Question 1

What is WLD, and what does holding it represent?

Accepted Answer

WLD is the token of the World network, launched on July 24, 2023; its canonical token contract is an ERC-20 on Ethereum mainnet. It serves a network that combines World ID, anonymous proof that someone is a real person, World Chain, and compatible applications. Holding WLD does not mean owning another person’s World ID or automatically receiving network governance rights. World Foundation currently remains the project’s steward. It describes WLD as a token with potential governance properties and says that how WLD and World ID may participate in governance in the future remains to be decided by a community-governance model. Tipping, purchasing goods, or supporting initiatives are also only potential ecosystem uses, rather than fixed rights already delivered to every holder.

Question 2

How are World ID and WLD related?

Accepted Answer

World ID is an anonymous credential for proving “I am a unique human,” whereas WLD is the network token. They are related, but they are neither the same asset nor the same step. In eligible regions, a user may first obtain a World ID credential usable for claiming, after which compatible applications use zero-knowledge proofs to check eligibility and grant user tokens. The claimant does not need to disclose their identity itself or biometric data to the claim checker. When obtaining Proof of Human through an Orb, the Orb captures eye and face images to verify uniqueness. The images are transferred to the user’s phone and permanently deleted from the Orb; the device then sends anonymized fragments of a uniqueness code to multi-party computation servers. Once verification is complete, the credential is attached to the World ID. Verification establishes unique-human eligibility; it does not promise a fixed amount of WLD at the moment of verification.

Question 3

What does an ordinary user need to claim WLD, and how are the process and amount determined?

Accepted Answer

New users can no longer join a WLD airdrop cycle. From June 1, 2026, World no longer creates or renews airdrop cycles; only eligible users who had registered and claimed their first airdrop before that date, and remain within a valid 12-month cycle, may continue claiming monthly. Users who verify on or after that date are not eligible for WLD airdrops. Regional availability and applicable terms remain prerequisites. For users with a valid cycle, each monthly portion becomes available on the date corresponding to their first World ID verification. Each portion must be claimed within one month after it becomes available or it expires, and no new cycle begins after the cycle ends. Continuing eligibility depends on credentials obtained before June 1, 2026: Proof of Human from in-person Orb verification, or Proof of Attributes from adding a supported NFC passport or national ID. The same user who obtained both credentials before that date may receive a higher total amount of WLD where project rules allow and apply; it is not an either-or choice. Project rules determine the exact amount, and historical examples in an old whitepaper cannot be used to infer the current amount.

Question 4

How is WLD’s initial supply allocated?

Accepted Answer

WLD’s initial maximum supply is 10 billion tokens; not all tokens were freely tradable at launch. The current high-level allocation is 75% to the World Community, 11.1% to the TFH Team, 13.6% to TFH Investors, and 0.3% to the TFH Reserve. World Foundation manages the World Community allocation with further decentralization as its goal. The 75% World Community portion is mainly intended for user tokens, and is also used for network operations and an ecosystem fund. The stated targets—“at least 60% to users, no more than 10% to network operations, and no more than 5% to the ecosystem fund”—are goals rather than an immutable final allocation; actual outcomes may change with network scale, operations, and governance. Team and investor allocations correspond to early development services and financial support and should not be conflated with user tokens.

Question 5

What is the difference between WLD unlocking, release, and circulating supply?

Accepted Answer

“Unlocked supply” is not the same as “circulating supply.” Unlocked supply includes WLD already able to circulate and World Community WLD that has unlocked but remains subject to protocol governance’s decision about when to deploy it to the market. Circulating supply consists of tokens without specific transfer restrictions that are no longer subject to that release discretion. Therefore, an unlock curve for a given period is an upper bound on circulation, not necessarily the quantity actually tradable in the market. The 7.5 billion World Community WLD was minted before launch but unlocks over 15 years: 500 million at launch; 4 billion cumulatively by the end of year 3; 5.75 billion by the end of years 4 through 6; 6.625 billion by the end of years 7 through 9; and 7.5 billion by the end of years 10 through 15. Tokens unlock in equal daily amounts in each interval, but governance determines the pace at which they enter circulation, which the project specifically says depends on network growth. User-claimed WLD is not locked. Team and investor tokens are fully locked for 12 months, then roughly 80% unlocks linearly over 48 months and roughly 20% linearly over 24 months, with almost all unlocking completed by the end of July 2028.

Question 6

Can WLD be issued in additional amounts?

Accepted Answer

Outside the 10 billion-token initial cap, WLD does not increase by default. New tokens can first be produced only from 04:00 UTC on July 24, 2038, after 15 full years from token launch; before then, no address can mint new WLD. Protocol governance will decide whether to enable additional issuance, which annual issuance rate to use, and where newly minted tokens go. The token contract enforces a maximum of 1.5% per year, while the default issuance rate is 0%; therefore, “up to 1.5%” is a cap that governance may enable, not a predetermined annual issuance amount.

Question 7

Why does WLD appear on Ethereum, World Chain, and Optimism?

Accepted Answer

WLD’s canonical ERC-20 contract is deployed on Ethereum mainnet, but claimed user tokens are bridged WLD on World Chain. World Chain is an OP Stack layer-2 network built on Ethereum; tokens can be bridged back to Ethereum through the OP Stack Superbridge when needed. This does not mean a new token unrelated to WLD was issued: the Ethereum mainnet contract remains canonical, while the World Chain form serves layer-2 use. From July 24, 2023 to October 17, 2024, Optimism was the primary venue for WLD access and use; after World Chain launched on October 17, 2024, it became the primary venue, while the older bridged version on Optimism remained. When moving across chains, users should verify the destination network and contract instead of judging the asset form from the ticker alone.

Question 8

Who pays Gas when WLD is used on World Chain?

Accepted Answer

ETH remains World Chain’s native token; WLD is not the chain’s native Gas asset. The launch design also aimed to make it convenient for users to pay fees with WLD. That means WLD can participate in the fee-payment experience, but it does not mean that the network’s base Gas denomination has changed to WLD. Who actually bears fees also depends on the application and transaction path. The official whitepaper says World App users generally do not currently bear Gas for actions such as claims and swaps, as TFH subsidizes the related Gas; however, fees on third-party platforms remain subject to their rules, and World App may require users to pay Gas for certain actions in the future. Thus, “gasless” is a current subsidized arrangement for a particular product, not a permanent feature of all WLD transactions or all wallets.

Question 9

Does WLD currently grant governance rights?

Accepted Answer

As described in the official whitepaper, governance use of WLD is a goal and a matter still to be designed, rather than an established voting right that automatically takes effect through holding. World Foundation currently manages the project and plans to solicit proposals on how WLD and World ID interact in a future governance model, working with community governance projects. World ID enables exploration of governance calculated “per person” rather than only “per token”: one token, one vote measures token holdings, while one person, one vote relies on proof of a unique human. The two mechanisms can be combined, but the specific rules to be used, and whether and how WLD grants rights, remain for future governance to determine. Therefore, verifying a World ID or buying WLD should not be described as already conferring a particular voting qualification.

Question 10

How could World ID’s fee design affect WLD?

Accepted Answer

World ID 4.0 can enforce fee payment at the protocol level, but that does not mean all integrated applications have begun charging fees. The official description presents actual charging as a model “once fees are enabled”: an application is automatically charged a World ID fee when it requests a World ID proof only after fees are enabled for that application. The fee is charged to the application and its settlement wallet, not automatically to a user each time they present a proof. A World ID fee consists of a credential fee and a protocol fee. The credential fee incentivizes the issuer that creates and maintains the credential, while the protocol may set a base fee and add a small premium on top of the credential fee. Once fees are enabled, an application wallet must deposit a protocol-accepted settlement asset in advance; native Web3 applications can predeposit on-chain, while Web2 platforms can use a third-party prepaid service and settle with that provider in fiat. The project says all fees ultimately settle in tokens, but does not state that this has been broadly enabled for every application; it also cannot establish that a fixed WLD charge or burn effect currently exists.

Question 11

Which mechanisms affect WLD’s tradable supply?

Accepted Answer

WLD’s circulating supply is affected by several distinct paths, so “10 billion total” alone is insufficient. Claimed user tokens are not locked, and user claims bring the corresponding tokens into a tradable state. World Community tokens that are unlocked but not yet released by governance may not circulate, while the lockups and linear unlocks of team, investor, and reserve tokens follow another schedule. Accordingly, the number of newly verified people who claim, governance decisions on the pace of World Community releases, and previously locked tokens entering their unlock period can all change conditions for tradable supply. They do not dictate a price outcome: actual market price also depends on buying and selling demand, liquidity, holder behavior, and the trading environment.

Question 12

How do regional restrictions affect WLD claims and use?

Accepted Answer

WLD is not available everywhere or to every entity. The official whitepaper states that New York State residents, individuals or companies located in New York State, entities incorporated there or with a registered agent there, and entities in other restricted areas cannot receive the Worldcoin token; the full scope is governed by the terms applicable at the time. This restriction also affects eligibility assessments for user-token claims. Even if someone holds a recognizable World ID credential, that does not establish that they can necessarily claim or use WLD. Passport/government-ID credentials themselves are also available only in some jurisdictions, so “whether an identity credential can be obtained” and “whether the token is available in that location” should be confirmed separately.

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