Worldcoin no longer offers Orb-verification in Brazil, India, and France, the sudden withdrawal, on the other hand, is unexpected.
Worldcoin has discontinued its Orb-verification service in India, Brazil, and France, just months after expanding the helmet-shaped eyeball-scanning equipment to those nations.
The Worldcoin development foundation, Tools for Humanity, made it known in a statement that it had expanded the Orb to numerous markets this year for “limited-time access.”
The sudden withdrawal, on the other hand, is unexpected. Worldcoin had set up pop-up kiosks across India to welcome new users to the network, which drew large crowds as people waited in line to join up and get their free tokens. For months, crypto company owners in India have been complaining that Worldcoin is encountering regulatory difficulties in the industry.
Worldcoin remains committed, according to Lily Gordon, a spokesman for Tools for Humanity, to “working with partners globally to ensure it meets regulatory requirements and provides a safe, secure, and transparent service for verified humans.”
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The Orb, a five-pound chromatic sphere, examines a person’s eyes and confirms their identification. The method is similar to Aadhaar in India, which uses biometric data to authenticate citizens’ identities. Worldcoin hinted at the similarities in a July 2022 post on X, now known as Twitter.
“The multi-city tour kicked off in Tokyo in April 2023 and marked the first time people in many locations across North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia were able to experience the Orb. The tour concluded late summer and was also complemented by previews of the Orb in a number of cities globally alongside the launch of the protocol,” Lily Gordon, a spokesperson for Tools for Humanity, told TechCrunch confidentially in an email early this month.
Worldcoin, co-founded by Sam Altman, began the global deployment of its services in July of this year to assist in the development of a trustworthy solution for “distinguishing humans from AI online,” enabling “global democratic processes,” and “dramatically increasing economic opportunity.”
The startup, which has earned over $250 million in total funding and counts Andreessen Horowitz, Khosla Ventures, and Reid Hoffman as investors, stated at the time that it was launching its identity technology as well as the token globally. Individuals can get their World ID by downloading the World App, the startup’s protocol-compatible wallet software, and visiting an Orb, the startup’s helmet-shaped eyeball-scanning verification equipment.
While Brazil and France were among the first previews of Orb-verified services, Tools for Humanity began biometric verifications in India before embarking on a global tour. According to TechCrunch, the group was even employing more contractors until October to expand the Orb-based verification in Indian places such as New Delhi.
Even though the Orbs are no longer available in some areas, World App continues to accept new users in India. The organization also recently changed its protocol to World ID 2.0 to distinguish between bots and “verified humans” and to assist developers in developing new integrations. In addition to Discord, Talent Protocol, and Okta’s Auth0, it announced World ID integrations with Minecraft, Reddit, Telegram, Shopify, and Mercado Libre.
