Kenne Michael 
Worldcoin will begin paying its Orb Operators, who are rewarded for scanning people’s eyes, with its native Worldcoin (WLD) token as early as next month, phasing out the USD Coin token.
Orb Operators — “independent ecosystem participants” charged with scanning people’s irises in exchange for WLD tokens — will no longer be compensated in USDC beginning in November, per an Oct. 22 announcement by Worldcoin.
The modification will affect the majority of jurisdictions.
Worldcoin explained that the decision to pay orb operators exclusively in WLD was part of a “transitional phase” following the project’s official launch on Jul. 24.
The Worldcoin Foundation launched a pilot program to pay select operators in WLD tokens on Oct. 10.
“In November 2023, the Worldcoin Foundation expects that the transition process will be completed such that all Operators will receive WLD going forward.”
Worldcoin stated in a blog post that the Worldcoin tokens are presently unavailable to individuals and businesses in the United States and “certain other restricted territories.”
According to data from Worldcoin’s official Dune Analytics dashboard, the WLD token supply has increased from approximately 100 million at launch to about 134 million at the time of publication.
However, 100 million of the approximately 134 million WLD tokens issued to date were distributed as loans to market makers.
In contrast, the remaining 34 million were allocated to Orb operators and new users as “free user grants.”
Five market-making entities received the 100 million WLD loans, which were due to expire on October 24, 2023, according to Worldcoin.
However, Worldcoin announced that it would extend the maturity date of these loans to December 15 with a reduction in the principal amount to 75 million WLD.
“The market makers will return or, alternatively, purchase some or all of the remaining 25 million as part of the agreement,” the announcement stated.
In recent weeks, the price of Worldcoin’s native WLD token has recovered marginally after an extended post-launch decline.
Furthermore, WLD attained its all-time high of $2.65 on July 27 and its all-time low of $0.97 on September 13.
According to data from TradingView, it is currently being traded at $1.64.
