Worldcoin, a new cryptocurrency, aims to scan people’s eyes to identify them, before giving them a share of its collectively owned currency.
The company says it wants to distribute the digital coin fairly to as many people possible.
Co-founders Sam Altman and Alex Blania have created a device named ‘Orb’, which can capture the image of an eye and convert it into a short, unique numerical code that can be used to identify a person.
It claims this process is vital in its model to ensure that it distributes the coins to a human (and not a bot), and that nobody attempts to claim more than they are owed.
Worldcoin, which is only a few months away from a global launch, claims that this way much more convenient than the traditional ways of identifying an individual as no other personal information is required.
Images will not be stored or uploaded, and the unique code is not attached to any user’s crypto-wallet or transactions, with the aim of preserving privacy.
Field tests are being run in several locations around with world, with people allegedly waiting hours to receive their share.
It has plans to scale up production once field tests are completed.
Currently, a single Orb device can onboard around 700 new punters per week, with Altman and Blanie hoping to produce 50,000 devices per year.
Prior to its full global launch, the company has managed to raise US$25mln in funding and is valued at US$1bn.
