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Incoming identity protocol layer, OpenAI CEO and a16z invested in Worldcoin what are the new moves?

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A cryptocurrency project co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in 2021 has recently become active again, with an update today.

Original title: OpenAI CEO and a16z invested in Worldcoin, Today's incoming Identity Protocol Layer

原文作者：念银思唐，Odaily 星球日报

Along with ChatGPT's popularity came Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, the company behind it. And a cryptocurrency project he co-founded in 2021 has recently become active again, with an update announced today.

For the first time, the goal is to achieve a universal basic income.

The project, called "Worldcoin," is on the Web. 2021 Year 6 It was first unveiled to the public in January and declared complete. 2500 $10,000 in funding from a16z, Coinbase Ventures, LinkedIn Founder Reid Hoffman, Day One Ventures And a number of well-known investors support.

The report said Worldcoin It plans to launch a global digital currency that uses a silver basketball-like device (Orb) to scan irises and form unique pins to identify individuals. According to the report, iris scanning will prevent users from registering twice, but in order to maintain privacy, Worldcoin As much as possible will be made transparent about how the data is used and the relevant images will be permanently deleted after the scan is completed.

At that time, Worldcoin Has been testing the device on a small scale in several cities because it's not officially available yet. Volunteers were paid cryptocurrencies like bitcoin in exchange for some feedback on their usage. The prototype of the device is said to be less than prototype. 20 Station, the current cost is 5000 Dollars, but as the process improves, the cost will drop dramatically.

Altman In an interview, he said he was 2019 By the end of the year, the popular economic theory "universal basic income" (nbsp; UBI was inspired by the idea of using cryptocurrencies to distribute money fairly. Altman nbsp; Worldcoin But he said he was not involved in the day-to-day operations of the company and mainly acted as an adviser to the company when needed.

The actual person in charge of the project is. Alexander Blania, who worked with Altman And Max Novendstern Cofounded Worldcoin. Altman And Max Novendstern Have been in Ray Dalio nbsp; Bridgewater Associates LP And money transfer startups. Wave Work. Blania Says the company is evaluating how it can one day get as many people as possible to use cryptocurrencies: "There are a lot of people in the world who haven't yet accessed the financial system, and cryptocurrencies have the opportunity to allow us to do that."

10 Month, Worldcoin Said it was conducting field tests in some areas and had already reached a valuation. 10 A hundred million dollars.

Ideal plump reality bone sense, follow-up development difficulties

However, subsequent development of the project has not been smooth. 2022 Year 3 In January, after local contractors left and regulations prevented them from doing business. Has suspended plans to operate in several countries and repeatedly pushed back its target release date.

At the time, the company had collected about. 20 The eye images of hundreds of thousands of people in countries, but the process has been plagued by patchy smartphone use, user confusion and fraud attempts from place to place.

Still, Worldcoin Still trying to raise more money to advance its plans. Reports say the company was operating under the 30 $100 million valuation. 1 $100 million Token financing.

nbsp; 8 Month, Worldcoin Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Max Novendstern Left a job and started a startup. Mana, designed to create autonomous running on the chain. AI Venture capital agreement.

after Worldcoin I've been quiet -- both in the development process and in the financing process.

几乎快要被遗忘的时候，Worldcoin 今年再次出来发声了。2 月上旬有报道称，它正在与包括主权财富基金在内的投资者讨论新一轮融资事宜。Worldcoin 希望以 30 亿美元估值筹集至多 1.2 亿美元——这一估值与去年相同，本轮融资将包括股权和 Token 融资。在当前市场环境下，这一融资规模无疑令人瞩目。

Set sail again and take root at the protocol layer

A month after it was revealed that it was seeking funding, Worldcoin And announced the latest progress of the project, including. World ID Protocols and Software development Kits (SDKS).

World ID Is described as Worldcoin The "Underlying Identity Protocol", powered by zero-knowledge encryption, is a mobile tool that people can use to prove their identity without sacrificing anonymity. Iris scanning hardware Orb Is the main method for users to obtain verification, but they can also use tools such as phone number verification, which is less accurate.

"This is a decentralized and privacy-first protocol," Worldcoin Major software contributor Tools For Humanity Head of product, engineering and design at Tiago Sada "In the same way that people can have a self-hosted wallet, with this, people can have a self-hosted ID, any information is on the device, and it authenticates itself with proof of zero knowledge," he said in an interview.

Users can get it on any compatible mobile wallet. World ID. One of the options is. World App, which is still in beta.

Orb Validation is currently limited to Argentina, Chile, India, Kenya, Portugal and Spain, with a wider rollout of the device later this year. Meanwhile, mobile verification is available in most countries.

World ID The simplest use case is login (that is, authentication). Other potential use cases for the technology include robot protection and moderation in social networks, DAO Support for unsecured loans, loyalty programs and coupons, market reviews and benefits distribution. The first demonstration of the technology will focus on p Discord The verification of

"It's probably going to take a lot more imagination to think about what you can do with it. When the iPhone came out, you didn't think of Uber." Sada It's here to stay. And it's about making sure it exists in a decentralized and privacy-preserving way."

As for SDK, developers have been invited to sign up to join a waiting list for early access to the beta version of the product, which is open to anyone and includes a widget, developer portal, development simulator, examples and guides.

March through controversy

When identity is involved, privacy inevitably becomes the number one concern. Orb In 2021 Year 6 The month's release drew a backlash from leading privacy advocates, including Edward Snowden, who warned against using biometric data for anything, adding that the human body was not a "ticket machine."

Worldcoin Later attempts were made to allay these concerns by using zero-knowledge proof techniques to eliminate the link between the biometric registration stage and the wallet. Eg. However, there is a growing trend. Believes concerns about the project remain.

"There are still a lot of misconceptions," he said. "A lot of people don't know that your biometric data is destroyed in &orb ." That is, unless users choose to store their own biometric data -- although that would help improve the protocol. Worldcoin Users are not encouraged to do so.

"The iris code was the only thing that left the device," he said. He continued, "While this may sound a little dubious, World ID is really the most private identity. I think it's also the most inclusive and scalable in many ways."

Sada It also says that if there are better tools to prove a person's uniqueness, given the limitations of manufacturing hardware, Worldcoin Will also give up without a word. The Orb. In fact, Tools for humanity. One team is actively looking for such a solution.

But for the time being, Development is continuing. Worldcoin Is increasing through a carrier program that offers incentives. Orb Distribution intensity. According to an official announcement today, for now. Worldcoin Have already 130 Ten thousand registered users.

However, Sam Altman; As Worldcoin The largest "halo", has not yet said anything. As mentioned earlier, Altman Has said that he is not involved in the day-to-day operations of the company, mainly acting as a consultant to the company when needed. But his presence will be expected: once. Worldcoin And AI Combined, there is bound to be a new spark.

Along with the announcement of the major progress of this project, Worldcoin We'll have to wait and see if we can successfully complete the financing and even launch -- the crypto industry needs such good news right now.