Key Takeaways
- World sold $135 million worth of WLD tokens to early backers Andreessen Horowitz and Bain Capital Crypto.
- WLD surged 14% after the announcement, hitting $1.26 with a market cap of $1.9 billion.
- Despite regulatory bans overseas, World is pushing ahead with U.S. expansion in six major cities.
As regulatory roadblocks mount overseas, Sam Altman’s World project is turning its attention to more familiar territory: the United States.
With a fresh push to expand its controversial biometric ID system and crypto ecosystem, the company is now leaning on major U.S. investors to help fuel its next chapter.
A newly announced token sale signals both a strategic shift and ongoing investor interest, even as questions around privacy and compliance continue to swirl.
$135M Deal Signals Confidence in U.S. Growth
World Assets Ltd., a subsidiary of the World Foundation, has sold $135 million worth of WLD tokens at market rates to U.S. venture heavyweights Andreessen Horowitz and Bain Capital Crypto.
The deal marks a major bet on the project’s growth potential in the American market.
The sale will fund the expansion of the World Network, which revolves around biometric verification through the company’s iris-scanning Orb devices.
The broader aim, according to World, is to lay the groundwork for a scalable identity layer fit for the age of artificial general intelligence (AGI).
The sale also increases WLD’s circulating supply, following an earlier round involving Selini Capital, Mirana Ventures, and Arctic Digital.
WLD Jumps 14% on News
Following the announcement, Worldcoin (WLD) saw a spike in trading activity.
Daily volume rose from 224 million to over 414 million, while the token price climbed 14% to $1.26. Market capitalization also jumped to $1.9 billion.
According to World’s tokenomics, 75% of WLD supply is allocated to the community, with smaller shares reserved for investor tranches and development teams.
Roughly 3.23 billion WLD (32%) have been unlocked, while 68% remain locked.
World Launches in Six U.S. Cities Despite Privacy Concerns
World’s U.S. rollout is already underway.
The company has set up iris-scanning “innovation hubs” in Atlanta, Austin, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, and San Francisco, where users can verify their identity and gain access to WLD tokens and on-chain services through the World App.
This shift comes as the project faces bans and investigations abroad.
Privacy regulators in Europe and Africa have raised alarms over biometric data collection practices, halting operations in multiple jurisdictions.
Yet in the U.S., where biometric data laws are inconsistent across states, World appears to be betting on regulatory ambiguity to gain a foothold.
While privacy advocates remain skeptical, the strong support from top-tier U.S. investors suggests that Altman’s vision for a biometric-powered Web3 identity network still has powerful backers, and an open runway in America.
