Worldcoin rebrands to ‘World,’ debuts layer-2 network and new features

Worldcoin was rebranded as World with the launch of the Ethereum layer-2 network World Chain and announced many significant developments.

Worldcoin founder Sam Altman announced rebranding as well as upgrades for iris-scanning Orb devices during his Keynote speech on October 17. The company has already rebranded to “World” and this change can now be seen on its social media platforms and website.

Meanwhile, the new Orb devices are upgraded with Nvidia hardware, making it five times more powerful than its predecessor, while also being smaller in terms of carbon footprint and needing fewer parts.

The company added that the new Globes will soon appear in self-service kiosks, but will initially only be available in select markets. This is expected to accelerate the distribution of proof of human verification around the world.

World is also expanding identity verification beyond Orbs, and users will be able to verify their identity through other means, including a program called World ID Credentials. This adds extra flexibility to the process by allowing users to verify themselves using NFC-enabled government-issued passports.

The company also introduced World App 3.0, which brings new features to the platform. One of the standout additions is the World ID Deep Face feature, which the company claims can detect and block deepfakes. This tool is designed to ensure the authenticity of video content by offering users enhanced security in an age of increasing AI-generated media.

In addition to these innovations, World announced that it will make it easier for users to verify their identities and access World services through the platforms they currently use by integrating with popular applications such as WhatsApp, FaceTime and Zoom.

Launch of World Chain mainnet

The highly anticipated Ethereum layer 2 network, which was first announced in April, went live after the launch event. World Chain is expected to improve efficiency and bring new functionalities to users by integrating World ID, World App and Worldcoin cryptocurrency (WLD).

The network will prioritize the participation of verified human users over bots, giving them access to the block space and offering free gas allocation to further encourage participation.

The new blockchain is already home to some of the best projects in the industry, including Uniswap, Optimism, Alchemy, and Dune.

WLD price tanks

Despite its strong performance in recent weeks, the WLD price has not reacted to the recent announcements and is down 1.4% to $2.20 at the time of writing. However, the token continued its rise of 28.4% last week and gained over 47% in value last month.