WLD surges 20%, iris scanning becomes OpenAI's trust savior? The alliance between World and AI giants has great potential for imagination.

OpenAI is actively developing a new social networking application, considering using World’s iris scanning technology for user authentication. Following the news, the WLD token surged over 18% within 24 hours. Sam Altman, who holds dual roles as the leader of both OpenAI and World projects, becomes a key link in this collaboration.
(Background: Is the era of iris verification coming? Reddit will adopt World ID to combat AI fake accounts, and the world coin $WLD soars)
(Additional background: Interview with Tiago Sada, Product Lead of World, on AI era identity verification: partnering with Tinder and Visa to create a “real person network” for billions of users)

Table of Contents

• Fake bots are escalating; OpenAI urgently needs real person verification
• Combining with token economy to benefit everyone from AI prosperity
• Milestones in World’s development
• Next-generation ID verification 4.0

On January 29, the World token WLD skyrocketed over 18% in the past 24 hours, jumping from about $0.46 to around $0.65, with a current market cap of approximately $2.5 billion. The price surge was directly triggered by a Forbes report: OpenAI is developing a new social networking app, considering iris scanning technology similar to World’s to verify user identities, aiming to address the problem of online bots.

According to The Information, Nvidia, Amazon, and Microsoft are discussing investing up to $60 billion in OpenAI, with a new funding round potentially valuing OpenAI at $730 billion.

Fake bots are escalating; OpenAI urgently needs real person verification

OpenAI hopes to implement “proof of personhood” through biometric means to filter out AI-generated fake accounts. The rapid development of AI is creating problems it cannot solve itself, and World is well-positioned to fill this gap. Altman’s dual roles are a crucial link—he is not only the head of OpenAI but also a co-founder of World.

As early as 2020, Altman predicted that AI would blur the lines between humans and machines, leading to a collapse of online trust. OpenAI’s AI models like the GPT series have penetrated social media, recruitment, and finance sectors, but this has also led to misuse: fake accounts spreading false information, AI agents manipulating markets, and even forged resumes on recruitment platforms.

OpenAI needs a reliable “personality filter” to maintain the integrity of its ecosystem; otherwise, its products could face regulatory pressure and user attrition.

OpenAI’s social app is reportedly aimed at creating an “AI-free” network space, but traditional verification methods like CAPTCHAs or phone verification have become ineffective—AI can easily bypass them. World’s Orb provides zero-knowledge proof, allowing users to prove they are the only human without revealing personal information. This technology has been implemented in the World App, covering 15 million users, and expanded into payments and gaming sectors. If OpenAI integrates a similar system, it could directly enhance its application competitiveness.

For example, embedding World ID verification into the ChatGPT interface would allow users to securely perform encrypted payments or identity verification, avoiding AI-generated fake interactions. This could also open new revenue streams for OpenAI: charging verification fees or sharing data infrastructure with World.

Combining with token economy to benefit everyone from AI prosperity

Altman publicly stated that AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) will reshape the global economy, but only if wealth distribution is fair. World’s original design is to distribute “Universal Basic Income” (UBI) via WLD tokens, allowing everyone to benefit from AI prosperity.

OpenAI could embed World’s token economy into its platform to promote user adoption. For example, after iris verification, social network users could receive WLD rewards, which could be used for AI service subscriptions. This creates a closed-loop business model: OpenAI provides AI tools, World handles identity and payments, jointly countering the monopolization by centralized platforms.

On the regulatory front, collaboration between World and OpenAI could also help disperse risks. World has faced privacy investigations in Europe and Asia (such as bans in Spain and Kenya), but partnering with OpenAI could leverage its influence in Washington to push for policy easing. Altman has lobbied the White House to discuss digital identity standards, paving the way for cooperation.

Currently, OpenAI has not disclosed specific details, but insiders suggest the application may incorporate biometric hardware to ensure every user on the platform is a real human.

Of course, critics point out that iris scanning involves privacy risks, especially in the AI era where data could be misused. OpenAI itself faces antitrust scrutiny, and its alliance with World might attract more regulatory attention. However, from a business perspective, this move benefits OpenAI: it can gain from World’s blockchain infrastructure, inject practical value into WLD, and shift the token from speculation to real-world application.

Milestones in World’s development

By 2025, World has shifted from a controversial project to mainstream adoption. In May, World officially launched in the US. In early October, the World Chain mainnet went live; it is a blockchain optimized for human activities, prioritizing user transaction verification. On October 21, World partnered with Mythical Games to integrate Orb technology into gaming economies, allowing users to participate in on-chain economies via iris verification, preventing bots from farming rewards.

Additionally, World has collaborated with platforms like Razer and Tinder to embed World ID into hardware and dating apps, enabling users to verify identities and avoid scams.

Next-generation ID verification 4.0

In January 2026, World released products and technical specifications for the next-generation identity verification protocol.

Its core technology is the OPRF (Oblivious Pseudo-Random Function) node, which generates a “pseudonym” for you when logging into different apps, making it harder to track your identity.

Compared to version 3.0, the new 4.0 is a true “cloud identity account”:

• No fear of loss: supports multi-device login, can recover if the phone is lost.
• More privacy: introduces multi-node (OPRF), making it extremely difficult to track your behavior.
• More flexible: in places without a scanner, you can also verify identity with a passport.

In the future, if a collaboration with OpenAI materializes, World could leap from a side project to a core AI infrastructure.

However, due to the sluggish overall market, weak token demand, and unlocking pressure, the WLD price has fallen about 20 times from its all-time high. Investors should be cautious about risks.