China has become the latest country to warn Worldcoin’s biometric data collection practices. It says this poses a threat to personal privacy and national security.
In its public recommendation, China’s State Department warned the public about the potential risk of data leakage when biometric technology collects, analyzes and stores fingerprint, facial, iris and body shape data.
In particular, the ministry doubled with IRIS scans in a thinly veiled attack on WorldCoin, a blockchain project that rewards users with WLD tokens to volunteer biometric data.
“The publicly reported cases revealed that they issued cryptocurrency tokens, scanned and collected IRIS information from users around the world, transferred data sources, and revealed that they pose threats to the security of personal information and national security,” the ministry said in a WeChat post.
Beyond Iris Scan, the Chinese government warned against LAX security for other biological keys, such as fingerprint scans and systems that hold facial recognition data. Foreign intelligence agency accused the data of stealing and using it to obtain information.
China has issued several new data laws to protect its citizens, and the government has urged its people to comply with these rules to protect its data.
“Biometric identification brings convenience to our lives, but we should place great importance on its security and be careful when providing personal biometric information to raise awareness of protection and eliminate the risk of leaks at source,” the ministry warned.
Scan Now, Regret: WorldCoin’s never-ending global backlash
China joined other countries such as Spain, Germany and South Korea to launch probes in World Coin’s data collection practices.
Others took it a step further and stopped the project altogether. In August 2023, Kenya became the first country to suspend the project over data safety concerns, and lawmakers accused it of spying. Worldcoin is extremely popular in East African countries, with thousands of people receiving ice scans and “free” crypto tokens in the first week.
In May 2025, a High Court judge ruled that the World Coin Foundation must delete all data collected in Kenya and suspend the processing, collection or transaction of Kenya biometric data.
Worldcoin has also stopped collecting biometric data for Brazil, France and India. In Brazil, the national data watchdog ruled that providing WLD tokens in exchange for biometric data is a violation of local data protection laws. The project then quietly abandoned the Indian Iris Scan Orb. There, the government is already collecting IRIS scans, fingerprints and photos through the Aadhaar Identity system.
WorldCoin has raised concerns about how data is collected, with some industry leaders describing the model as dystopian. Others have criticized projects targeting developing countries where data protection laws are less severe.
“We have seen ORBs deploy in third-world developing countries where rules on identity and privacy may not be as strong as the European Union or the United States,” commented Santiago Ciri, board member of Human Evidence for Decentralized Identity Project.
OpenLedger, Trust Wallet integrates AI with defi
In other news, the decentralized artificial intelligence (AI) network OpenLedger has announced a new partnership with Trust Wallet, the “first AI-powered wallet interface.”
Source: OpenLedger
Under the partnership, Trust users access OpenLedger’s AI stack in their wallet, from natural language commands to customized on-chain automation.
You can deploy AI agents that make it easier to access the Defi platform, switch between multiple networks, find the cheapest bridge, and simplify the often complex actions. The agent comes with a conversation interface so users can decide on actions such as swaps and take them straight away.
According to OpenLedger, agents analyze the behavior of users and provide personalized recommendations that they remember to request the cheapest routes and airdrops from the users.
Importantly, the decisions and actions taken by AI agents are fully auditable on-chain.
The integration “introduces a new paradigm in which users gain more control through AI. Automation is not a trade-off, it is a tool that provides personalization and accuracy without obscuring what’s going on in the hood,” he said in a blog post in the announcement.
Viewing: Blockchain can revolutionize cybersecurity
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzldq9gncxy title = “youtube video player” frameborder = “0” lock = “accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; clipped-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture” referrerpolicy = “strict-origin-when-cross-origin” approadlscreen = “”>>>
Discover more from Earlybirds Invest
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
