With AI on the rise, cryptocurrencies have taken a keen look at the technology as their next marketing strategy. Since the launch of ChatGPT, AI-based tokens have seen some significant gains in 2023.

One such AI token - Worldcoin - has been on a hot streak lately after raising $115 million in funding from Blockchain Capital. The crypto, which is co-led by Sam Altman, is focused on bringing privacy to the blockchain and web3 by scanning and identifying the rises of users’ eyes. 

World Coin and Proof-of-Identity

On the surface, Worldcoin looks like a cryptocurrency straight out of dystopian fan fiction as it uses devices to scan a user’s eyeballs for identifying confirmation. Although this technology is already present in many smartphones, it still conjures up images of sci-fi gone wrong.

However, the team behind Worldcoin believes that the new cryptocurrency will do more than evoke thoughts of Minority Report by introducing the first-of-its-kind proof-of-personhood, a new consensus mechanism that verifies identity and will help reduce the abundance of bots that can be found on popular social media platforms such as Twitter and Reddit where automated scam bots have become a significant problem. 

Led by Sam Altman

At the head of the project is OpenAI founder Sam Altman who has extensive startup experience beyond just OpenAI and ChatGPT. Altman’s presence in the project is to help use his AI expertise alongside the project’s utility to make identity scanning more practical for everyday use, but he also has extensive investment experience as well as being president of Y Combinator. 

Alongside co-founder Alex Blania, the team is continuing to grow with the project and already attracting nearly 2 million users despite negative publicity following the project as some anti-crypto voices question the oddity of scanning eyeballs.

The future of AI in crypto

Like every other industry, cryptocurrency has become no stranger to AI technology. The ability to generate content of any type, as well as AI’s enhanced ability to read through advanced data, is creating significant opportunities for people within web3. 

We’ve already seen numerous projects including GameFi, NFTs, and wallets all begin to adopt the technology and for good reason. AI has the ability to alter how blockchain data is analyzed in such a way that can open up new lines of lending and borrowing that were unavailable before. 

Credit ratings are one example of how AI can use blockchain data by analyzing deep trends in a user’s activity based on the price volatility of associated cryptocurrencies that can then be turned into a rating for taking out a loan. 

Currently, Protocols use a health factor score which liquidates assets if the score hits zero which can be an incredibly stressful system for people and businesses that can't afford the loss. 

Another crypto hype train?

However, the elephant in the room does need to be addressed - is this just more hype? After 2021, the public perception of cryptocurrency was that everything was based on synthetic hype created by influencers and insider trading and things only got worse after 2022’s tumultuous events. 

While Worldcoin may present an interesting method of identifying humans on the internet and has significant funding to back it up, we still haven't seen a majority of cryptocurrencies reach any of the goals they’ve promised and this could follow down that same exact path. Crypto’s reputation has been down for a long time now and scanning eyeballs might not be the utility to turn that around.