- Grayscale’s SEC filing for a Worldcoin ETF reveals that 100 wallets hold roughly 90% of all circulating WLD tokens.
- The filing acknowledges the project’s dependence on a centralized sequencer, upgrade functionaries, and guidance from the World Foundation.
- WLD is trading near $0.40, down 96% from its March 2024 peak, and governance votes have been mostly non-existent.
Grayscale disclosed in a July 20 SEC filing that the largest 100 wallets hold approximately 90% of all circulating WLD, a centralization risk for co-founder Sam Altman’s “coin for the world.” The filing states this directly, “As of the date of this filing, the largest 100 WLD wallets held approximately 90% of the WLD in circulation.”
These figures starkly contrast with the token’s whitepaper, which outlined a goal tied to eyeball-scanning orbs and token giveaways. The whitepaper forecasted “The majority of humans alive today will claim WLD tokens, which may result in WLD becoming the most widely distributed digital currency.”
Consequently, the filing also acknowledges the project’s dependence on a centralized sequencer, upgrade functionaries, and bridge operators. Governance “remains substantially guided by the World Foundation,” as the token has rarely been used for its intended purpose.
Worldcoin and OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman posted in October 2021 that Worldcoin “will be distributed fairly to as many people as possible.” The filing’s disclaimers warn it’s “reasonably likely, that a small group of early WLD adopters may hold a significant proportion of the WLD that’s been released to date.”
Meanwhile, the project’s 2024 whitepaper promised the WLD token would be used for protocol governance. Yet, as Grayscale notes, governance votes have been mostly non-existent, with the World Foundation still guiding the network.
World Chain’s sequencer is operated on a centralized basis, and upgrade functions sit under “coordinated control by a limited number of participants.” The Orb is also manufactured and distributed principally by Tools for Humanity.
As of publication, WLD was trading near $0.40, 20% lower year-to-date and 96% below its March 2024 peak of $11.74.
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