Worldcoin WLD/USD Launches in the U.S., Promises New Orb Mini Device and Visa Debit Card

Nearly two years after its launch, World WLD/USD, co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, debuted in the U.S. on Thursday.

Nearly two years after its launch, World WLD/USD, co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, officially debuted in the U.S. on Thursday. The decentralized identity verification project also unveiled a new smartphone-like device for identity verification and a debit card to make WLD payments.

What Happened: The launch will allow Americans to earn WLD tokens by verifying their identities and creating a World ID. Initially, the project will be available in six cities: Atlanta, Austin, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, and San Francisco.

In addition, World, formerly known as Worldcoin, plans to launch a Visa card that will enable users to make purchases using their WLD tokens and other digital assets. This card is set to be available in the U.S. later this year.

To further scale up its identity verification model, World also teased "Orb Mini," a portable handheld device in the shape of a smartphone, during its "At Last" event in San Francisco. The device, like the flagship Orb devices at different locations, can be used to differentiate between a human and artificial intelligence.

World is an identity verification project that scans people's irises to confirm their humanness and build a digital ID, which allows them to receive free WLD tokens. However, it has faced backlash over personal data privacy concerns and stands banned in Hong Kong, Kenya, and Spain.

To mitigate these concerns, World has implemented a personal custody feature that ensures users' data remains on their devices and not with World or any third party.

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At the time of writing, WLD was trading at $1.04, down 3.37% in the last 24 hours, according to data from Benzinga Pro. The coin sharply reversed course after surging to a high of $1.17 overnight.