Sam Altman-Founded Worldcoin Jumps 30% as IPO Buzz over Altman's OpenAI Spills into Crypto

World Network (formerly Worldcoin) is a global identity and financial network co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. It is best known for its "proof of human" digital ID (World ID) and its biometric scanning device, the Orb. The network functions on World Chain, an Ethereum Layer 2 blockchain, with a total value locked (TVL) of $354mn, according to DeFiLlama. 

WLD is trading at around $0.38 as of 14:23 UTC, up 32% over the past 24 hours after briefly rising above $0.40 earlier in the day, according to CoinGecko data. The rally pushed the token's market capitalization to $1.3bn, while daily trading volume climbed to about $624mn.

WLD also significantly outperformed the broader crypto market during the session. The total cryptocurrency market capitalization was little changed at $2.67tn over the past 24 hours, while Bitcoin and Ethereum both gained around 0.5%, according to CoinGecko data.

Experts say the move highlights how crypto traders are increasingly using tokens tied to popular technology themes as a way to bet on larger trends. Since OpenAI is still a private company, some investors view Worldcoin as an indirect AI trade because Sam Altman helped start both projects.

"Outside of private market perpetuals on Hyperliquid, there isn't really a clean, liquid way for public market investors to speculate on the news," said Christian St. Louis, investment partner and engineer at Ethereal Ventures. "WLD is probably the most obvious liquid proxy, just via the Sam Altman connection."

St. Louis added that crypto is increasingly becoming a way for investors to quickly bet on broader technology themes. "When there’s pent-up demand to bet on an AI story, crypto is where a lot of it gets expressed, often through tokens whose actual link to the AI economy is loose," he said. 

Fundamentals still mixed

St. Louis said that while the latest rally appears to be driven mostly by the OpenAI headline, some underlying factors may also be helping sentiment.

He pointed to an upcoming reduction in World Network's token emissions this summer, which would slow the amount of new supply entering the market. Since a large supply of new tokens has created selling pressure for much of the token's history, lower supply could help support prices.

However, St. Louis added that there are still reasons to be skeptical of World Network's trajectory because some of the network's growth numbers have not improved as much as expected. He pointed to slower growth in verified users through Orb scans and daily app activity.

"The proof-of-personhood thesis is interesting in the emerging agentic internet, but adoption hasn’t inflected yet," St. Louis said. "The supply is improving while the demand is still unproven, and a 30% move in days isn’t really either of those, it’s likely the OpenAI headline."

Risks of mega-IPOs

The move comes a few days after a Wall Street Journal report said OpenAI has been working with bankers at Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley and could file for an IPO in the coming days or weeks.

Interest in OpenAI also comes as investors continue pouring money into AI-related companies and assets more broadly. And OpenAI is not the only company reportedly moving toward a public listing – Elon Musk's SpaceX is also preparing for what could become one of the largest IPOs in history.

Some analysts say these large IPOs could add even more momentum to a market that is already heavily driven by technology and AI. 

Bank of America strategist Michael Hartnett recently warned that large IPOs from companies such as OpenAI and SpaceX could push technology's share of major stock indexes to levels not seen since previous market bubbles.

According to a 22 May report by Bloomberg, Hartnett said strong stock gains, rising interest from retail investors and growing excitement around AI are beginning to look similar to past periods of heavy speculation, including the dot-com boom.

"Strong price action, retail mania, slumping vol ... so bubbly," Hartnett said in a note, according to the Bloomberg report. "Add mega IPOs to AI big boys and market concentration easily surpasses (~48%) bubbles of roaring '20s, Nifty 50 '70s, Japan '80s, TMT '90s."