Worldcoin launches grant program, outlines decentralization plans

Worldcoin WLD -3.70% , the crypto project co-created by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, today launched a new grants program for developers while outlining plans to decentralize the network.

Worldcoin is an identity-focused crypto project on a grand scale. It uses orb devices to scan people’s irises to help them prove they’re real people online — and distributes its WLD token to those who sign up.

In blog posts published this morning, the Worldcoin Foundation, a non-profit that aims to steer the network’s future development, unveiled a grants program, a “Worldcoin Tech Tree” and a whitepaper on decentralization. “To become part of the global digital infrastructure Worldcoin must be as robust, widespread and neutral as the internet itself,” the foundation said in the post. “Any lesser standard is insufficient to effectively address the grand challenges. This has been a priority from day one, and much has already been achieved.”

Tools for Humanity, a for-profit, San Francisco-based company that has raised hundreds of millions of dollars from venture capitalists, has spearheaded most aspects of the Worldcoin project to date. 

Profit in the spotlight after Altman saga

The news comes just a few weeks after Altman was ousted from his role at ChatGPT-creator OpenAI before being reinstated. OpenAI’s status as a non-profit was reportedly a key sticking point in the dispute.   

TFH’s CEO Alex Blania said in an interview with The Block that the timing of the foundation’s announcement today was purely coincidental.

In its blog posts, Worldcoin said it hopes to achieve “distributed robustness” — in the way that TCP/IP, WiFi or the English language have. Three areas it will focus on for achieving that are the decentralization of orb production, meaning independent teams will begin manufacturing them; new forms of distributed governance; and balancing its emphasis on robustness with the need for privacy.  

The foundation’s first grant program has an initial pool of $5 million to award to developers, with grants denominated in WLD. They can be dished out in chunks of up to 5,000 for community grants, up to 25,000 for projects and there are also open-ended grants for the most ambitious initiatives.

“One of the sexiest items in the grants program is to become a second manufacturer of orbs and spin up an entire factory,” Remco Bloemen, head of blockchain at Worldcoin, told The Block. “One step further would be that you actually design your own orbs in-house.” 

He added that scaling is another priority area for the grants program, after Worldcoin found itself considerably constrained during its token launch on OP Mainnet. “We broke the chain at launch. We had way too many users,” Bloemen said. “We’re already hitting the limits of what L2s have to offer.”