7mar
World Chat: Sam Altman’s New Take on Secure Messaging

  • Sam Altman’s World Network launches World Chat, integrating World ID for human verification in digital conversations.
  • Despite regulatory scrutiny, World Network continues expanding, securing a San Francisco waterfront location for future development.

Sam Altman has once again captured the attention of the IT industry with his latest blockchain breakthrough. This time, World Network—the project he leads—is launching World Chat, an instant messaging feature designed to distinguish between real humans and bots.

Altman claims to have discovered the answer if you have ever wondered whether the person you are chatting with on the internet is a real human or simply a clever bot.

How World Chat Distinguishes Real Users from Bots

World Chat is linked to World ID, an iris scanning-based identity system guaranteeing users are actual individuals. When someone messages someone else using World Chat, the other person can instantly find out if they are corresponding with a verified user or not.

The look is not all that different from Apple’s iMessage. Verified user conversations are noted with a blue bubble and a World ID gem icon in the top right corner. Those who have not confirmed can still use this service, however their appearance is a gray bubble devoid of icons.

Not Just Chat, but a New Ecosystem

Altman and his team also started World Build, an incubation program to inspire developers to build mini-apps inside the World ecosystem.

The program is teamed with Friends With Benefits, Alchemy, Bain Crypto Capital, Blockchain Capital, and Variant Fund. Prepared to hasten the expansion of creativity inside this network are hackathons, development retreats, and demo days.

On the other hand, Worldcoin is also growing its partnership with RedStone. According to CNF, this cooperation provides developers with over 1,250 Ethereum-level pricing feeds with security. For DeFi applications, this makes real-time data more reasonably priced and efficient.

GDPR Setback and San Francisco Expansion

A data protection watchdog in Spain told Worldcoin in December 2024 to remove any iris scan data it has gathered since the initiative started. The initiative broke the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the authority discovered, severely undermining Altman’s hopes to create a worldwide identity system.

Under the criticism, Altman has been more open. Apparently, he intended to grow his World company on the San Francisco waterfront in February 2025. Close to a contract to lease 60,000 square feet of space in Building B of Mission Rock, a mixed-use complex co-owned by Tishman Speyer and the San Francisco Giants, the move shows World’s ongoing expansion in the face of political constraints.

Market Volatility Challenges WLD Token

Meanwhile, the price of the WLD token has fluctuated. As of press time, WLD is swapped hands at about $0.9501, down 3.79% over the last 24 hours and 7.46% over the last 7 days. This reflects the volatility of the crypto market that continues to challenge investors and developers of blockchain-based projects.

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Altman is obviously trying to alter human interactions in the digital space via World Chat, World ID, and their development environment. However, will this technology really be the means to separate real humans from bots, or will it only provide still another level of complication?

One thing is certain: World Network is headed forward with a large vision. Like every invention in the realm of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies, only time will tell whether this one will be a passing fad or cause major transformation.