Controversial crypto project backed by OpenAI CEO dips after stunning surge: 'The intersection of AI and crypto'

Worldcoin (WLD), the controversial iris-scanning cryptocurrency project backed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, surged more than 50% to hit $2.03 in September — its highest price in eight months, as TheStreet reported — before dropping back down to around $1.24 a month later, as of Oct. 9.

The price surge followed an announcement that Pennsylvania-based Eightco Holdings would adopt the token as its primary treasury asset.

According to the article in TheStreet, the announcement on Sept. 8 triggered massive trading volumes after Eightco revealed it had raised $250 million through a private placement — with an additional $20 million investment from crypto mining firm BitMine Immersion — specifically to acquire WLD tokens for its balance sheet.

The rally positioned Worldcoin among the industry's biggest weekly winners this year, though questions remain about the sustainability of treasury-driven price movements and the project's controversial biometric data-collection methods.

Worldcoin scans users' irises through basketball-sized Orb devices to verify human identity and has faced regulatory scrutiny in multiple countries over privacy and data-collection practices.

Wall Street analyst Dan Ives, who joined Eightco as chairman, described Worldcoin as "the intersection of AI and crypto" in an interview with CNBC, cited by Benzinga, and called the iris-scanning technology the future standard for separating humans from bots.

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While some digital-asset operations consume significant energy, others utilize more energy-efficient technologies. Worldcoin operates on a blockchain system that processes over 2 million daily transactions, though the environmental impact of manufacturing and operating thousands of Orb devices globally adds complexity to the venture's overall carbon footprint.

On the whole, cryptocurrency's relationship with climate issues remains complex. Energy-intensive crypto mining operations, particularly those using entirely or largely coal-powered or gas-powered electricity, contribute heavily to carbon pollution — pollution that traps heat on the planet. However, many crypto projects now run on more renewable energy resources, with some projects helping to drive demand for new clean energy development.

For consumers, Worldcoin has promised financial inclusion through its proof-of-humanity verification system that uses less energy than bitcoin's proof-of-work, with over 33.5 million users having downloaded the World App as of early September and more than 530,000 new verifications occurring in just one week, according to Coindesk.

Despite promises of privacy protections through cryptographic techniques, regulators in France, the U.K., and other jurisdictions are investigating Worldcoin's biometric data-handling practices, per an article in Time Magazine.