Chinese Ministry of State Security issues a warning regarding Worldcoin

What’s new? Chinese authorities have stated that the practice of a foreign company collecting scans of users’ irises in exchange for cryptocurrency poses a threat to national security. Although the name of the project is not mentioned in the statement, it is likely referring to World (formerly Worldcoin) with its native token WLD.

Material by Weixin

What else is known? According to a statement by the Ministry of State Security on its official WeChat channel, documented cases indicate that the foreign company attracted users with cryptocurrency payments for systematic global data collection.

The authorities warned that the subsequent transfer of this data by the company “poses threats to both individual privacy and national security.”

China has repeatedly warned about the risks associated with cryptocurrencies. In July, the Shenzhen financial regulator issued a warning about fraudulent schemes masquerading as investments in stablecoins and other crypto assets. In addition, crypto transactions have been banned in mainland China since 2021.

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Worldcoin has repeatedly been subject to regulatory scrutiny in countries around the world due to privacy and data protection concerns, often resulting in the project being banned.

Such situations have occurred in Kenya, Brazil, Germany, South Korea, Colombia, Hong Kong, Portugal, and Spain.

In May, Indonesia also suspended World’s operating license following public reports of suspicious activity related to the WLD token and the World ID protocol.

At that time, a representative of the developer Tools for Humanity stated that World had voluntarily suspended its identity verification services in Indonesia and requested clarification on the terms of the relevant licenses.

To join the World, users must scan their iris with an Orb device at the project’s physical offices. After that, the user is assigned a “digital passport” under the World ID protocol and is given WLD as a gift.

WLD ranks 69th in the overall cryptocurrency ranking by market capitalization with $1,74 billion and is trading at $0,9365, losing 9,6% over the week. The decline since the beginning of the year was 55,3%. The maximum value of $11,72 was reached on March 10, 2024.