Worldcoin, launched on July 24, offers users free tokens (WLD) by scanning their eyeballs using machines in 35 countries, including Kenya.
These tokens can be transferred to official crypto exchanges like Binance and used to buy other cryptocurrencies.
On Thursday and Friday, youths in their hundreds flocked to supermarkets and malls to have their iris scanned for free money.
The first 25 WLD tokens would translate to about Sh7,786. One Felix Wambugu, a matatu conductor rider, said he earned Sh6,461 after signing up and scanning his iris.
He then used the free tokens to buy USDT, another cryptocurrency, which he then sold to get Kenya shillings.
“Hii ni pesa ya bure and what they want is to scan my iris. Iam okay with that. But if you ask me, I just got 6,400 today which i didn’t have yesterday!”
Worldcoin aims to provide everyone with a verified digital identity, free cryptocurrency tokens, and a crypto wallet.
The platform is co-founded by Sam Altman, CEO of ChatGPT’s developer OpenAI, and aims to create a digital currency that is more inclusive and accessible to people worldwide, regardless of their socio-economic status or access to traditional banking systems.
The “proof of personhood” through retinal scans is necessary to verify a user’s identity.
World ID codes are saved on a decentralized blockchain, and the company claims they cannot be duplicated or spoofed to create false identities or engage in fraud.
The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC) has issued a statement urging Kenyans to exercise caution while engaging with Worldcoin and sharing their personal data.
The ODPC’s statement calls for vigilance from the public as they interact with Worldcoin’s data-processing activities
Privacy and cryptocurrency advocates warn Worldcoin’s utopian biometric technology plan has dystopian implications, potentially leading to privacy problems and undermining the pseudonymous spirit of cryptocurrencies.
They argue that the proposal is a solution in search of a problem.
