Worldcoin Foundation Announces $5 Million Community Grants Program

According to CoinDesk, the Worldcoin Foundation, a non-profit organization supporting the development of the Worldcoin protocol, has announced a $5 million community grants program called 'Wave0.' The grants aim to provide developers with a focus on building resilient technology and more equitable systems on Worldcoin. The foundation will commit $5 million in funding across three grant tracks, made in WLD token, the native token for the Worldcoin protocol, which runs on the Ethereum blockchain. Remco Bloemen, the head of protocol at the Worldcoin Foundation, stated that the grants are not just aimed at developers but also at raising awareness and educating people about the importance of the technology in addressing income inequality, governance, and other existential risks. The grants will be given to projects focusing on research and development efforts, such as the intersection of privacy and biometrics. Other grant recipients could include those who come up with use cases that leverage Worldcoin and World ID. This announcement comes as Sam Altman, the co-founder of Tools for Humanity, the primary developer firm behind Worldcoin, faced controversy with OpenAI. Despite OpenAI's mission, Worldcoin remains committed to decentralization, according to Alex Blania, the co-founder and CEO of Tools for Humanity. Project officials previously stated that Altman's role at Worldcoin was unaffected by the governance upheaval at OpenAI.