Sam Altman’s World Foundation just dumped $65 million worth of WLD tokens. The sale came through an over-the-counter deal. Reports confirm the timing: right as the cryptocurrency hit record lows.
The numbers tell the story. World Assets—the foundation’s token arm—sold approximately 239 million WLD tokens. Average price: $0.27 per token. About $25 million worth got locked for six months. The rest became liquid immediately.
The sale settled with four counterparties on March 20. Where’s the money going? Operations. Research and development. Manufacturing those iris-scanning “orbs.” Broader ecosystem growth.
But here’s the problem. That $0.27 price? It’s a brutal discount. A previous $135 million funding round priced tokens near $1.13. Do the math.
WLD’s price briefly crashed to an all-time low near $0.24 after the announcement. It’s since recovered to around $0.27. That’s a 97% decline from its March 2024 peak of approximately $11.82. Ninety-seven percent.
Investors are worried about dilution. A massive community token unlock is scheduled for July 23. That unlock covers about 52.5% of the total supply.
Worldcoin’s mission: create a global digital identity system. It’s linked to biometric iris scans. Those scans get captured through specialized hardware devices. Sam Altman—OpenAI’s CEO—leads the project.
The controversy started early. Privacy concerns dominate the conversation. We’re talking about collecting and storing sensitive biometric data. That scrutiny has turned into regulatory action.
Thailand’s investigating. So are Indonesia, Germany, Kenya, and Brazil. Authorities are scrutinizing or actively restricting Worldcoin’s operations. The issues: licensing requirements and privacy violations.
The project’s facing pressure from multiple directions. Token prices are plummeting. They’re selling tokens at steep discounts. Supply unlocks are looming. Regulators in multiple countries are cracking down.
The discounted sale signals trouble. Attracting investors at higher valuations? It’s not working. The July unlock threatens more downward pressure.
Worldcoin needs significant capital. Manufacturing hardware isn’t cheap. Expanding operations costs money. They’ll need to maintain funding access. They’ll need to rebuild market confidence.
The clock’s ticking.
