Ethereum Founder Raises Privacy Concerns Over Sam Altman’s Worldcoin Identity Model

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin raises critical concerns about Worldcoins biometric ID system, highlighting significant privacy risks in the evolving digital identity landscape.

• Worldcoin, backed by Sam Altman, has already verified over 13 million users globally using iris-scanning technology, sparking debate over centralized identity verification methods.
• According to COINOTAG, Buterin warns that consolidating online identities under a single biometric ID could undermine anonymity and freedom of expression on the internet.

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Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has publicly expressed deep reservations about Worldcoin‘s approach to digital identity, which relies on biometric verification through iris scans. While Worldcoin aims to create a universal digital ID by issuing World IDs and WLD tokens, Buterin cautions that this model inherently risks compromising user privacy. The project’s use of “Orbs” to scan irises and link individuals to a persistent identity raises concerns about the potential for mass surveillance and loss of anonymity online. Despite Worldcoins implementation of zero-knowledge proofs (ZK) to safeguard data, Buterin argues that the fundamental architecture—anchored on a single, immutable identity—could erode the ability of users to maintain multiple online personas, a cornerstone of internet privacy and freedom.

Buterin advocates for a shift away from centralized identity verification systems like Worldcoin‘s, proposing instead a decentralized and pluralistic framework. In his view, users should have the flexibility to manage multiple identities across different platforms, verified by diverse institutions rather than a single authority. This approach would preserve privacy and reduce the risks associated with identity consolidation, such as profiling and censorship. Buterin’s stance aligns with broader concerns in the crypto community about balancing security and privacy, especially as governments and corporations increasingly adopt biometric and digital ID technologies.

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