Sam Altman has decided to leave OpenAI, what will happen to Worldcoin, which he founded?

Author: DeMan
On November 17, Eastern Time, OpenAI unexpectedly announced a piece of news that sparked widespread attention: the company's CEO, Sam Altman, will be leaving. This decision has caused a stir in the tech community.

Media reports confirmed the news of Sam Altman's departure from OpenAI.

Recent news indicates that the OpenAI board will appoint Emmett Shear as the interim CEO, succeeding founder Sam Altman. Emmett Shear is known as a co-founder of Twitch, having served as its CEO and currently acting as an advisor to Twitch. Undoubtedly, the latter cannot be compared to Sam Altman in terms of personal influence.

The crypto market was the first to be impacted by the news of Sam Altman's departure, with WLD plummeting sharply.

Dramatically, the crypto financial market reacted most sensitively to this news. According to data from OKX, following the announcement of Sam Altman's departure, the cryptocurrency Worldcoin (WLD), which he founded, experienced significant price fluctuations. Initially, WLD's price dropped to 1.92 USDT, with a 24-hour decline of 12.97%. The market seems to express concerns over Altman's decision to leave OpenAI, which is reflected in Worldcoin's price. Subsequently, internal reports from OpenAI suggested that the board might restore Sam Altman's position under pressure from investors, leading to a 10% increase in Worldcoin's price within three hours. However, the fact that Sam Altman is leaving OpenAI has already settled, making the future performance of Worldcoin uncertain, and other AI-related assets such as TAO, CLORE, and PAAL may also be affected.

WLD price trend chart.

To understand the above issues, one might need to review what contributions Sam Altman has made to WLD and what role he plays in it.

The core vision of Worldcoin: creating a fair and inclusive global financial system.

Sam Altman, as an outstanding entrepreneur and visionary investor, has made significant contributions and impacts in the field of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. In addition to founding Worldcoin, he has invested in multiple startups related to cryptocurrency and blockchain. Altman's business landscape not only reflects his passion for cryptocurrency but also reveals his vision for a future utopia driven by artificial intelligence, cryptographic technology, and energy technology.

Worldcoin, a project founded by Sam Altman in 2020, aims to create a fair and inclusive global financial system. According to a report by the McKinsey Global Institute, over 4.4 billion people worldwide lack legitimate means of identity verification. Worldcoin's goal is to address this issue by establishing the largest and most equitable digital identity and currency system globally. It employs a unique method for identity verification—by scanning individuals' iris. The project has successfully scanned millions of people's irises, demonstrating its potential for technological implementation and scalability.

In the early stages of Worldcoin, Sam Altman positioned it as a company focused on "Universal Basic Income" (UBI). He hoped to distribute the immense wealth generated by AI equally to everyone globally through this cryptocurrency project. Specifically, this meant airdropping this "inclusive and open" cryptocurrency to 1 billion people who underwent iris scanning.

However, the development path of Worldcoin has not been smooth. The project has faced significant challenges due to negative news reports and severe fluctuations in cryptocurrency market prices. It has even been forced to suspend operations in at least seven countries. However, just as Worldcoin was facing difficulties, AI technology, especially products like ChatGPT, rapidly developed and gained public acclaim. This provided Worldcoin with new directions and goals for development.

Thus, in March of this year, Altman rebranded Worldcoin's focus to emphasize "identity verification." This strategic shift highlighted the "inherent value" of "people," "equal rights," "privacy protection," and "open collaboration" in the AI era. This new direction not only responded to market and societal concerns but also opened up new possibilities and opportunities for Worldcoin in the cryptocurrency field, laying the foundation for its future development.

Whether Altman will fully commit to the operation and management of WLD after leaving OpenAI is crucial for the project.

On October 24 of this year, Worldcoin, which gained fame in the crypto world due to its biometric technology, reached an important historical moment: the market maker's return of tokens. According to on-chain data estimates, market makers still need to procure up to approximately 10 million WLD from the project or the market. This substantial token movement could significantly impact WLD's market trajectory.

In the early stages of the project, Worldcoin was highly anticipated due to its grand narrative and vision. However, once launched, users and investors discovered issues with its token distribution, leading to widespread skepticism. The total supply of WLD is 10 billion tokens, but the initial circulating supply was only 143 million tokens. Among these tokens, as many as 100 million WLD were loaned to market makers for market circulation. This token distribution strategy has led Worldcoin to face accusations of market manipulation and control.

Sam Altman network image.

Months later, the Worldcoin project faced another critical milestone—the expiration of the market-making agreement. This event could significantly impact the currently lackluster WLD price. At this crucial moment in the project's development, Sam Altman's departure decision has brought new uncertainties to Worldcoin.

As the market-making agreement approaches expiration, market participants and investors are closely watching whether Altman will focus more on Worldcoin and hope he can inject new vitality and direction into the project. In the ever-changing cryptocurrency world, Altman's next move will undoubtedly have a profound impact on Worldcoin's future. With the market's attention and the challenges facing Worldcoin, Altman's decision is not only related to his personal career development but will also influence the entire project's trajectory.

Altman's future direction concerns WLD investors, and the entire industry should continue to pay attention to this.

With Sam Altman's departure from OpenAI and his potential focus on Worldcoin, this cryptocurrency project stands at a new historical crossroads. Altman's decision, whether to return to OpenAI or fully commit to Worldcoin, will have a profound impact on the project's future.

Worldcoin, as a vision project dedicated to creating a fairer and more inclusive global financial system, its ability to overcome current market challenges and achieve its grand goals largely depends on Altman's leadership and strategic choices.

In this rapidly changing cryptocurrency field, the success or failure of Worldcoin is not just a case study in the digital currency market but also an important observation of the future of financial technology and the shifts in the global economic landscape.

As Altman's next decision is about to be revealed, the world is waiting to see whether Worldcoin's path can lead to success or face new challenges.