Worldcoin – a crypto project by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman – has greatly polarized the Web3 community. At its core, Worldcoin uses Proof-of-Personhood , which is a mechanism that establishes an individual’s humanness and uniqueness. Proof-of-Personhood has never been more important, especially in the age of surveillance when identity – one of our most fundamental human rights – is under threat.
Blockchain expert and CEO of web3 infrastructure firm Toniq Labs, Bob Bodily, for one, said there are numerous safer means for proving you are human, making this process obsolete. While speaking exclusively with, the exec highlighted the many shortcomings of the Worldcoin verification model, including high centralization since users can only be validated using official hardware built by Worldcoin, thereby limiting accessibility.
“Any flaw in such a high-stakes system could lead to catastrophic problems for users if the protocol is compromised in any way.” While Tan expressed his optimism about the project, not many Web3 observers share the same sentiment.Fakhul Miah, Elastos Global Head of Growth, highlighted the lack of transparency on how the collected data will be utilized or who will be granted access to it, which makes it difficult to assess the potential privacy risks of the project.