• The World ID project is gearing up to resume its activities in Kenya.

• Blania has announced the launch of WorldCoin World ID 2.0 to curb any issues within the project. 

• The Kenyan authorities halted their operations, fearing data leaks and mishandling.

The Web3 franchise evolved from Bitcoin’s fundamental functioning. Since then, developers, entrepreneurs, and investors have worked together to expound on the nature of decentralization to build an immersive tech world. Today, the industry boasts innovations in digital currency like Stablecoins, Flatcoins, and CBDC.

 The emergence of NFTs brought about digital ownership, allowing governments, medical sectors, and organizations to secure vital information. Lastly, developers have found new ways to integrate blockchain technology with emerging concepts like AI. 

This led to the revolutionary metaverse, a virtual ecosystem that embodies the final vision of Web3. The use of AI and blockchain also inspired Alex Blania, Max Novendestern, and Altcman to create Worldcoin, a leading exchange poised to unite the world under a single global digital currency.

In recent developments, Worldcoin has announced its continued venture within Kenya’s promising digital ecosystem. Despite facing numerous legal hurdles with the nations, it has refused to relinquish its mission to set a foothold in Africa’s crypto ecosystem. Laying the groundwork in Kenya, a top contender for Africa’s crypto hub title will surely put a steady path for its goals.

Worldcoin pioneers for the World ID projects

Despite utilizing different mechanisms and taking different approaches to the crypt market, all altcoins still embody Bitcoin’s core vision: global financial freedom.

For years, other altcoins like Ether, Tamadoge, and Solana have tried utilizing different approaches to dominate the market, such as consensus mechanisms like POH, POB, or POS. WorldCoin took a different turn compared to its peers. 

AI has recently dominated the tech world, with organizations incorporating its functionalities to boost performance. It has taken a similar stride and heavily interacted with AI to establish a globally inclusive identity and financial network owned by most of Humanity. The crypto exchange launched the World ID project to achieve this global directive.

Also, Read World ID 2.0: Worldcoin’s Upgraded Digital Identity Verification System.

According to its whitepaper, the World ID Projects is a strategic plan to create a unique identity for everyone. The project kickstarted in early 2023 as a “fundamental answer to solve proof of personhood in the Age of AI.” 

 It enables easy account verification and only gives access to a downloadable number calculated from your specific ID. According to its official site, the World ID project has acquired at least 3,005,643 people across the globe. Unfortunately, their entry into the African crypto sphere faced several legal hurdles.

WorldCoin refuses to give up on Kenya.

Kenya has one of the friendliest ecosystems in the web3 industry. Its crypto trading volume is among the highest in the continent, and it has recently experienced a wave of blockchain-based startups. These feats have made the region an ample target for organizations intending to dominate the franchise. 

This thinking led Worldcoin to introduce its digital ID verification system within its areas. Unfortunately, the Kenyan government raised concerns about the digital ID firms’ activities and operations.

The Kenyan authorities halted their operations, fearing data leaks and mishandling. According to them, the source of the biometric data collected by its system posed a significant threat to its national security. 

The promise of financial invention had lured thousands of Kenyans to register. About 635,000 Kenyans had downloaded the application and were gearing up to record their information with the World ID projects. Unfortunately, despite Kenya being a pioneer in web3, it still lacks definitive legal frameworks on virtual assets and service providers. 

This prompted prominent entities like Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki to flag its operations, citing several discrepancies in their data privacy policy.

He said, “Citizen data is a sovereignty issue. They harvested data here, operating outside the law. I risk being told I’m standing in the way of commerce. Still, as a security manager, I need to know who is behind any crypto, the source of their investment and who is doing what because if we allow anything that will harm the people of Kenya, I will be asked.”

OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Tools for Humanity’s Alex Blania had no choice but to halt the operation in Kenya until further investigation.

Fortunately, after several months, the World ID project is gearing up to resume its activities in Kenya. According to a source in Citizen Digital, Worldcoin has made necessary preparations to continue its activity in early 2024.

The announcement said, “Worldcoin is working directly with regulators to meet Kenya’s requirements, particularly as the Assembly considers new regulations. Stipends will remain and will expand to locations across the country.”

Also, Read Tools For Humanity CEO speaks on the Worldcoin project in Kenya amid health risk concerns.

Blania has announced the launch of WorldCoin World ID 2.0 to curb any issues within the project. In an interview, he claimed that the new upgrade is part of efforts to solve the bot problems and to ensure personhood on the crypto platforms.

Tools for Humanity will help create a new face biometric verification protocol that enables the re-authentication and recovery of lost World IDs. The protocol will also easily integrate with other platforms and applications while preserving users’ privacy.

Blania has admitted that he was initially sceptical over the success of the iris biometric scans and isn’t surprised it faced such a backlash in Kenya and other countries. Despite this, he believed that the World ID project was one of the fastest crypto projects in the world and had the potential to unify and expand the web3 community into other markets.