A cryptocurrency startup co-founded by Sam Altman and based in San Francisco and Berlin has been suspended by Kenyan authorities over security and data privacy concerns.
The suspension comes just over a week since Worldcoin announced its official global launch, and just a couple of days after Reuters reported that German regulators had been probing Worldcoin since late 2022 over its collection of biometric data.
“The government has suspended forthwith activities of Worldcoin and any other entity that may be similarly engaging the people of Kenya until relevant public agencies certify the absence of any risks to the general public,” Interior Secretary Kithure Kindiki said in a statement reported by Bloomberg News.
Legally known as Tools for Humanity, the company offers users a small amount of its proprietary Ethereum-based cryptocurrency, eponymously called Worldcoin, in exchange for giving the company a digital scan of their eyes.
The scan is used to verify users' identities in order to authentic them on the company's platform, which Worldcoin has said could be used to create a global identification and cryptocurrency payments system.
One of its hypothetical use cases is a universal basic income program.
When Worldcoin launched out of stealth in late 2021, the company said it wanted to reach 1 billion users by 2023. Last week, the company said it had more than 2.1 million users across 35 cities around the world and 1,500 of its eyeball scanning "orbs" in use.
Kenya was one of a handful of countries where Worldcoin initially launched in 2021, according to TechCrunch, which reported the suspension earlier on Wednesday. Those early pilots were also launched in France, Chile, Indonesia and Sudan.
In May, Worldcoin raised $115 million in a Series C round that was led by Blockchain Capital and also included Andreessen Horowitz, Bain Capital Crypto and Distributed Global.
That latest round pushed its total funding to more than $500 million but it valuation also dropped to $2.3 billion, according to PitchBook. That's down by nearly $1 billion. Worldcoin declined to confirm its valuation or provide clarification when I asked about its so-called down round in July.
