San Francisco-based lender Divine Research has issued around 30,000 unbacked short-term crypto loans since December, using OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s iris-scanning platform World ID to verify borrowers.

Divine offers loans under $1,000 in the USDC (USDC) stablecoin, mainly to overseas borrowers underserved by traditional finance. It uses World ID to ensure users cannot open multiple accounts after defaulting.

“We’re loaning to average folks like high-school teachers, fruit vendors . . . basically anyone with access to the internet can get access to our funds,” Divine founder Diego Estevez told the Financial Times. “This is microfinance on steroids.”

Interest rates range from 20% to 30%, with a reported first-loan default rate of around 40%. “High interest rates compensate for these losses,” Estevez said, adding that free World tokens issued to borrowers can be “partially” reclaimed.

Related: Fees, collateral give DeFi edge as TradFi eyes crypto loans

Everyday investors can earn by funding high-risk crypto loans

Estevez said Divine’s lenders are everyday individuals seeking solid returns. “Anyone can provide liquidity. We’ve engineered the system such that after accounting for default rates and the [interest] rates on offer, providers will always make a profit.”

Divine is part of a growing group of high-risk crypto lenders capitalizing on renewed market momentum and political tailwinds, including support from former US President Donald Trump.

Another startup, 3Jane, recently raised $5.2 million from Paradigm and offers uncollateralized credit lines on Ethereum. Unlike Divine, 3Jane requires “verifiable proofs” of assets or income, but still no collateral.

3Jane plans to introduce AI agents that follow lending rules automatically, aiming to lower rates while enforcing repayment. Defaulted loans on its platform are sold to US debt collectors.

Other players like Wildcat cater to market makers and trading firms, offering undercollateralized loans with customizable terms. According to Wildcat adviser Evgeny Gaevoy, “In the event of a default, lenders co-ordinate directly among themselves to seek recourse.”

Related: Fintech firms will move to DeFi lending within 3 years

Crypto lending gains traction

Lending remains a small slice of the crypto market but attracts growing attention as institutional players reenter the space. Last week, reports revealed that JPMorgan Chase is looking into crypto-backed loans, planning to lend directly against crypto assets like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH).

However, the shadow of 2022 looms large, when major crypto lenders like Celsius and Genesis collapsed. Celsius’s CEO Alex Mashinsky was sentenced to 12 years for fraud, and Genesis settled a $2 billion lawsuit.

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]]> https://earlybirdsinvest.com/divine-research-issues-unbacked-crypto-loans-using-sam-altmans-world-id/feed/ 0 49942 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/sam-altmans-worldcoin-raises-135-million-wld-token-jumps-15/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/sam-altmans-worldcoin-raises-135-million-wld-token-jumps-15/#respond Fri, 23 May 2025 01:56:44 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/sam-altmans-worldcoin-raises-135-million-wld-token-jumps-15/

Worldcoin’s parent entity, the nonprofit World Foundation, has injected fresh momentum into its biometric-identity project after selling $135 million worth of liquid WLD tokens at spot price to two of its earliest backers, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and Bain Capital Crypto. The direct purchase—explicitly “not a venture round… a direct purchase of non-discounted liquid tokens,” according to the foundation—adds the same amount of WLD to circulating supply and leaves no lock-ups or preferential terms on the table.

Worldcoin Rakes In $135 Million

The sale is meant to bankroll a rapid expansion of Worldcoin’s iris-scanning “Orb” hardware in the United States—still the project’s toughest regulatory theater—and to keep pace with surging demand abroad. “To date, more than 26 million users participate in the World network and more than 12.5 million people have an Orb-verified World ID,” the foundation said in its press release, adding that the capital will help the network become “one of the first self-sustaining protocols.”

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Andreessen Horowitz’s participation is consistent with its early role in the project. The venture firm was a lead investor in Tools for Humanity—the company that incubated Worldcoin—during its 2021 Series A, making it a foundational backer of the ecosystem even before the World Foundation was established.

Market observers were struck by the size and terms of the buy. Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan noted on X that “a16z and Bain just bought $135 m of Worldcoin (WLD) at the current market price … a price that is down 90% over the past 14 months. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen something like that. Intriguing tbh.” When a user suggested the purchase might simply be a “look at this thing that Sam Altman is involved with that’s so cheap,” Hougan replied, “yes, could be.”

Worldcoin casts its “proof-of-personhood” scheme as a necessary counterweight to the acceleration of artificial general intelligence. The foundation insists that identity verification tools “should scale at a similar pace to help prepare humanity for the AGI era,” and says the latest funding will be deployed primarily to manufacture more Orbs, subsidize US city roll-outs, and refine the protocol’s fee model.

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With venture capital titans effectively doubling down at market price—and doing so after a near-90% drawdown—the trade is being interpreted as a high-conviction signal that the biometric-identity narrative may be poised for a second act. Whether that confidence can overcome regulatory headwinds and lingering privacy concerns will define the next chapter for Sam Altman’s most controversial crypto experiment.

WLD Chart Check

A weekly chart of WLD/USDT (Binance) shows price rebounding in a V-bottom manner from the low at $0.57—the 0-Fib anchor in the current retracement grid—and pushing into the cluster of moving averages that have capped every rally since the beginning of the year.

The 20-week EMA ($1.27) is the immediate hurdle; clearing it would expose the 50-week EMA at $1.87 and then the 0.236 Fibonacci retracement at $3.27.The psychologically weighty $5 region around the 0.382 level could come afterwards.

Notably, momentum has brightened: the weekly RSI is curling upwards, while higher volume bars confirm fresh dip-buying interest. Still, the longer-term structure remains decisively bearish so long as price trades beneath the $1.33-$1.41 resistance area.

At press time, WLD traded at $1.337.

Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com

Americans can sign up for a free share of World’s WLD
WLD


$0.9295

The company announced on April 30 that its iris-scanning devices, called orbs, are now active in Atlanta, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, Austin, and San Francisco. While the orbs had been shown at events across the country, full services had not been offered until now.

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Recently, Americans were blocked from claiming WLD tokens due to concerns over regulatory issues. Meanwhile, World had already launched in regions across Europe, South America, Africa, and Asia.

According to the company, more than 12 million people worldwide have created a World ID so far, with around 400,000 joining just in the past week. It announced:

World launches in the USA, at last.

A statement added, “The United States of America stands at the forefront of artificial intelligence innovation. Now, it’s time for the world’s AI hub to embrace the essential counterpart: proof of human”.

World ID is designed as a digital proof of identity based on biometrics. However, the company behind the project, Tools for Humanity, claims that users’ private data remains safe.

According to its founders, Sam Altman and Alex Blania, the data from the iris scan stays on users’ devices and is protected by cryptographic technology. No raw eye images are stored on central servers.

On April 28, OpenAI added new features to its artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot, ChatGPT. What are they? Read the full story.

The controversial crypto project Worldcoin (WLD) has launched its biometric identity verification system and WLD cryptocurrency in the United States, expanding to six major cities.

In a new blog post, Worldcoin says Americans can use their eye scanners to verify their IDs in Atlanta, Nashville, Miami, Los Angeles, Austin and San Francisco.

The project, backed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, uses eye-scanning Orb devices to generate unique digital IDs. Once verified, users receive WLD tokens and a World ID, which can be used for authentication on platforms such as Minecraft, Reddit and Telegram.

The expansion follows scrutiny in several countries, including Spain and Portugal, which have suspended World operations over concerns about biometric data collection and security.

Last year, regulators in Spain ordered the project to stop collecting data after receiving numerous complaints from customers that its data-gathering process was invasive.

Despite regulatory challenges, World has secured partnerships, including a Visa-backed debit card for WLD spending and a trial with Match Group for identity verification on dating apps.

Yesterday, before Worldcoin’s announcement, Coinbase said it was adding WLD to its roadmap.

Following the launch, WLD prices briefly surged but later dropped, trading at just over $1 – a significant decline from its all-time high in March 2024. WLD is worth $1.08 at time of writing, up 20% in the last week.

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Disclaimer: Opinions expressed at The Daily Hodl are not investment advice. Investors should do their due diligence before making any high-risk investments in Bitcoin, cryptocurrency or digital assets. Please be advised that your transfers and trades are at your own risk, and any losses you may incur are your responsibility. The Daily Hodl does not recommend the buying or selling of any cryptocurrencies or digital assets, nor is The Daily Hodl an investment advisor. Please note that The Daily Hodl participates in affiliate marketing.

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