Worldcoin Launches Optimism-powered Layer 2 Network

Controversial eye-ball scanning company Worldcoin is launching its own blockchain, dubbed World Chain, aiming to address the common issue of bots on blockchains.

World Chain will offer special treatment to verified users – those who scanned their irises – with priority blockspace and free gas.

The new blockchain is built using Optimism’s OP stack, a framework that allows for Ethereum compatibility. This represents a move to expose the nascent L2 to Ethereum’s giant developer and user base.

“Bringing the entire world onchain presents a monumental task, exceeding the capacity of any single entity, and collaboration is key,” said the Worldcoin Foundation in an email to The Defiant.

“That’s why being part of the Superchain alongside Optimism, Coinbase, and the wider Ethereum ecosystem made sense.”

Amid widespread crypto volatility heading into Bitcoin’s halving, WLD has barely budged today. It trades at $4.82 after a 27% weekly drop.

Privacy Concerns and Legal Issues

The project is controversial due to how it works – with many calling it crypto’s most dystopian project.

It uses a physical orb to scan users’ eyeballs, verifying their unique human identity, all in exchange for a number of WLD tokens. The company has an ambitious plan: exchange money for a biometric passport that leads to a World ID.

And how it works has brought a number of legal challenges to the Sam Altman-backed venture.

The company is facing several bans worldwide, the latest of which is in Portugal. That leaves Germany as the sole European country it can operate in.

In Chile, a country that has seen more than 1% of its population scan their eyeballs, Worldcoin has been slapped with a judicial order that has the backing of a former Chilean senator to stop operating in the country.

However, it added a new personal custody feature in late March giving users the option to maintain control over their personal information.