The Interior Ministry of Kenya has today, Wednesday, August 2, halted the Worldcoin project. This action gave rise to inquiries regarding the project’s legitimacy and the likely risks related to the project’s digital identification system.
The Worldcoin project was previously launched by Sam Altman, OpenAI CEO, last week. The project requires users to exchange their iris scans for digital identification.
Moreover, in certain countries, the project gives users free cryptocurrencies as a plan to build a new financial network and identity.
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Fast Facts
- Kithure Kindiki, the Minister of Internal Security, said today that the department is investigating the possible risks involved in the Worldcoin project.
- According to Minister Kindiki’s announcement, many data protection, financial, and security agencies in Kenya have started investigating the legality and safety aspects of the Worldcoin operations.
- He further said that; the Kenyan authorities are greatly worried about the Worldcoin project operations. As a result, agencies are now assessing how Worldcoin plans to utilize the data it collects.
- According to Kindiki’s statement, the government will only take action against any person that goes ahead with Worldcoin activities with more elaboration on the project.
- Reports from social media reveal that, as of yesterday, over 350,000 citizens of Kenya have already registered for Worldcoin in exchange for the free crypto tokens valued at about $49.09 (7,000 Kenyan shillings).
- Starting from the inception of Worldcoin, it has been facing scrutiny and debate. Even critics like Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum founder, have expressed worries over this latest project.
- He disclosed that he isn’t comfortable with gathering personal identification data like; iris scans in exchange for digital identifications.
- At the moment, Worldcoin has yet to make a response.
What’s Happening In Crypto Today?
As of this writing, Bitcoin is trading at $29,349.13, with an increase in its market cap by 1.64% and an increase in trading volume by 51.76%.
On the other hand, Ethereum is currently trading at $1,845.85, with an increase in market cap by 0.74% and an increase in trading volume by 21.46%.
- Meanwhile, Tether is trading at $0.9995 with a decrease in market cap by 0.02% and an increase in trading volume by 20.31%.
- The price of BNB at the moment is at $244.61, with an increase in market cap by 0.00% and a decrease in trading volume by 21.15%