Worldcoin Announces Transition to Native Token Payments for Orb Operators

In an overhaul of its remuneration framework, Worldcoin is set to replace USD Coin (USDC) payments to its Orb Operators with its native Worldcoin (WLD) token. Based on an October 22 announcement, this significant change will mostly affect operators across most jurisdictions and is intended to kick in from November 2023.Orb Operators, as "independent ecosystem participants," are involved in scanning people's irises and are compensated with WLD tokens for their efforts. The proposed transition phase is due to the project's official launch on July 24. Moreover, a program to trial payments in WLD tokens for selected operators was initiated on October 10 by the Worldcoin Foundation.Worldcoin tokens, however, remain unavailable to individuals or businesses based in the United States and other "specific restricted territories," as noted in the company's blog post.Data sourced from Worldcoin's official Dune Analytics dashboard reveals an increase in the WLD token supply, growing from about 100 million at launch to roughly 134 million at present. Of these issued tokens, 100 million have been distributed as loans to market makers, with the remaining 34 million allocated to Orb operators and new users via "free user grants."Five market-making entities are reported to have received the mentioned WLD loans set to expire on October 24, 2023. Nonetheless, Worldcoin has decided to continue these loans until December 15, albeit at a reduced number of 75 million WLD."The market makers will return or, alternatively, purchase some or all of the remaining 25 million as part of the agreement," Worldcoin declared in its announcement.The Worldcoin token, WLD, experienced a revival in its price after an extended slump post-launch. Once having reached a peak of $2.65 on July 27, it dipped by 63% to a low of $0.97 on September 13. The current trade price of WLD is pegged at $1.64, as indicated by TradingView data.