World Coin is set to make a surprise return to Kenya early next year, local media reports have revealed.
The controversial project was launched in the East African country in late July and quickly gained popularity, with more than 300,000 Kenyans taking part in the first week. However, controversy arose over how the data was collected and stored, leading to accusations of espionage.
He was suspended in August by a Kenyan lawmaker.
The project, co-founded by CEO Alex Blania and OpenAI founder Sam Altman, plans to resume operations in Kenya in 2024, local media outlet Citizen Digital reports.
News outlets have revealed that WorldCoin has reached an agreement with regulators for a return in early 2024. Quote “An important source of information among government officials.”
“Operations are expected to resume in early 2024,” said the person, who requested anonymity because the talks have not yet been made public.
“World Coin is working directly with regulators to meet Kenya’s requirements, especially as Parliament considers new regulations. The scholarship will continue and be expanded to locations across the country. ” the source added.
WorldCoin’s popularity in Kenya was primarily tied to the 25 WLD tokens given to those who registered and surrendered their biometric data through an iris-scanning orb. Most of the registrants CoinGeek spoke to knew little about the project or how their data would be stored and used.
However, 25 WLD, which is equivalent to Kshs. As East Africa’s largest economy struggles with high living costs, a weak shilling and state finances, 8,500 ($60) was too good to turn away for many. debt crisis.
One of the controversies surrounding WorldCoin has been why it was allowed to operate for so long after lawmakers quickly cracked down on it within two weeks. A key executive leading the project in Kenya, whom CoinGeek spoke to in May 2022, said it had received the green light from all applicable oversight bodies.
This was corroborated by Sam Sadr, head of government relations at Tools for Humanity, WorldCoin’s parent company. Said Lawmakers announced last September that they were conducting eye scans on a trial basis starting in 2021.
Local executives believe that Kenyan lawmakers pursued World Coin because it was a low-hanging fruit that could exercise legislative power. However, it has been largely ineffective in regulating the digital asset sector.
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