Two years ago, Sam Altman, co-founder of OpenAI, introduced Worldcoin, a blockchain project famous for its unique metal orb used for scanning eyeballs. Recently rebranded as “World Network,” the platform offers digital passports to users verified through iris scans to distinguish humans from bots in an AI-driven internet.
Now, a team of crypto experts, including the co-founders of decentralized finance powerhouse Lido, is gearing up to launch “Y,” a blockchain identity platform aimed at competing with World Network. An internal planning document for the new project was obtained by CoinDesk. A source close to Cyber Fund, the venture firm led by Lido co-founders Konstantin Lomashuk and Vasiliy Shapovalov, confirmed the authenticity of the document. The vision for this new blockchain-based identity platform skips World’s controversial eyeball-scanning Orb.
Y will focus on verifying human identity by examining the traces individuals leave behind while using the internet, instead of relying on biometric data like World Network. This approach aims to address privacy concerns and reduce fraud, which is a departure from World’s use of iris scans.
The long-term goal for Y is to create a “Crypto SuperApp” allowing users to build and earn from their digital identity privately. This aligns with World Network’s suite of products, which includes an identity-centric blockchain, crypto wallet, and app ecosystem.
While World assigns biometric World IDs to users using iris scans, Y will aggregate data from users’ social media and blockchain activity, and utilize the Ethereum Attestation Service for user verification. The Ethereum Attestation Service allows users to validate the accuracy of certain data, enhancing user authentication.
Y’s authentication processes aim to overcome WorldCoin’s shortcomings, such as reducing the risks of biometric data leaks and minimizing fraud opportunities. Y will provide a more nuanced numerical score to determine a user’s “personhood” compared to World’s binary human/non-human reading generated by the Orb.
In terms of marketing, Y plans to highlight the controversial aspects of World Network, particularly its reliance on biometric data. World’s privacy concerns have led to bans in countries like Spain and Kenya, as well as the emergence of black markets for buying and selling scans to create fake accounts.
With over 15 million users onboarded since its launch in 2023, World Network has a significant user base that Y aims to compete with. Lido, as the largest decentralized finance app on Ethereum, will leverage its influence in the crypto community to promote Y and challenge World’s dominance.
Y’s tie to Lido and other portfolio companies under Cyber Fund may play a crucial role in attracting users. The document notes the similarities between WorldCoin’s potential evolution into a for-profit entity like OpenAI, which started as a non-profit project before transitioning into a closed-source corporation.
As Y gears up to enter the competitive blockchain identity space, its unique approach to user authentication and privacy protection could position it as a formidable rival to World Network in the evolving landscape of decentralized technologies.