Worldcoin (WLD) tokenomics

The Worldcoin (WLD) token is an ERC-20 token initially issued on Ethereum, with a total supply of 10.00 billion WLD. The token's economics are designed to incentivize global adoption through user grants and fund the development and operation of the Worldcoin ecosystem.

Issuance Mechanism

The total supply of WLD is fixed at 10 billion for the first 15 years. After this initial period, an inflation rate of up to 1.50% can be configured via community governance.

WLD tokens exist on both Ethereum (as ERC-20) and Optimism (as ERC-20 equivalent tokens), with distributions to users primarily occurring on the Optimism network.

Allocation Mechanism

The total supply of 10.00 billion WLD is distributed across three main categories: Community, Tools for Humanity (TFH) Investors, and the Initial Development Team (TFH).

Breakdown of Community Allocation (75% of Total Supply)

The 7.50 billion WLD allocated to the community is further broken down for specific purposes:

• User Grants: At least 6.00 billion WLD (60.00% of the total supply, or 80.00% of the Community Reserve) are designated for distribution as user grants to Orb-verified individuals.
• Operational Costs: Approximately 1.00 billion WLD (10.00% of the total supply) are earmarked to fund operational costs, including Orb Operator rewards, market operation support, bug bounty programs, and user engagement initiatives.
• Ecosystem Fund: Approximately 500.00 million WLD (5.00% of the total supply) are set aside for the Ecosystem Fund, which supports Protocol R&D, Orb R&D, ecosystem grants, and Worldcoin Foundation operations.

Usage and Incentive Mechanism

The WLD token serves multiple functions, primarily centered around rewarding participation and enabling future governance:

1. Rewards and Distribution

The core incentive mechanism is the distribution of WLD to participants who verify their unique humanness using the Orb device.

• Orb-Verified Users: Individuals successfully verified by the Orb are entitled to grants:
  • A Welcome Grant of 1.00 WLD immediately after verification.
  • Recurring Grants of 25.00 WLD, claimable within a grant period. These recurring grants are subject to decrease over time or complete phase-out, as configured by governance.
• Orb Operators: Operators, who are independent local businesses responsible for explaining Worldcoin to new users and operating the Orb, are rewarded in WLD for providing verification services. The allocation for Orb Operator rewards comes from the operational costs fund. The incentive model is structured to reward Operators for maximizing their sign-up rate, with short-term contracts allocated via a bidding process to the most efficient Operators.

2. Operational Funding and Ecosystem Growth

WLD is used to fund the operational costs necessary for developing and bootstrapping the Worldcoin ecosystem, including:

• Funding for Bug Bounty Programs (e.g., a program launched with HackerOne offering rewards from $200.00 to $5,000.00).
• Ecosystem grants (e.g., a grants program setting aside 2.00 million WLD for participants).

3. Governance

The WLD token is intended to grant tokenholders governance rights in the future. The project aims to gradually decentralize by forming a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) and establishing community governance. The proposed governance mechanism is described as "one-person-one-vote," where WLD tokenholders, together with each user's unique World ID, will exercise governance rights.

Potential Future Uses

Once community governance is live, potential additional uses for WLD could include:

• Payments within the World App or future World ID-compatible wallets.
• Signaling approval or support for other causes/initiatives by the Worldcoin community.

Locking Mechanism and Unlocking Time

Allocations for the initial development team (TFH) and TFH investors are subject to vesting schedules designed to ensure long-term alignment with the project.

Locking Mechanism Details

• TFH Investors and Initial Development Team (TFH) Allocation: Both the ~1.35 billion WLD allocated to TFH investors and the 0.98 billion WLD allocated to the initial development team are subject to a vesting schedule.
• Initial Lock-up: These allocations are subject to an initial 12-month lock-up period following the token launch or the investor's exercise of their token warrants.
• Vesting Schedule: Following the initial lock-up, the tokens are unlocked daily over a 24-month period (linear daily unlocks).

Recent Lock-up Extension

In a recent development, Tools for Humanity extended the token lock-up period for approximately 80% of early investors and team members. The revised unlocking schedule extends the total vesting period from three years to five years, with tokens now unlocking gradually over the next four years instead of two. This change aims to mitigate immediate supply shocks.

As a result of the linear unlock schedule, Worldcoin releases a steady stream of new supply daily, estimated to be around $12.4 million per day in value.