Worldcoin spikes 42% on the heels of Sam Altman’s rejoining OpenAI board
The value of Worldcoin (WLD) experienced a sharp jump, soaring by more than 42% following key strategic developments within OpenAI.
Worldcoin faced a sharp downturn in early March, along with a broader artificial intelligence (AI crypto) coin crash. Since then, the burgeoning financial network — co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman — has not only recuperated but also gained impressive ground.
This surge in pricing propelled WLD to its historic peak, breaking past the elusive $10 barrier. Per data from the crypto price tracking website CoinGecko, WLD is currently priced at $10.40, giving it a market capitalization of more than $1.54 billion.
The price jump was accompanied by a 24-hour trading volume of more than $1.78 billion, a 295% increase over the period. Worldcoin also performed well over longer periods, registering a 342% increase in 30 days and 35% over the last seven days.
Analysts have linked the increase to several factors, including the reinstatement of Sam Altman to the OpenAI board after a brief and controversial hiatus.
The decision came alongside a significant enhancement in the board’s composition, with OpenAI welcoming three new members to its board: Sue Desmond-Hellmann, former CEO of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; Nicole Seligman, a seasoned executive from Sony; and Fidji Simo of Instacart fame.
Worldcoin and Nvidia
Market watchers have also credited Worldcoin’s price momentum to the anticipation around the Nvidia 2024 GTC Conference and the potential unveiling of GPT 5, OpenAI’s latest generative AI model.
This new AI model has been touted as blurring the lines between human and machine intelligence, further electrifying the tech space.
Notably, Worldcoin’s surge comes in the face of recent legal challenges in Spain over its data collection practices. Spain took steps to halt the WLD initiative due to its controversial methods of collecting personal data through a device that scans the eyes.
The Spanish data protection authority, the AEPD, issued an order for Worldcoin to stop gathering personal data via these scans and to cease the use of any data already collected.
Announced on March 6, this preventive action required Worldcoin to prove adherence to the order within 72 hours, with AEPD’s director, Mar España MartÃ, underscoring the need for joint efforts within the EU on this matter, emphasizing its impact on citizens across member states.
