Sam Altman's World Foundation has just raised $65 million by massively selling its WLD tokens, at a fractionally reduced price. An operation that comes at the worst time, when the token is hitting historic lows. How far can he still fall?
In brief
- The World Foundation sold approximately 239 million WLD via an OTC sale to four counterparties, at an average price of $0.27 per token.
- WLD briefly touched an all-time low of $0.24, a 97% drop from its March 2024 peak.
- The sale is intended to fund operations, R&D and manufacturing of the project’s biometric “orbs.”
- A massive release of community tokens is planned for July 23, representing 52.5% of the total supply.
A discreet sale, an immediate impact on the price of WLD
The World Foundation made the operation official on Saturday via a message published on The average price is $0.27 per WLD, which corresponds to the issuance of approximately 239 million tokens.
The foundation fully assumes this fundraising: “ This sale funds the project's core operations, R&D, orb manufacturing, ecosystem development, and more. » A classic justification, but one that struggles to dispel the market's questions.
In detail, $25 million in tokens are subject to a six-month lock-up period. The rest was immediately injected into the market, mechanically increasing the selling pressure in an already fragile environment.
The reaction was not long in coming. Upon the announcement, the WLD briefly fell to $0.24, a new low since its launch. The token is now trading around $0.27, with a marginal increase of 0.28% over 24 hours according to CoinMarketCap. A technical jump, far from signaling a real trend reversal.
A project under pressure, on all fronts
The context makes the situation worse. Last May, World raised $135 million at an average price of $1.13 per token, with the support of major players like Andreessen Horowitz and Bain Capital Crypto. Today, the foundation is reselling these same tokens at less than a quarter of this level. The signal is brutal.
At the same time, other factors are clouding the outlook. According to DefiLlama, a massive unlocking of community tokens will take place on July 23. It will concern approximately 52.5% of the total supply, or more than half of the 10 billion units. Such an injection of liquidity risks intensifying selling pressure and further burdening an already fragile market.
On a regulatory level, World accumulates difficulties. Last October, Thai authorities raided an iris recognition center linked to the project, suspecting it of operating without a license in the digital assets sector.
At the same time, other countries have expressed their reservations. Indonesia, Germany, Kenya and Brazil have increased warning signals, particularly regarding the management of biometric data. This succession of tensions reinforces the uncertainty around the project.
A token that has lost 97% since its peak, a foundation that is selling in disaster at a reduced price, and a colossal unlocking approaching: World is clearly going through a critical period. Sam Altman's ambition to build a universal digital identity remains intact on paper, but the markets seem to have delivered their verdict.
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