Worldcoin (WLD) Tokenomics

Issuance Mechanism

The Worldcoin (WLD) token was initially issued as an ERC-20 token on Ethereum, with a fixed total supply of 10.00 billion WLD for the first 15 years. After this initial 15-year period, the token supply can be configured via governance to include an inflation rate of up to 1.50%.

As of March 6, 2024, approximately 164.04 million WLD (about 1.64% of the total token supply) has been bridged to Optimism as ERC-20 equivalent tokens, where user grant distributions primarily occur.

Allocation Mechanism

The total supply of 10.00 billion WLD is allocated across three main groups: the Community Reserve, Tools for Humanity (TFH) Investors, and the TFH Team.

Community Reserve Breakdown

The 7.50 billion WLD allocated to the Community Reserve is further designated for specific purposes:

• User Grants: Worldcoin aims to distribute at least 6.00 billion WLD (60.00% of the total supply, or 80.00% of the Community Reserve) as user grants to Orb-verified individuals.
• Operational Costs: Approximately 1.00 billion WLD (10.00% of the total supply, or 13.33% of the Community Reserve) is earmarked to fund operational costs, including Orb Operator rewards and Bug Bounty Programs.
• Worldcoin Foundation Operational Costs: Approximately 500.00 million WLD (5.00% of the total supply, or 6.66% of the Community Reserve) is specifically earmarked to fund the operational costs of the Worldcoin Foundation, including payments to its staff.

Usage and Incentive Mechanism

The WLD token serves three primary functions: rewards, funding operational costs, and future governance rights. The incentive mechanism is centered around rewarding participation in the Worldcoin ecosystem, particularly through Orb verification.

Rewards for Ecosystem Participants

WLD is distributed as rewards to two main groups:

1. Orb-Verified Users: Individuals who successfully verify their unique identity using the Orb device are entitled to grants:

   • Welcome Grants: An initial grant of 1.00 WLD is received immediately after Orb verification.
   • Recurring Grants: Orb-verified users can continuously claim recurring grants, currently set at 25.00 WLD per grant period, claimable a day after verification. These recurring grants are configured to decrease over time or be phased out completely via governance.
   • The distribution of these user grants occurs solely on Optimism.

2. Orb Operators: These individuals or local businesses are rewarded in WLD for providing the verification services necessary for the protocol.

Operational Funding

WLD is used to fund the operational costs required to develop and bootstrap the Worldcoin ecosystem. This includes funding for Orb Operator rewards and initiatives like the Bug Bounty Program, which was launched on February 16, 2023, with rewards ranging from $200.00 to $5,000.00. The Worldcoin Foundation also launched a grants program on December 6, 2023, setting aside 2.00 million WLD for participants contributing to the protocol.

Future Governance

The WLD token is intended to grant tokenholders governance rights in the future, once community governance is live. Potential future uses could include payments within the World App or other World ID-compatible wallets, or using WLD to signal support for other causes or initiatives.

Locking Mechanism and Unlocking Time

The allocations for both the TFH Investors and the TFH Team are subject to specific vesting schedules designed to ensure long-term alignment with the project.

TFH Investor and TFH Team Allocations

Both the TFH Investor allocation (~1.35 billion WLD) and the TFH Team allocation (~1.15 billion WLD) are subject to the same vesting schedule:

• Lock-up Period: A 12-month lock-up period post-launch.
• Unlocking Schedule: Following the lock-up, the tokens are subject to linear daily unlocks over the subsequent 24 months.

The TFH Investor allocation is specifically subject to this schedule after the investor exercises their token warrants.

Community Reserve Allocation

The Community Reserve, which includes user grants and operational funds, is not subject to the same lock-up schedule as the investor and team allocations, as these tokens are intended for immediate distribution and operational use.

Information regarding a detailed, comprehensive token unlock schedule for all WLD allocations was not available.