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Spain hinders progress of Sam Altman's Worldcoin by suspending the tech tycoon's eye-scanning cryptocurrency venture
Worldcoin, Sam Altman's global cryptocurrency initiative that uses eye-scanning, has faced another obstacle as Spain has ordered a halt to its activities. The procedure of Worldcoin involves scanning and collecting user's biometric data, a practice many countries deem to be highly risky.
Sam Altman's digital currency venture, Worldcoin, suffered a significant blow earlier this week when Spain initiated measures to halt the eye-scanning cryptocurrency due to concerns about the extensive data it could gather.
The cryptocurrency project led by Sam Altman has been the center of various global disputes. This is mainly because of its intention to collect private information from users through an eye-scanning device referred to as the "orb."
The AEPD, Spain's data protection watchdog, has mandated Worldcoin to halt the gathering of personal data in the country forthwith and to discontinue the use of any data it has previously collected.
The AEPD is anticipated to declare this "preventive action" shortly. They will also provide Worldcoin with a 72-hour timeframe to show they are adhering to the order, according to a report from The Financial Times.
In the previous year, the AEPD expressed apprehensions about the participation of underage individuals in the technology, which led Worldcoin to establish new age verification methods. Worldcoin, established by Altman in 2019, motivates people worldwide by offering its own cryptocurrency tokens in return for their agreement to have their eyes scanned by the orb.
These scans act as an identification tool, aiming to create a dependable way to differentiate between humans and machines, especially as progress in artificial intelligence persists.
The Spanish authority's ruling is another blow for Altman and his Worldcoin co-founders, Max Novendstern and Alex Blania, who have encountered difficulties globally. Last summer, the startup, based in San Francisco and Berlin, decided not to release its cryptocurrency in the United States because of the country's severe restrictions on the digital asset industry.
Worldcoin's digital currency is still inaccessible in major global cryptocurrency markets, such as China and India. Other nations, such as Kenya, instructed the project to halt its activities the previous year.
Furthermore, the UK's Data Protection Authority has declared its plan to scrutinize Worldcoin. Although some territories have doubted the viability of the Worldcoin token, Spain's latest stringent measures particularly aim at the startup's main goal to create a method to confirm the identity of customers. According to Altman, this is a vital task in a world where it is difficult to differentiate advanced AI from humans.
As the focus on him increases, Altman has shown openness to the idea of Worldcoin operating without its own cryptocurrency. Insiders reveal that Worldcoin has already gained 4 million users, and received around $250 million in financial support from significant investors. These include venture capital companies Andreessen Horowitz and Khosla Ventures, internet businessperson Reid Hoffman, and Sam Bankman-Fried, before his FTX venture failed.
The project's prominence has ignited media curiosity and resulted in several customer grievances in Spain, especially as lines started forming at Worldcoin kiosks in malls where eye scans were being traded for cryptocurrency.
The Basque region's data protection agency cautioned in January about the use of eye-scanning technology by Worldcoin in a Bilbao shopping center. They claimed it is subject to biometric data protection laws and requires a risk evaluation.
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