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World Foundation, the nonprofit behind Sam Altman’s World Protocol, has sold 217.4M Worldcoin (WLD) tokens for $52.5M. According to on-chain data from Hupzy (formerly Spotonchain), the foundation received 47.5 million USDC after the WLD token outflow.
However, the World Foundation has confirmed that it was a strategic sale to institutional investors. That includes Pantera Capital, Bain Capital Crypto, and Susquehanna Crypto. The publicly listed WLD Treasury company, Eightco Holdings, was also involved.
According to its X post, the tokens sold are subject to a one-year lock-up period. The company did not sell any tokens via exchanges.
World Foundation Aims to Scale World ID Infrastructure
With the raise, the World Foundation has stated that it will focus on accelerating utility and access to the World ID. It noted the increasing need for its World ID infrastructure due to the advancement in AI technology.
World ID provides proof of human identity, which it said has become increasingly important as AI advancements enable the proliferation of deepfakes and AI bots.
The project has recently marked three years since its launch. According to the announcement commemorating the milestone, the protocol now has almost 40 million users globally.
The project has also been at the center of controversy in several countries over privacy concerns. However, its technology is gradually being adopted. World ID has integrated with platforms including Tinder, Zoom, Vercel, Shopify, and others.
According to the World Foundation, the project is now in Phase 3 of its foundational Simple Plan. This phase entails integrating its proof-of-human technology with additional consumer and enterprise platforms. It is also planning to launch a new World ID app.
WLD Token Crashes 10% After Sale
Meanwhile, the WLD token has fallen by more than 10% over the past 24 hours, likely in response to the news of the sales. This reflects strong negative sentiment toward the token sale despite the lockup period.
WLD is down 28% year to date, trading at $0.34. It is already down 97% from its peak value of $11.74 back in March 2024. However, the token is still trading at a premium to the $0.24 sale price in the recent strategic sale.
Despite the poor performance, WLD continues to attract institutional interest. Digital assets investment firm Grayscale filed an S-1 statement for a WLD exchange-traded fund (ETF) on July 20.
