Worldcoin’s WLD token experienced a sharp 40% increase on Wednesday after the announcement of an extended lockup period for investors and team members.
According to Coingecko data, the price of Worldcoin reached $3.13, marking a significant 45% climb since the previous day. This price point is the highest WLD has seen in a month.
Tools for Humanity (TFH), a major contributor to the initial development of Worldcoin, announced that the unlock schedule for 80% of WLD tokens allocated to investors and team members would be extended from three to five years. In a press release, the company explained:
“These tokens were locked to allow the protocol to mature before these groups would be able to access their token allocation(s).”
The original plan had set the WLD tokens to start unlocking on July 24, 2024, the first anniversary of the Worldcoin protocol launch, with tokens unlocking daily over two years until July 2026. However, the new plan extends this period to four years, with daily unlocks concluding by July 2028.
The extension affects approximately 2 million WLD tokens held by TFH investors and team members, reducing the daily unlock rate by about 40% from the original 3.3 million WLD per day. The Worldcoin Foundation clarified that grants for verified World ID holders remain unaffected by this change.
Currently, over 6 million individuals possess orb-verified World IDs, which allow participation in the Worldcoin network and receipt of WLD tokens. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who co-founded Worldcoin, previously aimed for the company to reach 1 billion users by 2023.
Meanwhile, the Hong Kong government ordered Worldcoin to cease operations within its borders on Wednesday, citing privacy concerns. The administration’s Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (PCPD) has demanded Worldcoin leave Hong Kong and is asking citizens to report any continued operations.
Despite these regulatory challenges, the foundation reported that more than 211 million WLD tokens have been claimed by World ID holders, constituting over 77% of the 275 million WLD in circulation.
