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Sam Altman's Worldcoin suffers a significant blow as Spain halts the tech tycoon's eye-scanning cryptocurrency initiative
Worldcoin, a global cryptocurrency project developed by Sam Altman that involves eye-scanning, has encountered another obstacle as Spain has issued an order to halt its operations. Worldcoin's activities include scanning a user's eye and gathering their biometric information, a practice that multiple countries deem highly risky.
The cryptocurrency initiative of Sam Altman, known as Worldcoin, experienced a significant hurdle this week when Spain intervened to obstruct the eye-scanning crypto due to concerns over the extensive amount of data it could amass.
Sam Altman's digital currency project has been involved in numerous global disputes due to its intention to collect users' private information through a device called the "orb" that scans the eye.
The Spanish privacy watchdog, AEPD, has mandated Worldcoin to instantly stop gathering personal data within the nation and to halt the use of any information it has previously collected.
It is anticipated that the AEPD will soon declare this "preventive step". They will also provide Worldcoin a 72-hour period to show that they are adhering to the directive, according to a report from The Financial Times.
In the previous year, the AEPD expressed apprehensions about the participation of underage individuals in technology, leading Worldcoin to introduce new age verification methods. Worldcoin, established by Altman in 2019, encourages people worldwide by offering them its own cryptocurrency tokens in return for agreeing to have their eyes scanned by the orb.
These scans are used for identification purposes, with the goal of creating a dependable way to differentiate between humans and machines, especially as the progress of artificial intelligence persists.
The choice made by the Spanish authority signifies yet another hurdle for Altman and his Worldcoin co-founders, Max Novendstern and Alex Blania, who have encountered difficulties globally. Last summer, the start-up, based in San Francisco and Berlin, decided not to launch its cryptocurrency in the United States because of the country's strict enforcement in the digital asset industry.
Worldcoin's digital currency is not accessible in some of the largest cryptocurrency markets globally, such as China and India. Additionally, a few other nations, for instance, Kenya, commanded the project to halt its activities the previous year.
Furthermore, the British Information Commissioner's Office has declared its plan to scrutinize Worldcoin. While the viability of the Worldcoin token has been doubted in some jurisdictions, Spain's latest regulatory action particularly aims at the startup's main goal of creating a method to confirm customers' identities. This is a vital task, Altman says, in a world where differentiating advanced AI from humans presents difficulties.
As criticism increases, Altman has shown openness to the idea that Worldcoin could persist without its own cryptocurrency. Insiders report that Worldcoin has accrued around 4 million users and nearly $250 million in funds from prominent supporters. These supporters include venture capital companies Andreessen Horowitz and Khosla Ventures, internet businessman Reid Hoffman, and Sam Bankman-Fried before his FTX venture fell through.
The project's prominence has caught the attention of the media and resulted in several customer grievances in Spain, especially as lines began to build up at Worldcoin booths in malls that offer cryptocurrency in return for scanning the eye.
In January, the Basque country's data protection agency issued an alert about the use of eye-scanning technology by Worldcoin in a Bilbao shopping center. They stated that it comes under biometric data protection rules and requires a risk evaluation.
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