Mind if I scan your eyeball?

Hello, it’s Hannah in San Francisco. Here’s an update on how the Worldcoin crypto project has fared since its token launch. But first…Three [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Hello, it’s Hannah in San Francisco. Here’s an update on how the Worldcoin crypto project has fared since its token launch. But first… Three things you need to know today: • The key takeaways [from Arm’s IPO filing]( • IBM will [sell the Weather Channel]( • Nvidia slipped from its [record stock price]( Testing the orb It’s been an eventful month for Worldcoin since minting its crypto token. The project, co-founded by OpenAI Inc.’s Sam Altman, quickly learned that if you try to scan the eyeballs of every person on earth in exchange for crypto, regulators might have some questions. Scrutiny has come from countries as disparate as Argentina, Kenya and the UK. The project is [under investigation]( in Germany, where the Worldcoin developer Tools for Humanity is based. The crypto industry is getting accustomed to unwanted attention from governments. But it’s happening much more quickly for Worldcoin than it did for, say, Binance or Coinbase or, for that matter, Sam Bankman-Fried’s [FTX](. Worldcoin is unique for a few reasons. One is Altman. As the face of ChatGPT at OpenAI, Altman has [testified]( before US Congress that artificial intelligence needs greater regulation. When I [spoke to him]( ahead of Worldcoin’s token launch, he was passionate about working with policymakers and said the lack of legal clarity around crypto led to the decision to not make its token available in the US. This makes it all the more surprising that the project has faced regulatory setbacks, including allegations that it didn’t [follow necessary procedures]( ahead of its launch and [ignored an order to stop collecting iris scans](. One of the Worldcoin warehouses was [even raided]( in Nairobi, according to local news reports. Worldcoin’s use of biometric data, which is unusual in crypto, raises the stakes for regulators. Multiple agencies expressed safety concerns amid reports of the sale of Worldcoin digital identities, known as World IDs, on [virtual black markets](, the [ability to create]( and profit off of fake IDs, as well as the [theft of credentials]( for operators who sign up new users. The company has said it enhanced security measures following some of these incidents. Worldcoin has faced accusations that its data collection procedures are [exploitative](. People, including those in developing countries, get paid to obtain World IDs, with the current rate set at [25 tokens per iris scan](, which is equivalent to around $35. During a recent visit to the Tools for Humanity office in San Francisco, I declined to have my eyes scanned. The company put on a demonstration for me instead. It didn’t work the first time, but when it did, the scanner, known as an “orb,” was actually quicker than using the Clear facial recognition service at the airport. Supporters of Worldcoin have [argued]( that Clear or iPhone FaceID deserves the same level of scrutiny as Worldcoin. Regulators don’t appear to be buying it. Amid the kerfuffle, the project is growing. More than 2.2 million people have signed up for a World ID, according to the project’s website. Worldcoin plans to distribute 1,500 orbs in more than 35 cities around the world by the end of 2023, which means that one of the devices could be coming soon to a place near you. But as with many crypto projects, the early momentum may be driven by financial speculators looking to make a quick buck. According to the crypto data tracker CoinGecko, the WLD token, currently worth around $1.40, is down 57% from the all-time high it achieved on launch day. —[Hannah Miller](mailto:hmiller129@bloomberg.net) The big story Microsoft’s lawyer had 10 days to save the company’s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. [She secured a big victory](, and Microsoft has one remaining hurdle in the UK. Get fully charged The global market for mobile networks shrank at its [fastest pace in seven years](. A piece of space debris that Europe is monitoring was [hit by another piece of space debris](. SoftBank turned a profit on the first sales of its [Latin American holdings](. Cathie Wood’s Ark bought shares in Adyen after the Dutch [digital payments company’s stock plunged](. AT&T introduced 5G home internet service, finally [catching up to its rivals](. 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