Vitalik Buterin listed the risks of Worldcoin (WLD)
Date: 2023-07-25 Author: Karina Ziganova Categories: BLOCKCHAIN, IN WORLD
Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin in his blog outlined four risks of Worldcoin, a project for verifying identity through iris scanning
In light of the listing of the Worldcoin token (WLD) on major cryptocurrency exchanges, Buterin commented on Sam Altman's project. According to the founder of Ethereum, the concept of the project is really valuable. However, there are a number of risks to this approach to identity verification.
Privacy Risks
According to Buterin, because the Worldcoin project includes iris scanning, which raises serious privacy concerns. In particular, there is a risk of misuse or leakage of information related to user identification.
"If someone scans your iris, they will be able to check it against the database to determine if you have a World ID. Potentially scanning the iris can provide more information," Buterin said.
Difficulty of attraction
In addition to privacy, Buterin pointed to accessibility issues. Sometimes, users had to physically access Worldcoin, which limits the scope of the project. If this problem is not solved, then there may be an imbalance in the distribution of users of the project.
However, Worldcoin has previously singled out phone number verification as an alternative to a biometric image processing device, Buterin stressed.
Centralization
Another risk of the project was centralization. According to Buterin, the integrity of the design of the Worldcoin hardware device cannot be verified. He added that even if the software layer is decentralized, the Worldcoin Foundation has the potential to implement a backdoor and create fake human identities.
"However, to Worldcoin's credit, they have also committed to decentralization over time," Buterin added.
Security issues
Finally, the security of the Worldcoin system also posed a risk to Buterin. Such examples include hacking a phone, forcing an iris scan for someone else, selling or renting ID cards, and 3D-printed "fake people."
At the same time, he noted that "there is no ideal form of identity verification" to eliminate these risks.
