The CEO of ChatGPT creator OpenAI is reportedly set to raise $100 million for his Worldcoin project.
Sam Altman founded Worldcoin – which scans eyeballs using orbs to confirm identity and aims to create collectively owned and globally distributed cryptocurrency – with Alex Blania and Max Novendstern.
A previous Series A funding round was led by a16z and included Digital Currency Group, Coinbase Ventures, former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried – facing trial on fraud charges following the collapse of the exchange – and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman.
A Financial Times source claimed the funding would come from both existing and new investors.
Worldcoin recruits operators of orbs which are used to confirm the identity and capture the iris pattern of people who look into them. Once someone has done this, they can use the recently launched World App digital wallet to obtain Worldcoin tokens and send digital money anywhere, without gas fees.
The company says it is preparing to launch its blockchain protocol and commence recording transactions within “the next six weeks”.
Cryptocurrency shorts
Crypto exchange Binance is pulling out of Canada as “new guidance related to stablecoins and investor limits provided to crypto exchanges makes the Canada market no longer tenable for Binance at this time”.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has signed a new bill banning central bank digital currencies in the state, highlighting concerns about the potential use of CBDCs to control and surveil Americans.
A new global blockchain network for financial markets and institutional assets is here. The privacy-enabled Canton Network “allows previously siloed systems in finance to be interoperable and synchronised in previously impossible ways, unlocking new efficiencies and innovation”, according to a press release. Industry partners include Capgemini, Deloitte, IntellectEU, Microsoft and Umbrage, while BNP Paribas, Deutsche Börse Group, EquiLend and Goldman Sachs already use Canton.
Crypto prices
The overall market cap of the 24,100 coins is at $1.14 trillion at the time of writing (8am UK), a 1.5% increase in the last 24 hours, with Bitcoin trading around $27,350.
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For valuations of the top 100 coins by market cap in US dollars, plus 24-hour price change, see below.