Vitalik Buterin Criticizes This Altcoin Harshly Due to Privacy Issues

Vitalik Buterin has issued a serious warning regarding the digital identity project World (WLD, previously known as Worldcoin) by Sam Altman. While World, which draws attention with over 13 million "unique user" records, continues to grow in the digital identity space, Buterin stated that such projects could endanger online anonymity. In the article published today, Buterin assessed the potential benefits and harms of digital identity systems using zero-knowledge proofs (ZK), arguing that systems based on the "individual identification" model, such as WLD, could threaten the privacy of internet users. Buterin stated: "In a person-specific identification system, even when wrapped in ZK, we still risk all your online activities being effectively mapped to a single identity," also noting that the removal of anonymity could have serious negative consequences in an environment of increasing digital threats. World is developed by Tools for Humanity, a company founded by Sam Altman and Alex Blania. Users prove they are human by scanning their eyes with devices called "Orbs" and thus receive both a World ID and WLD tokens. The biometric data used in the identity creation process is protected by ZK technology. Buterin acknowledged the privacy benefits that ZK technology brings, but noted that imposing a single identity of the system could be harmful in the long run. Buterin pointed out that similar systems have become popular in areas like the European Union and Taiwan, and this trend is becoming global. Buterin wrote: "On the surface, the increase in digital identities provided by ZK seems to be a significant advantage over bots and fake accounts on social media, online voting, and many other platforms," but he warns that the freedom to manage multiple user emails or social media accounts could be eliminated with these systems. The World project is progressing despite criticism from privacy advocates. World, which launched in the United States, is preparing to release a Visa card and is taking steps to verify users in the pilot program with Tinder in Japan. Despite these developments, Buterin proposed a more pluralistic model: "Rather than single identity systems wrapped in ZK, a polycentric structure should be applied, where identities can be provided in various ways by multiple organizations, platforms, or individuals."