World (WLD): how it works, supply and reviews
In short
- Type
- Proof-of-human identity network (World ID), finance app (World App / World Money) and token (WLD)
- Maximum supply
- Initial supply of 10 billion WLD; no inflation possible before 24 July 2038
- Risks and caveats
- Data-protection authorities and courts in several countries have acted on World's biometric processing: suspensions or bans in Kenya (2023; court-ordered deletion in May 2025), Spain (March 2024, upheld in court), Portugal (March 2024), Hong Kong (May 2024) and Indonesia (May-June 2025); a GDPR remediation and deletion order from Bavaria's BayLDA (December 2024, contested by the company); Brazil's ANPD bar on paying users for iris scans (2025); and an AEPD warning in 2026.
- Checked
- 31 October 2026
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Key facts
- Ticker
- WLD
- Formerly
- Worldcoin
- Official site
- world.org
Key facts checked on 31 October 2026 against official sources.
What is World
World (formerly Worldcoin) is a network built around World ID, a proof-of-personhood credential obtained by verifying at an iris-scanning device called the Orb, plus World App and World Chain, an Ethereum Layer 2. WLD is the network's token; most of it is allocated to verified users.
Network and consensus
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Type | Proof-of-human identity network (World ID), finance app (World App / World Money) and token (WLD) |
| Runs on | WLD is an ERC-20 token on Ethereum; users receive bridged WLD on World Chain, an OP Stack Layer 2 |
| Launched | WLD token launched on 24 July 2023 |
| World Chain | World Chain went live in October 2024; World App users were migrated to it from Optimism |
| Smart contracts | The WLD token contract is not upgradable |
Supply and issuance
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Maximum supply | Initial supply of 10 billion WLD; no inflation possible before 24 July 2038 |
| Inflation | After 2038 governance may enable inflation of at most 1.5% a year; the default rate is 0% |
| Initial distribution | 75% to the World Community (governed by World Foundation); 25% to TFH investors, team and TFH reserve |
| Unlocks | Community tokens unlock over 15 years; most TFH team and investor tokens unlock by the end of July 2028 |
| Issuance | World Assets, Ltd. (BVI) issues the 7.5 billion community WLD |
What WLD is used for
- Powering and participating in Mini Apps, platforms and services built on World
- Possible future role in World's governance, as proposed by the community
- Monthly WLD grants to verified World ID holders where available
Who develops and governs World
- Foundation
- World Foundation: a memberless Cayman Islands foundation company, steward of the protocol
- Company
- Tools for Humanity (TFH): Delaware corporation in San Francisco with a German subsidiary; provides development, hardware and operations services to World Foundation
- Legal entity
- World Assets, Ltd. (BVI company no. 2113558, registered 7 December 2022) and World Chain LLC (Cayman Islands), both controlled by World Foundation
- Founders
- Co-founded by Sam Altman, Alex Blania and Max Novendstern
- Data controller (EU)
- Per TFH's letter to Spain's AEPD, Tools for Humanity GmbH has been sole controller for Orb data of users in Spain since October 2025
History
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 26 June 2019 | Tools for Humanity, the company that started the project, is registered in Delaware. |
| 24 July 2023 | Worldcoin launches; World Assets Ltd. mints and releases WLD. |
| 2 August 2023 | Kenya: Worldcoin's operations in Kenya are suspended; the High Court's 2025 judgment records the suspension and the multi-agency taskforce that followed. |
| 5 September 2023 | Kenya: the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner cancels the certificates of registration of the Worldcoin entities, as noted by the High Court. |
| 6 March 2024 | Spain: the AEPD orders a precautionary measure (GDPR Article 66.1, maximum three months) requiring Tools for Humanity Corporation to stop collecting and processing personal data in Spain under the Worldcoin project and to block data already collected. |
| 25 March 2024 | Portugal: the CNPD (Deliberação/2024/137) orders Worldcoin Foundation to limit temporarily, for 90 days, the collection of iris, eye and face biometric data via the Orb in Portugal, citing in particular the protection of minors, pending its investigation. |
| 22 May 2024 | Hong Kong: the PCPD finds that Worldcoin's operation in Hong Kong contravened the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance and serves an enforcement notice on Worldcoin Foundation to cease scanning and collecting iris and face images in Hong Kong (8,302 people had been scanned there). |
| 4 June 2024 | Spain: after the precautionary measure expired, the AEPD reports that the company made a legally binding commitment not to resume activity in Spain until the end of 2024 or a final BayLDA decision, and that the National Court (Audiencia Nacional) had upheld the measure. |
| 17 October 2024 | Worldcoin is renamed World Network (World); World Chain goes live. |
| 11 November 2024 | Brazil: the ANPD opens an inspection proceeding (no. 00261.006742/2024-53) into Tools for Humanity's processing of biometric data for World ID. |
| 19 December 2024 | The Bavarian data protection authority (BayLDA) closes its GDPR investigation opened in 2023 with an order for remediation, including a GDPR-compliant deletion procedure; the company says it will sue. |
| 19 December 2024 | Spain: the AEPD states that the BayLDA final decision ratifies its March 2024 precautionary measure, and that the company's appeal against that measure was rejected by the Audiencia Nacional. |
| 24 January 2025 | Brazil: the ANPD imposes a preventive measure on Tools for Humanity, in force from 25 January 2025, suspending the offer of cryptocurrency or any other financial compensation for iris collection in Brazil. |
| 11 February 2025 | Brazil: the ANPD Board of Directors rejects Tools for Humanity's administrative appeal and keeps the suspension of financial compensation for iris-based World IDs in place (published in the Diário Oficial da União). |
| 4 May 2025 | Indonesia: the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs (Komdigi) temporarily freezes the electronic system operator registration (TDPSE) of the Worldcoin and WorldID services and summons the local companies involved. |
| 5 May 2025 | Kenya: the High Court (Judicial Review E119 of 2023) prohibits further collection, processing or transfer of biometric data collected in Kenya using the Orb without an adequate impact assessment, and orders the Worldcoin entities to erase the biometric data collected from Kenyans within 7 days under the Data Protection Commissioner's supervision. |
| 16 June 2025 | Indonesia: Komdigi keeps the suspension of the World platform (Tools for Humanity and local partner PT Sandina Abadi Nusantara) in place and requires an end to iris collection and processing and permanent deletion of iris codes of Indonesian citizens; full compliance is a condition for resuming operations. |
| 2026 | Spain's AEPD issues a formal GDPR warning (Article 58.2(a)) to Tools for Humanity GmbH about planned processing as it prepared to relaunch in Spain. |
Security and audits
- Most World Community tokens are kept in a cold wallet; hot wallets hold only what is needed for operations.
- TFH told the AEPD it released the Orb hardware as open source, moved to personal custody of biometric data and introduced anonymized multi-party computation.
Security incidents
Incidents are reported by third parties (press, incident databases) but are not confirmed in the company’s own channels, so none is listed here.
Official WLD contracts
| Network | Contract address |
|---|---|
| Ethereum | 0x163f8C2467924be0ae7B5347228CABF260318753 |
| World Chain | 0x2cFc85d8E48F8EAB294be644d9E25C3030863003 |
| Optimism (legacy bridged) | 0xdC6fF44d5d932Cbd77B52E5612Ba0529DC6226F1 |
Addresses from the World whitepaper; World Chain is the main venue for WLD since 17 October 2024.
Risks and caveats
- Data-protection authorities and courts in several countries have acted on World's biometric processing: suspensions or bans in Kenya (2023; court-ordered deletion in May 2025), Spain (March 2024, upheld in court), Portugal (March 2024), Hong Kong (May 2024) and Indonesia (May-June 2025); a GDPR remediation and deletion order from Bavaria's BayLDA (December 2024, contested by the company); Brazil's ANPD bar on paying users for iris scans (2025); and an AEPD warning in 2026.
- Portugal's CNPD notes that biometric data cannot be changed if compromised: unlike a password, a person cannot change the physical characteristic behind a biometric template.
- WLD is not available to residents of the State of New York or certain other restricted territories.
- Large token unlocks continue: community tokens over 15 years and most team and investor tokens until July 2028.
Official links
- Website: world.org
- Whitepaper: whitepaper.world.org
- Foundation: foundation.world.org
- Token page: world.org/worldcoin-token
- Risks: world.org/risks
- Docs: docs.world.org/world-chain
Questions and answers
What is World (Worldcoin)?
World, called Worldcoin until October 2024, is a network built around World ID, a proof-of-human credential, with World App, World Chain and the WLD token.
Who is behind World?
It was co-founded by Sam Altman, Alex Blania and Max Novendstern; the Cayman Islands-based World Foundation stewards the protocol and Tools for Humanity builds its software and Orb hardware.
What is the supply of WLD?
The initial supply is 10 billion WLD, 75% of it for the World community; no inflation is possible before July 2038 and it is capped at 1.5% a year after that.
Has World faced regulatory action?
Yes. Kenya suspended it in 2023 and its High Court ordered deletion of Kenyan biometric data in May 2025; Spain, Portugal and Hong Kong ordered collection stopped in 2024; Bavaria's BayLDA ordered GDPR fixes and deletions in December 2024 (contested); Brazil's ANPD barred payments for iris scans and Indonesia's Komdigi suspended it in 2025.
Is World available in the US?
World App is available in the United States except the State of New York, where WLD is not offered.
Sources
- World — Home
- World — About
- World — Worldcoin token
- World Whitepaper — Designing for scale
- World blog — Worldcoin project launches
- World blog — Hello World: 5 key announcements
- BayLDA — Pressemitteilung 19.12.2024 (Worldcoin)
- AEPD — Advertencia EXP202602591 (Tools for Humanity GmbH)
- Kenya Law — [2025] KEHC 5629 (KLR), JR E119 of 2023, judgment 5 May 2025
- CNPD — CNPD suspende recolha de dados biométricos (26.03.2024)
- CNPD — Deliberação/2024/137 (English translation)
- AEPD — Precautionary measure against Worldcoin (6 March 2024)
- AEPD — Worldcoin commits to stop its activity in Spain (4 June 2024)
- AEPD — Worldcoin tendrá que eliminar todos los códigos de iris (19.12.2024)
- PCPD — Media statement 22 May 2024 (Worldcoin)
- Komdigi — Siaran Pers No. 73/HM-KKD/05/2025
- Komdigi — Siaran Pers No. 110/HM-KKD/06/2025
- ANPD — Nota à imprensa 15.01.2025 (Tools for Humanity)
- ANPD — Medida preventiva 24.01.2025
- ANPD — Conselho Diretor mantém suspensão 11.02.2025
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