Worldcoin (WLD) is a controversial crypto project with an identity-focused protocol and iris-scanning technology called Orb. They launched the WLD token, trading at $2.23 with a $241M market cap at the time of writing. Worldcoin’s goal is a universal basic income using biometric IDs.

Vitalik Buterin, the founder of Ethereum, weighed in on Worldcoin’s use of biometric data for establishing online personhood, highlighting the value of a decentralized solution for identity verification and its implications for online applications, including voting and spam prevention.

However, he also pointed out potential flaws and risks associated with the approach. Despite debate, over 2 million users have joined the protocol, primarily in Lisbon. The project seeks to redefine online personhood and faces both fascination and skepticism.

Real Research, an online survey app, launched a survey on the hype and skepticism around Worldcoin to gauge public opinion about the controversy around Worldcoin.

Highlights:

  • 39.97% of respondents planned to get the WLD tokens through iris scanning.
  • 35.63% were concerned about Worldcoin’s privacy.
  • 42.91% believed that Worldcoin would likely continue to expand, regardless of the controversies it faces.

Worldcoin, a new cryptocurrency project led by Sam Altman, who is also behind OpenAI, has captured people’s attention with its unique mix of technology and ideas. According to the survey on Sam Altman’s biometrics-based cryptocurrency worldcoin, some respondents were familiar with Worldcoin (about 45.52%), some had heard of it but didn’t know much (about 36.67%), and a few didn’t know about it at all (about 17.81%).

Opinions Vary on Worldcoin’s Global ID Database

Worldcoin aims to create a global ID database, and opinions about this idea are varied. Many respondents (85.48%) were somewhat or strongly supportive of it (52.08% somewhat, 33.4% strongly). About 11.98% were somewhat against it, and a smaller percentage (2.54%) were firmly against it.

Respondents-stance-on-the-Worldcoin-concept
Figure 1: Respondents’ stance on the Worldcoin concept.

Controversy Surrounding Worldcoin’s Privacy Concerns and Ethical Concerns

However, there’s been some controversy around Worldcoin. Critics are worried about privacy and ethical issues, and these concerns are shared by many respondents. Privacy is a big worry for some (33.63%), while others (33.48%) were concerned about ethics. A minority (24.5%) were concerned about both, and a few (about 3.29%) weren’t worried.

As these worries become more apparent, more respondents (about 85.24%) agreed with regulators and privacy advocates. This includes 45.59% of respondents who somewhat agreed and others (44.44%) who strongly agreed. But there’s a smaller group (about 14.76%) who disagreed, with 11.95% who somewhat disagreed and others strongly disagreed (about 2.81%).

Concerns About Biometric Data Misuse and Worldcoin’s Start

Could the biometric data collected by Worldcoin be misused? The majority (72%) believed there was a possibility of misuse, either completely (about 26.96%) or to some extent (about 45.04%). On the other hand, a good number (28.14%) trusted that there wouldn’t be much or any misuse.

Worldcoin-biometric-data-potentially-being-misused
Figure 2: Respondents’ opinion on Worldcoin biometric data potentially being misused.

Respondents were also concerned about how Worldcoin started and whether its marketing was honest. About 75.07% saw the project’s start as misleading, but some (about 24.93%) gave Sam Altman the benefit of the doubt.

Mixed Opinions on Worldcoin Enrollment in Kenya and Iris Scanning

In Kenya, there’s a split opinion about stopping Worldcoin enrollment. Most respondents (88.67%) had an opinion on this, with almost half (49.29%) who somewhat agreed with Kenya’s decision and others (39.38%) who fully agreed. However, a smaller group (11.33%) disagreed, with 9.48% who somewhat disagreed and a minority (1.85%) strongly disagreed.

Respondents-views-on-Kenyas-decision
Figure 3: Respondents’ views on Kenya’s decision.

Participants had different thoughts about getting their irises scanned for Worldcoin. Some were excited about it (about 39.97%), some didn’t like the idea (about 30.47%), and others were in between, either accepting it (about 18.83%) or firmly against it (about 10.73%).

Views on Worldcoin’s Future

When it comes to Worldcoin’s future, opinions are mixed. Many (68.29%) believed it would grow, with some (42.91%) feeling it was likely, and others being very sure (about 25.21%). But a significant portion (31.71%) thought it might not go well, including some who predicted stagnation (25.38%) or even a decline (6.5%).

Methodology

 
Survey TitleSurvey on The Hype and Skepticism Around Worldcoin
DurationAugust 15, 2023 – August 23, 2023
Number of Participants10,000
DemographicsMales and females, aged 21 to 99
Participating Countries Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, China (Hong Kong) China (Macao), China (Taiwan), Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Greanada, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Ivory Coast, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Libya, Lithuania, Malaysia, Maldives, Maluritania, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar [Burma], Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zimbabwe.