World Foundation raised more than $52 million from the sale of digital tokens to mark the third anniversary of the World Network.

World Foundation raised $52.5 million by selling its WLD token, led by Pantera Capital, with participation from institutional investors.
The funding will support the expansion of the World ID network across enterprise platforms, consumer applications, and AI-related use cases as the World Network expands.
The funding comes after Grayscale filed a proposed exchange-traded fund (ETF) for the Worldcoin token, while World Network continues to face scrutiny over its biometric data practices.

World Foundation, the nonprofit organization behind the World Network, raised $52.5 million through a strategic sale of its WLD token as the project celebrates three years since the launch of its mainnet.

Pantera Capital led the funding round, with participation from Bain Capital Crypto, iTechow Holdings, Selini Capital, Susquehanna Crypto, and other investors. According to a post on X on Friday, the digital tokens bought in the sale are subject to a one-year trading lockup period.

This funding will support the expansion of World ID infrastructure, integration operations with third-party platforms, and the development of human identity proof technology.

The global network targets the expansion of global identity
The World Network, formerly known as Worldcoin, was launched in July 2023 and focuses on building a digital identity system that allows users to prove they are unique humans online.

The project uses the World ID protocol, enabling users to prove their humanity through multiple methods, including the project’s Orb devices. This technology has attracted growing attention as generative AI and automated robotics software have expanded, raising concerns about distinguishing real users from accounts and activities generated by AI.

The organization said the next phase will focus on expanding the use of “World ID” to include enterprise platforms, consumer applications, and AI-related use cases. The company added that its network currently includes more than 39 million users worldwide, with its human identity verification technology being integrated into various digital interactions.

World Network highlighted potential use cases including verified attendees at Zoom meetings, matches between real people on Tinder, and event ticketing systems designed to reduce bot activity.

The funding announcement comes shortly after Grayscale filed an S-1 registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on July 20 for a proposed exchange-traded fund for Worldcoin (Worldcoin ETF).

Meanwhile, the expansion of World Network continued alongside regulatory scrutiny of its use of biometric data to verify identity. Authorities in several countries previously raised concerns about the project’s collection and processing of biometric information.

World Foundation said its system is designed to protect users’ privacy, and that iris scanning is used to generate credential data rather than storing identification images. The foundation also announced plans to scale the use of the Orb platform, with the development of additional verification options, including passport-based credentials. It also plans to continue expanding its World Chain network, its layer-two network on Ethereum (ETH).

WLD is trading at $0.344, down 10% over the past 24 hours at the time of writing this report.