Worldcoin faces ‘scam’ allegations after extending token lockup by 2 years

Eyeball-scanning human identification project, Worldcoin faces allegations of price manipulation and scam a day after the project delayed unlocking 80% of its native token. 

On July 16, Worldcoin developer Tools for Humanity (TFH) announced changes to its native token unlock schedule. The organization extended the unlock schedule for 80% of Worldcoin ( WLD ) tokens held by its investors and team members.

The tokens were initially set to be unlocked over three years. However, the new update pushes the unlock to over five years, beginning on July 24. With this, WLD tokens will be unlocked progressively in the next four years, concluding in July 2028.

With the extension, fewer tokens will be released into the market immediately, preventing an increase in supply that may lower the price significantly.

A day after the announcement, WLD prices showed a 68% increase in just two days, making it one of the top gainers, according to crypto data tracker CoinGecko. WLD pumped from $1.90 on July 15 to $2.81 on July 16. The token’s price increased further on July 17 to $3.20 before correcting to $3.11.

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ZachXBT calls Worldcoin the “biggest scam”

On July 17, decentralized finance (DeFi) insights account DeFi Squared published a lengthy post on X, alleging that the team behind Worldcoin had engaged in price manipulation and misdirection, which led to unexpected victims. The account wrote:

“[...] the token's daily price moves have been on many occasions influenced by the team as they actively make changes to emissions, market maker contracts, and well timed announcements before unlocks.”

The DeFi insights account also posted that it appears likely, but not proven, that someone from the team "used insider information to front-run buying the news" before it was announced.

Crypto investigator ZachXBT also chimed into the discussion. The blockchain sleuth said that venture capitalists and team members who are complicit in “the biggest scam token of the bull run” and did nothing to prevent it should all feel ashamed.

The online figure also replied to a Worldcoin thread alleging that the project allowed insiders to continue to profit off its “scam.”

Cointelegraph approached Worldcoin for comments but did not get an immediate response.

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