The Worldcoin Foundation has announced the forthcoming launch of the World Chain blockchain later this year. The non-profit organization revealed that World Chain will be built on top of the Ethereum blockchain, utilizing a "superchain" provided by Optimism, a layer-2 solution provider. The native token of World Chain will be ETH, and Worldcoin (WLD) can be utilized for paying gas fees.
Tiago Sada, the head of product, engineering, and design for Tools for Humanity, the developer of Worldcoin and an advisor to the foundation, explained that the decision to create World Chain stemmed from the project's growth and its need for a dedicated network. Worldcoin users currently account for a significant portion of activity on Optimism, with over 2 million active users daily. The same team that developed Worldcoin for Optimism will be responsible for scaling the new World Chain project.
Since its introduction in 2022, Tools for Humanity's World ID has attracted over 10 million users across 160 countries. More than 5 million individuals have verified their identities using Worldcoin Orbs, a crucial aspect of the project's objective to establish the authenticity of human users and distinguish them from automated bots.
Worldcoin stated that World Chain is designed specifically for humans, offering an open and inclusive network. Verified humans will be given priority in blockspace allocation over bots, along with a gas allowance for casual transactions.