WLD Surges Over 20% as Worldcoin Extends Team & Investors' Token Unlock Schedule

WLD "stands tall" with a more than 20% increase following the announcement of changes to the initial token unlocking schedule for Team & Investors, extending it from an initial 3 years to 5 years.

WLD has surged over 20% after Worldcoin extended the token unlock schedule for Team & Investors

According to the latest update on the evening of July 16, 2024, from the retinal scan project Worldcoin (WLD), the unlocking schedule for 80% of WLD allocated to Tools for Humanity (TFH) members, investors, and early contributors has been extended from 3 to 5 years to align with Worldcoin's long-term mission.

As per the initial plan, tokens allocated to TFH and investors were initially locked for 1 year from the TGE date (July 24, 2023), followed by daily (linear) unlocks over the next 2 years (ending on July 24, 2026).

With the newly announced unlock schedule, the linear distribution of tokens will extend over 4 years (ending in late July 2028). Starting from July 24, approximately 2 million WLD tokens (worth $4.8 million USD at the time of writing) will be unlocked daily, equating to a 40% reduction compared to the initial unlock plan of 3.3 million WLD.

Projected initial (dotted line) and adjusted (solid line) WLD unlocking schedules over the next 2 months. Image: Worldcoin

Worldcoin is developed and promoted by Tools for Humanity, founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Alex Blania, also CEO of the company. The project provides individuals with World ID and WLD tokens upon agreeing to scan their retinas using a spherical device called Orbs to prove their identity.

Worldcoin states, "WLD grants for World ID holders have been confirmed unaffected," adding that "over 211 million WLD have been claimed by World ID owners, constituting over 77% of the circulating supply of 275 million WLD."

The project also declares that "7.22 billion WLD remaining in the Worldcoin Community pool is currently managed by the Worldcoin Foundation and World Assets Ltd to support the project's long-term sustainability."

The latest information from Worldcoin implies a reduced daily token allocation to the market, diminishing the long-term circulating supply impact of WLD. As a result, WLD's price immediately responded positively with over a 20% increase, reaching $2,477 USD after the announcement. It is currently trading around $2.40.

1-hour chart of WLD/USDT pair on Binance as of 10:30 PM on July 16, 2024

The announcement of the extension of the WLD unlock schedule comes amid Worldcoin's active preparations for the launch of its own layer-2 blockchain named World Chain - designed to enhance Worldcoin's efficiency, providing additional benefits for verified users (individuals holding World ID) in transactions (speed, gas fees...) and mitigating bot exploitation.

Despite recently introducing the "Personal Custody" feature, offering World ID owners the right to self-store and encrypt biometric data, the project continues to face opposition from regulatory agencies globally, including Kenya, India, Brazil, France, Germany, UK, Hong Kong, Spain...due to concerns over data privacy and security issues.

Two months ago, the project also sparked controversy with its plan to sell tokens to investors outside the US, aiming to increase WLD's circulating supply by an additional 19% over the next 6 months.