- Worldcoin has recently reached new price heights.
- The price surge is driven by a combination of key factors.
- Worldcoin was caught in a series of regulatory challenges in the past year.
The explosive week-long market rally, led by crypto giant Bitcoin (BTC), has permeated a bullish sentiment across the wider market, triggering notable gains for various altcoins.
One notable performer is Worldcoin, the cryptocurrency linked to the artificial intelligence project, OpenAI, which has stunned investors with an impressive triple-digit price upswing, prompting the question of whatโs driving the surge.
What’s Driving the Worldcoin Surge?
Over the past 24 hours, Worldcoin (WLD) has recorded a significant 42% increase in its price, currently trading at an all-time high of $7.85. This marks a healthy 211% increase from the tokenโs trading price range of $2.5 to $2.7 in the past week and an approximate 185% surge from its year-start trading value.
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The upward trend aligns with an underlying surge in the World App, the crypto wallet associated with the Worldcoin ecosystem, which recently recorded an all-time high in daily user volume.ย ย
Further fueling the momentum is the launch of OpenAIโs text-to-video generator, Sora, which has ignited a positive sentiment among investors, sending the native token of the ecosystem to new price heights.
Worldcoinโs performance signals a bullish turn for the broader ecosystem following a year marked by severe regulatory hurdles.
Worldcoin Weathers Regulatory Hurdles
The emergence and rapid expansion of WLD tokens, accompanied by the โProof of Personhoodโ Orb-verification service, raised many regulatory eyebrows, triggering investigations by authorities across various regions over safety and privacy concerns.
In September 2023, the Kenyan government declared that the project, which attracted over 300,000 Kenyans to scan their eyeballs in exchange for WLD tokens, collected citizens’ data unlawfully, leading to attempts to detain the projectโs executives and a complete ban on its operations.
Worldcoin also faced scrutiny in Germany, the United Kingdom, and Argentina, heightening the projectโs regulatory pressure and declining its expansion efforts.
Most recently, on January 31, authorities raided six Hong Kong-based Worldcoin offices as part of an investigation into the projectโs violations of the provisions of the Hong Kong Privacy Ordinance by collecting and processing sensitive personal data.
The widespread regulatory probe has caused the project to scale back on its operations in countries like India and completely cease its iris biometric enrollment in France and Brazil.
On the Flipside
- The bullish performance of Worldcoin has permeated through the broader AI-based token sector, fueling a healthy 7.7% increase.
- Other crypto assets, such as Cardanoโs ADA and Ethereum, have also printed double-digit gains, with increases of 14.2% and 11.4%, respectively.
- Despite the regulatory hurdles, Worldcoin still operates in 20 countries, with approximately 3.5 million people owning a WorldID.
Why This Matters
The sudden surge in Worldcoinโs trading price marks the tokenโs place among the top-performing altcoins of the week, both within AI-based tokens and the broader market. However, its ability to sustain this trajectory in the volatile crypto market will determine its continued prominence among the top players.
Read more about Hong Kong’s regulatory troubles in the past year:
Worldcoin (WLD) Slides 45% in August: What Went Wrong?
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