World Raises $65M Through OTC Token Sale as July Unlock Looms
World sold WLD tokens at a discount with partial lockups to fund operations, but a major July unlock and regulatory probes in multiple countries keep pressure on the token.
WorldcoinTL;DR:
- The $65M OTC sale gives World cash for operations without dumping tokens on exchanges.
- Buyers got a discount, and $25M worth is locked for six months—but the July unlock still releases over half the total supply.
- WLD keeps sliding, with support around $0.25–$0.26 and resistance at $0.28–$0.29.
- Institutions are still buying into identity-focused crypto despite the 97% drawdown from peak.
- User growth continues: 18 million verified, 39 million app users, 60,000+ new accounts last week.
World Network Raises $65M Without Hitting the Open Market
The World Foundation—the non-profit behind the biometric identity project formerly called Worldcoin—sold roughly 239 million WLD tokens to four buyers for $65 million. The average price came out to $0.2719 per token. Settlements started March 20, 2026, with the public announcement following on March 28.
By selling over-the-counter rather than on exchanges, World avoided immediate selling pressure on the token. About $25 million of the deal includes a six-month lockup. The rest moved through a multisig wallet that anyone can track on-chain. The foundation didn't name the buyers or provide a valuation.
The money goes toward running the World Network, which uses iris-scanning hardware to verify that users are real humans. The project now has nearly 18 million verified users across 160+ countries.
| Funding Details | | |---------------------|--| | Project | World (formerly Worldcoin) | | What they do | Biometric identity verification + cryptocurrency | | Round type | OTC token sale | | Amount | $65 million | | Price per token | $0.2719 average | | Tokens sold | ~239 million WLD | | Locked portion | $25 million (six months) | | What's missing | Buyer identities, valuation |
Price Dropped 97% From Peak, and a Big Unlock Is Coming
WLD rose 4.39% to $0.2744 right after the news, then settled back around $0.27—still down 13.5% for the week. The token hit $0.24 intraday, which puts it 97% below its March 2024 high of $11.82. Fully diluted valuation sits at $2.74 billion, with 3.1 billion tokens circulating out of 10 billion total.
The bigger issue: on July 23, 2026, about 52.5% of the total supply unlocks. That's a lot of potential selling.
Regulators haven't let up either. Thai authorities raided an iris-scanning location recently. Indonesia, Germany, Kenya, and Brazil have all opened investigations into licensing and how World handles biometric data. The project keeps expanding anyway—1.34 million holders now, with verifications growing week over week.
For context on the discount: World's May 2025 round priced tokens at $1.13 (raising $135M from Andreessen Horowitz, Bain Capital Crypto, and others). Today's $0.27 price represents a 76% drop from that round. Eightco Holdings remains the largest public holder with 277 million tokens.
- Funds cover staffing and day-to-day operations
- Some goes to R&D for system improvements
- Manufacturing more Orb devices (the iris scanners)
- Expanding the network globally
- No detailed breakdown provided
Despite the price collapse, the network keeps growing. World ID has verified close to 18 million unique users. The World App has 39 million users. 948 Orbs are active. Last week alone: 60,000+ new accounts, 16,000+ new verifications.
WLD's market cap is $852 million with unusually high trading volume (35.91% volume-to-market-cap ratio). Technical levels: support at $0.25–$0.26, resistance at $0.28–$0.29, overall trend pointing down.
Sam Altman, Alex Blania, and Max Novendstern founded the project in 2019. Their pitch: use biometrics and crypto to prove you're a real person online. The OTC structure lets them raise money without adding to market selling pressure—at least until those lockups expire.
Bottom line: Investors keep betting on biometric crypto infrastructure even as regulators circle and the token stays beaten down.