Worldcoin's native cryptocurrency, WLD, has surged by over 140% in the previous week, propelled by a substantial growth in its user base. The company recently announced that its proprietary crypto wallet application, World App, now boasts over one million daily users, a remarkable increase from just 100,000 users last November.

Launched in July 2023 by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Alex Blania, Worldcoin is a digital identity verification project. The platform adopts a "privacy-preserving" approach and incentivizes users by rewarding them with its native cryptocurrency, WLD, in exchange for scanning their irises.

Worldcoin's ambitious goal is to establish a global Universal Basic Income by distributing a small amount of its native WLD token to every individual on the planet in exchange for verifying their identity. However, this initiative has sparked controversy, particularly concerning the metallic eye-scanning devices called "Orbs," which have raised privacy concerns.

Following concerns raised by Hong Kong's Privacy Commissioner's office in January, an investigation was launched into Worldcoin, citing "serious risks to personal data privacy." Regulatory scrutiny has also been drawn to the project in other regions due to similar privacy concerns, resulting in the suspension of its services in Kenya and a halt on iris scans in India.

Despite these controversies, the WLD token has surged by over 141% in the past week, likely driven by a broader rally in the cryptocurrency sector. These gains coincide with significant updates from OpenAI, including the introduction of Sora, a text-to-video generator, and Altman's ambitious plans to raise $7 trillion to accelerate semiconductor chip development.