Sam Altman’s Worldcoin takes another hit

Unlike its eyeball-scanning metallic orbs, Worldcoin’s future isn’t looking so shiny. Last week, Portuguese regulators ordered the controversial Sam Altman-backed project to stop collecting user data over privacy concerns. Earlier last month, Spanish authorities likewise told Worldcoin to get lost — leaving Germany as the only EU country where people can still sign up for scans. Last year, Kenyan regulators ordered Worldcoin to stop signing up new users. 

Worldcoin will need a course correction if it’s going to succeed in offering a global “proof of personhood.” The company’s argued that as AI takes over the internet, Worldcoin’s scans of users’ irises will help people distinguish humans from bots online. In case its sales pitch wasn’t enough, Worldcoin paid some participants in its custom crypto. Worldcoin’s WLD token is down more than 15% over the last week.