Global: Worldcoin Shifts Payments for Orb Operators to Native Token (WLD), Abandoning USDC

In a recent announcement on October 22, Worldcoin declared that its Orb Operators, who are described as “independent ecosystem participants” responsible for conducting iris scans in exchange for WLD tokens, will no longer be compensated in USD Coin (USDC) starting from November. This change is expected to impact most jurisdictions.

Worldcoin characterized this shift to pay Orb Operators solely in WLD as part of a “transitional phase” initiated following the project’s official launch on July 24. On October 10, the Worldcoin Foundation initiated a pilot program to reward select operators with payments in WLD tokens.

The Worldcoin Foundation anticipates the completion of this transition process by November 2023, at which point all Operators will receive WLD for their services.

It’s important to note that, as mentioned in the blog post, Worldcoin tokens are not currently available to individuals or companies residing in the United States and certain other restricted territories.

Data from Worldcoin’s official Dune Analytics dashboard indicates that the supply of WLD tokens has increased from approximately 100 million at the time of launch to around 134 million at the time of this publication.

Of the approximately 134 million WLD tokens issued, 100 million were allocated as loans to market makers, while the remaining 34 million were distributed to Orb operators and new users as “free user grants.”

Worldcoin disclosed that a total of five market-making entities received the initial 100 million WLD loans, which were initially set to expire on October 24, 2023. However, Worldcoin has decided to extend the loan expiration date to December 15, with a reduced amount of 75 million WLD.

As part of the agreement, market makers will either return or potentially purchase some or all of the remaining 25 million WLD tokens.

The price of Worldcoin’s native WLD token has exhibited fluctuations in recent weeks, experiencing an initial surge to an all-time high of $2.65 on July 27, followed by a 63% decline to a low of $0.97 on September 13. Currently, the token is trading at $1.64, based on data from TradingView.