Worldcoin Verifies 200 Million Identities Globally by 2025

Sam Altman, renowned for his leadership at OpenAI, has also made significant strides in the cryptocurrency world through his project, Worldcoin. Worldcoin aims to create a global identity and financial system using blockchain and biometrics, addressing the challenge of proving identity fairly and securely on a worldwide scale.

Born in 1985 in St. Louis, Missouri, Altman developed an early interest in computers, receiving his first computer at age eight and quickly learning to program. He attended the prestigious John Burroughs School and later enrolled at Stanford University to study computer science, although he left before graduating. His time at Stanford exposed him to Silicon Valley’s startup culture, laying the foundation for his future ventures in technology and finance.

Altman’s entry into the cryptocurrency world was driven by a need to distinguish between real humans and AI systems. In 2020, he co-founded Worldcoin, which provides individuals with a unique digital identity and a token share of a global cryptocurrency. The project is based on the concept of proof of personhood, using blockchain to develop a scalable infrastructure. Worldcoin relies on a device called the Orb to scan users’ irises and issue a World ID—a privacy-protected digital identity stored on-chain. Users who complete this process receive WLD tokens, giving them access to the crypto economy.

By 2025, over 200 million people across 120 countries have verified their identity with Worldcoin. The project has gained strong momentum in underserved regions lacking reliable identity or banking systems. In these areas, the World ID is used for aid distribution, online access, and interaction with decentralized apps, becoming a gateway to the digital world for millions of unbanked individuals.

Altman’s net worth in 2025 is estimated at $2 billion, primarily due to his work with Worldcoin and his investments in blockchain-related technologies. Worldcoin is part of the foundation structure, but Altman’s initial impact is still at the center of the initiative. He supports crypto start-ups in privacy, zero-knowledge proofs, and aggregate crypto integrations.

However, Worldcoin has faced criticism from privacy advocates and regulators due to its use of biometric data. Issues include informed consent, misuse of data, and possible surveillance within vulnerable populations. In response, Altman and the Worldcoin Foundation adopted open-source systems, independent audits, and purposeful opt-in provisions to enhance users’ privacy without compromising transparency and security. Despite these challenges, the project continues to develop, adjusting to the needs of data protection legislation in different countries. The distribution of WLD tokens is becoming a technology that humanitarian organizations are considering to benefit aid programs.

Altman views decentralized identity as key to a future where AI might lose the distinction between people and machinery. He sees blockchain as a fundamental layer of digital architecture—one that needs to be open, inclusive, and globally accessible. He stresses the role of crypto in providing financial well-being and online freedom, using Worldcoin to democratize finances and empower people on the Internet.

Worldcoin has been named one of the top identity systems in the decentralized web. Its integration with online services and decentralized apps could make it a foundational layer for the next internet era. As AI gains strength, the World ID could become a secure means of evidencing human presence in the digital world. Altman’s efforts in AI and crypto position him at the heart of this technological convergence. In the long term, he envisions developing systems whereby individuals, rather than organizations, control their identity, data, and wealth. In this vision, blockchain and artificial intelligence are not inventions but facilitators of worldwide equity.

Altman’s journey into crypto is driven by a deep belief in technology’s role in creating global equity. Through Worldcoin, he is attempting to solve one of the most complex challenges of the digital era: proving identity fairly and securely at a worldwide scale. While the project has sparked debate, it continues to gain traction as both a technological solution and a social experiment. Altman’s vision—combining decentralization, privacy, and inclusive economics—positions him as a key architect of the next-generation Internet.