Worldcoin’s native token, WLD, has surged significantly, becoming the top performer among the top 100 cryptocurrencies, gaining 9% in the past day. As of the latest data from CoinMarketCap (CMC), WLD is trading at $2.36. Its market capitalization stands at approximately $357 million, placing it as the 98th largest digital currency.
Over the same period, Worldcoin saw its daily trading volume spike by 116%, reaching $357.8 million. Despite this recent uptrend, WLD remains down 80% from its peak of $11.82, achieved on March 10.
The rise in WLD’s value coincides with recent strategic hires at Tools for Humanity, the software company behind Worldcoin. The new executives bring expertise from major technology firms such as X, Google, Apple, Meta, and Tesla.
This development comes amidst regulatory scrutiny in countries like France and Hong Kong. Earlier this year, Worldcoin’s iris scanning and identification practices were deemed to violate data protection standards in Hong Kong by the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (PCPD). To address these concerns, Worldcoin has brought on board four seasoned experts tasked with ensuring compliance with privacy regulations and enhancing transparency around their technologies.
Additionally, WLD’s price surge comes just ahead of an anticipated increase in daily token unlocks. According to Messari, daily token unlocks currently stand at 3.19 million WLD, valued at about $7.91 million. By July 24, 2024, this figure is expected to more than double to 6.61 million WLD tokens, worth approximately $16.39 million per day. Such token unlocking mechanisms, akin to share vesting schedules in traditional companies, are designed to gradually release cryptocurrencies that were previously restricted to prevent early large-scale selling.
Despite these positive developments for Worldcoin, the broader cryptocurrency market has faced a downturn, declining by over 4% in the last 24 hours to a total market cap of $2.17 trillion. Bitcoin, the flagship cryptocurrency, also saw a 3.5% drop, trading at $58,760 at the time of reporting.
In a separate evaluation, Trail of Bits found no vulnerabilities in Worldcoin’s Orb scanner, affirming the platform’s security stance amidst its recent operational expansions.