Sam Altman's Worldcoin Has Officially Launched

Sam Altman’s Worldcoin launches token

Worldcoin, a bold cryptocurrency venture co-founded by ChatGPT creator Sam Altman, has initiated the international rollout of its services. The goal? To develop a system capable of distinguishing humans from AI online, bolster global democratic processes, and significantly broaden economic opportunities. Despite facing criticism for potential exploitation in poorer countries, over two million people across 30+ countries have already verified their unique World IDs via Worldcoin's eye-scanning Orb devices.

The startup, backed by Andreessen Horowitz, Khosla Ventures, and Reid Hoffman, and funded to the tune of $250 million, aims to put a crypto wallet in every individual's smartphone. This involves giving each person their share of Worldcoin's digital currency, the "WLD" tokens, the total supply of which is capped at 10 billion for the first 15 years.

The Worldcoin team and Sam Altman hold about 20% of all tokens, with the rest being distributed to verified users. The maximum circulating supply at launch is 143 million, as per the Worldcoin whitepaper. This audacious project, if successful, could pave the way to an AI-funded Universal Basic Income, showcasing a novel intersection of human identity, blockchain technology, and economic opportunity. For a deep dive into the project, check out our Worldcoin explainer.

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SEC hints at appeal against the Ripple verdict 

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has indicated that it plans to challenge the recent legal victory obtained by Ripple. On July 13, US district judge Analisa Torres ruled that Ripple did not violate securities laws when it offered XRP on secondary markets such as crypto exchanges. However, the court found that Ripple did breach SEC regulations by directly selling the token to institutional investors.

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Musk’s rebrand of Twitter sparks launch of new tokens

Overnight, decentralized exchanges (DEX) saw the emergence of multiple tokens associated with 'X' branding as Twitter, owned by Elon Musk, started replacing its well-known blue bird logo with an X symbol.

Musk initially hinted at this change in a tweet over the weekend, and Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino confirmed the rebranding on Sunday.

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BTC drops to $29K due to Binance and China issues

Bitcoin experienced a decline on Monday following reports from the Wall Street Journal. Binance CEO Changpeng "CZ" Zhao allegedly suggested in a private conversation that the crypto exchange's affiliates engaged in wash trading several years ago. 

Additionally, Chinese policymakers hinted at a challenging economic recovery without announcing any significant stimulus measures. The leading cryptocurrency's market value dropped by over 2.5% to nearly $29,000 between 9:30 UTC and 10:00 UTC, according to CoinDesk. 

This decline occurred shortly after the WSJ published an article stating that Zhao mentioned in an internal message that the exchange's affiliates may have traded $70,000 worth of bitcoin during Binance.US' launch in 2019.

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MetaMask to support cross-chain interactions

MetaMask, the widely-used Ethereum wallet developed by ConsenSys, is set to release its highly anticipated Snaps protocol by the end of 2023. This protocol will enable users of the wallet to access new applications and carry out cross-chain protocol interactions.

Initially introduced in 2020, Snaps was defined by MetaMask as an open source system that provides a secure way for anyone to enhance the functionality of MetaMask. It allows developers to create new web3 experiences by incorporating specialized features on top of the MetaMask platform.

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Other breaking news

• StormX token price fluctuates wildly
• Celsius could exit bankruptcy if settlement reached
• Bitcoin funds see $13 million in outflows
• Iakov Levin, founder of Midas Investments, launched a new DeFi platform
• Putin signs law for digital ruble in Russia 

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Wrapping up

That’s it for today, folks! Today’s updates included SEC to possibly appeal against the Ripple verdict, which could bring in more volatility to XRP. MetaMask is looking to up its functionality, while Musk’s attempts at Twitter rebrand sparks the creation of new X tokens. Similarly, Worldcoin launched its token with major exchanges starting the trading. Stay tuned for more updates in our rapidly evolving space.