The cryptocurrency project World is set to launch its services in the United States tomorrow, introducing its biometric identity verification system to the country where it originated. The company made this announcement during its “World At Last” event in San Francisco. Co-founder Sam Altman and CEO Alex Blania highlighted the expansion of what they described as “the largest human-centered identity and financial network.”
The introduction of biometric verification is starting in six cities in the U.S., including Atlanta, Austin, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, and San Francisco. World plans to deploy 7,500 eye-scanning "Orb" devices across the U.S. by the end of the year, marking a significant increase from its current global deployment.
During the event, Altman emphasized the importance of the U.S. leading innovation rather than hindering it. World, originally situated near San Francisco’s South Park neighborhood, had operated in more than 160 countries but had not entered the U.S. market until now.
Moreover, World unveiled a partnership with Visa to introduce a payment card connected to users’ World App wallets, allowing them to utilize digital assets at over 150 million merchants globally. The World Card will provide rewards for AI-related purchases, distributing rewards in WLD tokens directly to users’ linked wallets. This card is anticipated to be accessible to U.S. users later in the year.
In a separate financial development, World disclosed an integration with Circle to bring USDC stablecoin directly to the World Chain blockchain. This collaboration will convert all existing bridged USDC on World Chain to native USDC, backed by cash and cash-equivalent assets. Additionally, the integration incorporates Circle’s Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol V2 (CCTP V2) to facilitate quicker and more cost-effective transfers across supported chains.
The company also announced various partnerships, including collaborations with Match Group to trial World ID for age verification on Tinder in Japan and with Razer to implement “proof of human” verification in gaming to combat bots. World introduced a DeFi lending platform named Morpho Mini App and a prediction market platform with Kalshi.
Lastly, an update on the Orb hardware was presented by Rich Heley, revealing plans for World to establish its assembly line in Richardson, Texas, partnering with a U.S. manufacturer to produce Orbs for the American market and global expansion. World also disclosed intentions to introduce a smaller version of the Orb, known as “Orb Mini,” to enable more widespread verification practices.
Despite previous controversies surrounding its biometric data collection practices in certain regions, World ensures that its verification system prioritizes privacy, with personal data retained solely on users’ devices through “Personal Custody.” The service currently boasts over 26 million users globally, with 12 million having undergone biometric verification via the Orb scanning technology, as shared by company representatives at the event.