World App adds crypto transfers and encrypted chat in major upgrade

World App just made a major update that could fundamentally change how users talk, pay, and prove who they are online.
Summary

• Update adds encrypted chat, in-chat crypto transfers and Mini Apps.
• Virtual accounts expand to new regions with fee-free USDC conversion.
• Earn rewards, merchant payments and World ID tools widen real-world use.

World has rolled out its biggest update yet, turning the World App into a full social, payments, identity and mini-app hub for verified humans.

Announced on Dec. 11, the upgrade is by far one of World’s most aggressive steps in its push towards consumer-focused services.

Chat and payments come together

The new World Chat feature now sits at the center of the experience. It works like a normal messenger, but every conversation is tied to verified human identities through World ID. Messages from verified users show as blue bubbles, and profile photos are checked against the Orb image stored on the user’s device.

This gives users a way to speak and send media in a space that filters out impersonation and synthetic accounts. Payments now function inside the chat window. Users can send or request crypto as easily as sending a text, move money across borders instantly, and even wrap transfers in small animations for gifts.

Group chats can split payments, while Mini Apps load directly inside message threads. This lets people run things like polls, prediction markets, simple games or savings tools without leaving the chat. Everything is end-to-end encrypted, and the app keeps no record of who messages whom or when.

A global wallet with new ways to earn

The update also expands how people move and store money inside the app. Virtual accounts, powered by Bridge, now reach 18 countries including the U.S., Japan, Korea, Singapore and several Latin American markets.

Each user receives a personal account number that can receive salaries or bank transfers, which then convert into USDC for use in the app. Conversions stay fee-free on World’s side, and people can switch between stablecoins and wrapped local currencies such as wMXN or wARS.

The new Earn product gives verified humans access to higher-yield rewards on the first portion of their USDC or WLD balances. Current rates sit above the usual levels found in banks or simple crypto accounts, and World says proof-of-human limits help prevent multi-account farming.

More than 100 tokens are now supported, along with Bitcoin, Ethereum and a tokenized gold asset. The app is also gaining real-world reach.

Users in Argentina can pay at more than one million merchants through QR codes, and a World Card with Apple Pay support is scheduled for early next year. Meanwhile, World ID is adding tools for age checks, verified-human badges and a Tinder integration starting in Japan.

The rollout follows rapid growth across the network despite regulatory scrutiny. A user the app every couple of seconds, and Orb verifications continue to rise as World leans into its idea of a global human layer for identity, payments, and online activity.