WLD, plummeted 98% from its all-time high... The Altman-Musk lawsuit has once again highlighted the risks

World Network (Worldcoin) Token WLD has fallen 98% from its all-time high. As the ongoing legal dispute between co-founder Sam Altman and Tesla ($TSLA) CEO Elon Musk intensifies, project risks are once again highlighted.

Musk claims that Altman violated his promise to operate OpenAI as a “non-profit organization dedicated to benefiting humanity,” and commercialized it by signing large-scale contracts with companies like Microsoft ($MSFT) and Amazon ($AMZN). The lawsuit aims to target OpenAI’s management, especially leadership changes involving Altman and Greg Brockman.

Jury selection begins, WLD drops nearly 3%

Reportedly, Musk voluntarily withdrew his “fraud” allegations against the company last Friday, but with jury selection starting on Monday, the issue has reignited attention. It is known that only Altman attended court that day. On the same day, WLD’s price fell about 3%.

World Network was previously known as “Worldcoin,” a global identity verification project in which Altman participated through Tools for Humanity. WLD is the core asset supporting this ecosystem, and its price is sensitive to changes in project trust and regulatory environment.

“Iris scanning” and regulatory controversy… also criticized for “collecting biometrics from low-income countries”

World Network uses a device called “Orb” to scan users’ irises and recruits users by paying WLD. The idea is to issue biometric-linked IDs for “human verification,” but issues around personal information, consent procedures, and data usage have attracted supervision and criticism from regulators worldwide.

Recently, well-known on-chain analyst ZachXBT pointed out problems with WLD’s “low float” structure, criticizing it as “similar to the SBF/FTX series.” He claimed that World Network “pays small amounts of WLD to people in low-income countries to obtain their biometric data,” resulting in the formation of a “verification account black market.”

Trading and activity metrics also decline… adding pressure from OpenAI’s growth

On-chain indicators have slowed significantly compared to the 2025 peak. Based on World Chain, daily trading volume dropped from 4.7 million transactions in September last year to about 1.26 million recently, a 73% decrease; daily trading value plummeted from $17.67 million (about 26B KRW, at 1 USD = 1473.60 KRW) to $151k (about 222.5 million KRW), a 99% reduction.

Daily active wallets also fell from a high of 868.9k in 2025 to about 82.7k recently. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reports that OpenAI has also failed to meet its internal goal of 1 billion weekly active ChatGPT users, raising financial concerns that its revenue may not grow quickly enough to cover massive expenditure commitments. Market attention is on whether the lawsuit surrounding Altman could simultaneously boost OpenAI’s IPO plans and increase regulatory risks for World Network.

Summary by TokenPost.ai

🔎 Market interpretation - WLD has plummeted 98% from its all-time high, reflecting risks in “project trust, regulation, tokenomics” that are simultaneously priced in. - The timing coincides with the renewed legal dispute between Musk and Altman (jury selection underway), increasing short-term volatility and confirming the transmission of Altman’s personal risk to World Network. - On-chain metrics (trading volume, trading value, active wallets) sharply decline, signaling weakening demand; poor fundamentals may limit price recovery. 💡 Strategic points - Short-term: Legal developments (main court hearings/judgments/settlements) and regulatory announcements will cause event-driven volatility; setting position sizes and stop-loss levels in advance is crucial. - Mid-term: The “low float” structure may cause significant price shocks during unlocking or issuance; monitor changes in circulating supply, unlocking schedules, and exchange liquidity. - Checklist: (1) Check if World Chain trading volume/trading value recovers (2) Whether active wallets rebound (3) Regulatory issues around personal/biometric data collection in various countries (4) Responses to the black market for verification accounts (policy/technology). 📘 Terminology - Orb: Hardware device used by World Network to scan irises and issue user IDs for “human verification.” - Low float: Refers to a state where the circulating supply is small relative to total issuance, which can cause large price swings from few trades or increased volatility as circulation expands. - Daily active wallets (DAW): The number of unique wallets actively involved in network/on-chain activities (such as transactions) within a day, serving as an indicator of ecosystem demand and usage.

💡 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q. What is the core reason for WLD’s 98% drop from its all-time high?
Due to legal/reputation risks (Altman-Musk dispute), investor sentiment has deteriorated, compounded by ongoing regulatory and ethical controversies surrounding iris-based identity verification. Additionally, on-chain metrics like trading volume, trading value, and active wallets have sharply slowed from their peaks, intensifying concerns over declining demand, which has driven the price down further.

Q. Why does the Altman-Musk lawsuit impact “World Network/Worldcoin”?
Because World Network is a project built with Altman’s involvement through Tools for Humanity, legal risks surrounding Altman and leadership issues could directly affect project trust and regulatory pressure expectations. In fact, on the day the dispute reignited, WLD experienced further declines, showing sensitivity to short-term events.

Q. Why are iris scanning methods criticized, and what should investors focus on?
Biometric data collection faces significant regulatory risks regarding personal information consent, storage, and usage scope, along with ethical and security concerns about data collection from low-income countries and the formation of “verification account black markets.” For investors, it’s important to monitor: (1) Investigations/sanctions by regulators in various countries (2) Changes in data handling policies (3) Whether user activity metrics (trading volume, active wallets) recover (4) Changes in circulating supply (unlocks/issuance).

TP AI Notes: Uses language models based on TokenPost.ai for article summaries. May omit key original content or contain inaccuracies.