On-chain detective ZachXBT accuses World of low circulation and high valuation issuance of WLD
On-chain detective ZachXBT stated that World (formerly WorldCoin), under Sam Altman, launched the WLD token with low circulation and high valuation, similar to the methods used by SBF and FTX.
The project distributes small amounts of WLD to low-income populations in exchange for biometric data, which is intended to prove human identity but has led to a black market for verified accounts; the token supply is expanding at an unsustainable rate, with insiders regularly selling their holdings through over-the-counter (OTC) transactions.
In market mechanics, crypto speculators chase low-circulation AI narrative tokens, driving up FDV, while the World Foundation and insiders transfer chips to exchanges and buyers through OTC to cash out, putting early biometric contributors and retail investors under pressure, while management and early investors benefit from high valuations.
Source: Public information
ABAB AI Insight
ZachXBT has previously exposed insider information on crypto projects, including clues related to the FTX collapse and multiple rug pull cases; the World project was conceived by Sam Altman in 2019, launched WLD in 2023, and renamed to World in 2024, with no direct equity ties to OpenAI but sharing a founder narrative.
In terms of capital flow, the World Foundation continuously releases millions of WLD daily through community distribution and operator claims, mainly for biometric data collection incentives and early investor unlock hedges, shifting resources from global Orb deployment and low-income country users to large OTC sales (such as a recent $65 million transaction), with a strategy to maintain high FDV while gradually cashing out management and investor holdings.
Similar to FTX maintaining high valuations through low circulation FTT and allowing internal hedging, as well as the performance of other low-float AI concept tokens in the 2024-2025 cycle; currently, World is transitioning from data collection expansion to ongoing token inflation dilution, with circulation still maintaining a low ratio of the total supply of 1 billion tokens.
Essentially, this represents a transfer of pricing power: biometric identity verification technology is packaged as a token incentive model, with the mechanism relying on the sensitivity of users in developing countries to small crypto returns combined with low circulation design, allowing the project party to maintain high valuations under limited actual adoption, leading to a concentration of pricing power from real human verification demand to internal sellers, while amplifying black market arbitrage and regulatory risks.