Thomas Daniels
In the past week, Worldcoin’s value has experienced a remarkable 200% increase, positioning it as a potential financial cushion for the investors of the troubled entities Three Arrows Capital and FTX, despite potential market volatility from upcoming token releases.
Worldcoin’s WLD token hit a record peak of $7.40 on February 19, driven by the debut of a cutting-edge artificial intelligence tool from Sam Altman’s OpenAI. Altman, a key figure at both Worldcoin and OpenAI—known for the innovative text-to-video technology Sora—has seen his ventures gain traction following the tool’s introduction, even though Worldcoin and Sora operate independently.
Recent reports highlight WLD’s price surge post-Sora’s introduction. Notably, Worldcoin has seen its value bolstered by early investment from two bankrupt cryptocurrency firms, which amassed millions of WLD tokens. Three Arrows Capital, involved in a significant $25 million investment in Tools For Humanity (co-founded by Altman for the Worldcoin digital ID initiative), alongside FTX—founded by the now-convicted Sam Bankman-Fried—received substantial WLD allocations for their early backing. According to Arkham Intelligence, the liquidator for Three Arrows Capital, Teneo, controls WLD tokens now worth in excess of $550 million, with additional holdings possibly undiscovered. This comes as Three Arrows Capital owes creditors $1.5 billion.
Moreover, FTX’s association with the project, notably through early investment in Worldcoin’s eye-scanning technology, resulted in $185 million worth of WLD tokens being allocated to Bankman-Fried-related wallets. These tokens, distributed at Worldcoin’s launch, are spread across several wallets, indicating a potentially diluted benefit for investors from these bankruptcy estates due to market sales. An impending token release could see $165 million in WLD tokens introduced to the market by February 26, potentially affecting the token’s value.
Initially, Worldcoin faced skepticism, particularly concerning privacy issues in Kenya and France. Nevertheless, its expansion continues unabated in countries like Argentina, Singapore, and Chile, where it has already enrolled over 200,000 Chileans through its eye-scanning Orb devices, underscoring its growing global footprint despite the controversies.
