The recently launched Worldcoin (WLD) token has plunged 40% due to concerns about its tokenomics model and privacy concerns. Worldcoin’s tokenomics model plans to unlock most of its 10 billion WLD tokens in the next 15 years. Almost 10% of the offering is allocated to early investors, such as a16z, who led the ICO.
Worldcoin (WLD), the native token of the “privacy-preserving digital identity (World ID)” project founded by OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman, skyrocketed after listing on major cryptocurrency exchanges on July 24.
Worldcoin’s recently launched WLD token suffered a sharp drop as investors delve into its tokenomics model. The project has also drawn a torrent of criticism on privacy issues, among other things.
Worldcoin has been active for less than 24 hours and has already created a maelstrom of negativity in the crypto community. Additionally, their native WLD token has lost 40% due to the questionable tokenomics of the project.
Worldcoin tokenomics under the spotlight
The highly publicized Worldcoin project launched on July 24. It uses iris scanning hardware and technology to verify identities and rewards participants with their native token. It has been heavily criticized for privacy concerns and an “Orwellian” approach to verifying identities.
The project is now under fire for its tokenomics model, which sees the majority of its 10 billion WLD tokens unlocked in the next 15 years.
According to Token Unlocks, three-quarters of the supply will go to the community. This is much better than certain DeFi protocols, which allocate most of their tokens to investors and VC insiders. However, his definition of “community” includes governance and is very vague.
Almost 10% of the offering is allocated to early investors, such as a16z, who led the ICO. Major projects that have regular token unlocks have seen a lot of selling pressure on their tokens.
On the other hand, senior analyst Dylan LeClair noted similarities between its token distribution model and that of other platforms:
“Worldcoin […] launching and pumping a microcap shitcoin with 1% of the total supply in circulation. $22.8 billion fully diluted market capitalization. Hello.”
The sarcasm continued: “This Ponzi is still on the ground floor,” he said before suggesting to “Ignore VCs ready to dump (again). This time it’s really different.”
WLD Price Opinions and Crash
The founder of security agency SlowMist said that if Worldcoin succeeds, it will be an “evil product.” It is possible for hackers to paint a portrait through the hashed information, he added.
Dr. Jeff Ross, founder and CEO of Vailshire Capital Management, conducted a survey asking if Worldcoin “would be the biggest crypto rug-pull yet.” Nearly 63% of the 962 people who voted at press time agreed.
Less than 24 hours after launch, the initial pump and dump of Worldcoin tokens can already be seen.
The token launch saw the issuance of 143 million WLDs and, notably, 100 million were allocated to market markers, while the remaining tokens were received by investors who verified themselves by scanning their iris during the Worldcoin pre-launch process.
WLD rose to a peak of $3.30 a couple of hours after it was released. However, the token has since fallen 41.3% to $1.97, according to CoinGecko.
By Audy Castaneda
