launch and is continuously spiralling down. So, where exactly is Worldcoin headed? 

Fading Hype

According to Santiment, a behaviour analytics platform for cryptocurrencies, the social volume and social dominance of worldcoin tokens (WLD) over the last 30 days has dropped by 95% and 74% respectively, indicating a decline in discussions and hype of the project. 

The value of WLD which stood at $2.34 at the start of the month has now hit a low of $1.26. With the value dropping, all those who gained crypto tokens on successful iris scans, have lost out on market capitalisation. 

Source: CoinDesk

Interestingly, the US did not launch Worldcoin which may have lost a large portion of global users. The country has the largest crypto users in the world with over 44.3 million users—13.7% of the country’s population own cryptocurrencies. Ironically, the country where crypto markets are governed by a number of regulatory bodies such as the Securities and Exchange Commision (SEC), the Commodity Futures Trading Commision (CFTC) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), did not find Worldcoin suitable. 

In addition to offering crypto tokens (WLD) for every registration, and with the broader goal of providing universal basic income, Worldcoin was marketed as a proof of personhood product which essentially might serve as a digital identity in the future. As ambitious as the plans sounded, it was quickly entwined in regulatory and privacy concerns. 

Internal Cracks

In a recent development, an alleged whistleblower from the organisation announced that he has cut all ties with the company and will help authorities conduct justified probes. The person released a video where he talks about what led to his exit but did not explain further owing to legal formalities. He emphasised on how he was aligned with the vision of the company but the execution was “horrendous.” He also termed the company’s white paper as deeply flawed. 

In the last few weeks, the company has been going all out on bringing forth transparency in their operations. Worldcoin released pictures and explanations on the various parts of the orb – highlighting each component’s use. The organisation also shared documents on Privacy FAQs highlighting how World IDs and biometrics are used. There was also another document on entropy that spoke about the importance of iris scanning for proving personhood as opposed to faces and fingerprint scanning. 

Through a series of such updates, Worldcoin has been desperately trying to prove its operations to be legit and safe. However, none of it reflected in people’s sentiments which is clearly visible from the downward trajectory of WLD price. 

Countries Rebel  

With countries raising the alarm on Worldcoin operations, a number of them opened investigations against it. Kenya was the first country to ban Worldcoin operations citing privacy concerns. In Nairobi, local media reported Kenyan police to have conducted a search warrant where documents and machines belonging to Worldcoin were seized. The government has thus formed a 15-member parliamentary committee to investigate the same and has a 42-day window to investigate and submit a report to the House committee. 

Traversing from Africa, regulatory action hit South America too. Two weeks ago, Argentina opened up investigations against Worldcoin. The Agency for Access to Public Information (AAIP) which serves as the data overseer in the nation will probe into Worldcoin’s handling of personal data. 

The EU known for watchful scrutiny was one of the first ones to raise concerns. France, Germany and the UK had opened up investigations right after Worldcoin was launched, however no ban has been placed on its operations. Though no form of scrutiny was raised against in India, orb operations were shut in all three centres in Bengaluru.  

Despite the fall, it may be too early to seal the fate of Worldcoin. Considering how crypto markets are highly volatile, and it has only been a month since its official launch, it is possible that things can change. However, if the trend continues with WLD losing its market cap, and people losing interest, redemption may be a tough task. 

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