Original author: Austin Barack

Translated by: Deep Tide TechFlow

The blockchain technology has opened the door to new applications, use cases, and global coordination forms. Bitcoin was launched in 2009, laying the foundation for today's Web3. Bitcoin is open to anyone and can be obtained through proof-of-work mining or purchase, introducing the world to digital, non-sovereign, and censorship-resistant currency for the first time. Ethereum was launched in 2015, enabling programmability of blockchain interaction through smart contracts, ultimately driving the development of DeFi, NFTs, resource networks, stablecoins, payment applications, on-chain games, DAOs, and more.

However, despite all of these incredible innovations, two elements are still needed to solve this puzzle: provable human uniqueness and means of globally fair distribution of network ownership, which are interrelated in many ways. This is why we are so fascinated by the unique vision of Worldcoin and its founder.

Worldcoin has solved one of the most fundamental problems in decentralized technology by preventing witch attacks and eliminating all negative externalities. CoinFund became one of the earliest supporters of Worldcoin when it first invested in February 2021, and we still believe that the innovation of the Worldcoin network will have a profound impact on global digital coordination, financial inclusivity, and billions of people entering the crypto economy.

Worldcoin started with a question: how to prove that you are a unique human being in a digital environment while maintaining anonymity and privacy? There are many reasons for asking this question, but the real impetus for this need is how to distinguish between artificial intelligence and humans as artificial intelligence continues to advance. The answer quickly became clear, it is both a hardware problem and a network-level problem. A device is needed to access users (register them to non-custodial wallets and distribute network assets) while ensuring that each user can only register once. And it must be 100% privacy protected. From this idea, Worldcoin developed a state-of-the-art hardware device from scratch that can determine human uniqueness through the only reliable mechanism - iris biometrics.

Worldcoin Orb uses neural networks to convert unique iris patterns obtained from individual users' grids into hash values (iris codes) in less than 30 seconds, and then permanently deletes the original biometric data (user iris images). The iris codes are not associated with any personal information of the user (nor with the user's wallet), and are only used to prevent users from attempting to re-register, as duplicate registrations will generate the same iris code. This novel access mechanism creates a unique proof of personhood that protects privacy.

Why is Unique Personality Proof So Influential?

In a purely digital environment, if it is possible to prove that a user:

1) It is humans, not robots,

2) Only participate once instead of participating through multiple wallets/accounts.

3) Users do not need to share government ID or other forms of personal identification information.

It can expand the range of native interactive numbers several times. Here are some direct applications, as well as many other applications:

In DAO, "one person, one vote" is used instead of weighted voting based on token ownership. Proof of personhood prevents Sybil attacks where users can vote through multiple wallet addresses. The actual result is that token supply can be democratically voted on fairly, without being controlled or disrupted by large holders in all cases.

Verification of user privacy protection in social media applications. This will prevent users from creating spam social media accounts without requiring social media companies to request verification using phone numbers or other personal identification information. An obvious application: clearing bot accounts on Twitter.

Fair airdrop. When distributing network governance assets to early users in the cryptocurrency network, it can prevent witch attacks and unfair airdrop harvesting. The actual result is that customers are more efficient for the network because they retain more real users.

Efficiently distribute value globally, without being limited by national borders, while protecting user privacy and ensuring that their identity proof (ID) is not tied to their real-world identity or personal information.

For the above application cases and many other future cases, privacy protection is a fundamental innovation, which resonates with CoinFund. We believe this is a key factor that needs to be supported. Although there are other similar solutions, we clearly see that Worldcoin's hardware approach has the lowest error rate among these methods.

Equitably Distributing Network Assets Globally

Through Worldcoin Orb and World ID, which provide privacy protection through unique personality proof, it is truly possible to achieve fair distribution of digital assets on a global scale. Cryptographic assets are traditionally accumulated through asset purchases and/or participation in networks. As a result, those who purchased assets at lower prices or those with more capital to purchase more assets are able to accumulate a larger proportion of network assets than later users. This dynamic discourages later users, as they feel they are "late" and constantly seek out the next network they can participate in early, rather than participating in the most useful network.

Through personality proof and Orb as the access mechanism, each Worldcoin user can receive roughly equal amounts of WLD tokens, regardless of when they register. This means that every user is an "early participant" and all users can have a similar impact on the network's development and governance. In addition, this not only applies to WLD, as a platform, Worldcoin can also become a distribution network for other assets. Through this fair launch dynamic, the free distribution of governance tokens helps incentivize user registration, and WorldID has powerful identity verification capabilities. We believe that Worldcoin has the opportunity to bring billions of users into the crypto field and bring the benefits of financial inclusion and global connectivity.

It has been two and a half years since we became interested in Worldcoin's ambitious vision. Although Worldcoin has already attracted over two million users (as of July 23, 2023, with data of 2,060,888 people and still increasing), we feel that this is just the beginning. The potential for Worldcoin's practicality in the real world to bring in the billionth user and more into the cryptocurrency field is something we believe will happen. The combination of proof of personhood and privacy protection is a fundamental and transformative innovation, coupled with the fair distribution of network assets globally, we are excited for the future development.

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