Pantera Capital: Why are we investing in Worldcoin?

This article from Cosmo Jiang, Cody Poh, and Pantera Capital's World: A Mission Critical Identity Solution was compiled, compiled, and rewritten. (Synopsis: Worldcoin (World Network) Arrives in Taiwan!) Scan the iris "real person verification" to register the World ID to receive world coins) (background supplement: Worldcoin has another accident!) In South Korea, 30,000 people were involved in the illegal collection and transfer of iris data, "fined 1.1 billion won") We have been studying how blockchain fits into a world where AI is rapidly gaining popularity, with "proof-of-human" being a prominent field. In a future where AI agents and AI-generated content are becoming increasingly ubiquitous, differentiating between humans and robots will become an urgent need. For many scenarios, we may accept or even prefer to interact with robots. However, in key areas such as advertising, dating, or government services, it is especially important to verify a unique real person's identity. Using permissionless blockchains to verify online "humanity" in a global and censorship-resistant way is undoubtedly one of the best options. World (formerly Worldcoin) is a blockchain protocol that builds a privacy-preserving global identity and financial network through the concept of "human proof". "Human proof" means proving that a person is both human and unique. World scans iris through its biometric device "World Orb", authenticates users as unique real people, and issues a World ID to each user on its blockchain, Worldchain. The technology, developed by Tools For Humanity (TFH), is being rolled out globally. WLD, the native token of the World protocol, is designed as a global internet currency and is used for protocol governance. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, is also a co-founder of World. He founded World to keep humanity unique and central in an internet world filled with AI-driven content. If widely adopted, World will provide a scalable suite and reliable global solution for differentiating real people from AI, while protecting user privacy. This capacity has far-reaching implications, not only to expand economic opportunities, but also to promote democratic processes around the world. Since investing last year, we have had the privilege of meeting Sam Altman, TFH CEO Alex Blania, and team members. World hosted its latest public event on April 30 to provide investors and industry insiders with an in-depth look at its product roadmap and growth strategy. Based on this, we think this is an excellent time to share our investment logic and look ahead to the exciting developments to come. Overview of investment logic We believe that World's "human proof" solution will become critical infrastructure in a future where humans and AI coexist. Our investment logic is mainly based on the following reasons: 1. Human proof as a key tool: With the proliferation of autonomous AI agents and AI-generated content, verifying unique human identities is critical for business and government applications. In extreme situations where AI-driven productivity could replace human labor, governments may need to implement universal basic income (UBI) plans, and "human proof" will become an indispensable tool. 2. Superior verification solutions: World's biometric solutions, combined with blockchain technology, surpass existing government and private authentication systems because they cross jurisdictional boundaries and are censorship resistant. 3. Early signs of growth: Since its inception less than two years ago, the World Protocol has cumulatively certified more than 12 million unique individuals. Worldchain adoption has also shown strong growth, with around 45,000 new wallets added every day. 4. Experienced leadership: World has benefited greatly from the involvement of OpenAI founder Sam Altman. Altman's global reach and credibility is a powerful tool for building trust and facilitating strategic cooperation with international government agencies. World's vision is not only technological innovation, but also a deep reflection on the structure of the future society. At the intersection of AI and blockchain, it may become a key bridge between humans and technology. World ID Use Cases and Potential We believe that "human proof" is critical for many use cases, and World ID may have significant potential in large-scale commercial applications. Especially in the areas of advertising and government services, World ID can bring huge benefits. Given the size of these end markets—advertising is a trillion-dollar market, and government services account for 25% of U.S. GDP—adding even a small amount of value through unique human identity solutions represents a huge growth opportunity for World. In a short period of time, World identified gaming, dating, and social networking as three core use cases, significantly improving the user experience by differentiating between unique humans and robots. The agreement has established partnerships in these areas: Gaming: Razer is partnering with World to launch Razer IDs to verify real player identities and enhance the fairness of competitive gaming. Razer ID will make its debut in the game Tokyo Beast in the second quarter of 2025. Dating space: World recently announced a partnership with Match Group, a global leader in online dating, that allows users to verify their profiles with a World ID. The move aims to reduce bots and fake accounts and improve user security and trust. Social sphere: World launched World Chat in the World app to help verified people connect and communicate securely. World is currently in talks with several large social media platforms. Advertising: Hakuhodo, Japan's second-largest marketing agency, plans to use World ID to build a fraud-proof ad network with the goal of eliminating bot-driven ad fraud. World's Mini App ecosystem plays a key role in unlocking new possibilities and use cases for World ID. Currently, there are more than 300 mini apps on the World App, all of which leverage World ID and World App Wallet to facilitate creative experimentation and proof-of-concept. While the potential for future application scenarios has not yet been fully exploited, early experiments show good promise: Kalshi: A prediction market mini app that allows certified humans to bet on real-world events. With more verified user engagement, the platform's credibility increases, creating a deeper and more diverse marketplace that helps the public better understand popular ideas. Aqua: The Mini App uses World IDs to measure verified human online interactions, ensuring content creators are rewarded based on real user interactions, not bot activity.