World Foundation has closed a $52.5 million token sale for its Worldcoin (WLD) project, led by Pantera Capital. On-chain data shows 217.4 million WLD moved to investors, with the Foundation receiving 47.5 million USDC — implying a sale price of roughly $0.2415 per token. The tokens come with a 12-month lockup that runs through July 2027.
The deal details
Pantera Capital's General Partner Cosmo Jiang said the investment is a bet on business demand for Proof of Human technology. That's the core idea behind World Network: users verify they're human via an Orb scan, getting a World ID that can be used across apps without revealing personal data. The Foundation claims more than 39 million people have joined the network, with 18 million completed Orb verifications and 475 million World ID proofs used so far.
Additional investors in the round include Bain Capital Crypto, Eightco Holdings, Selini Capital, and Susquehanna Crypto. Eightco is the largest publicly disclosed institutional holder of WLD, with 283 million tokens in its treasury as of July 8.
Market reaction
WLD's price dropped 10% in the 24 hours following the sale announcement, settling around $0.34. That extends a painful month — the token is down 32.8% over the past 30 days. The timing of the raise isn't great for existing holders worried about dilution, even with the lockup.
One bright spot on the supply side: daily token emissions fell 43% on July 24, from about 5.1 million WLD to 2.9 million. That's a sharp cut that could ease selling pressure, though it's unclear if it's a one-off adjustment or a structural change.
Previous raises and context
This isn't World Foundation's first big raise. In May 2025 it took $135 million from Andreessen Horowitz and Bain Capital Crypto. Then in March 2026 it raised about $65 million in an OTC deal at roughly $0.27 per token. That earlier price was slightly higher than this week's $0.2415, reflecting the broader market downturn for WLD.
The lockup means those tokens won't hit the open market until next July. Whether that's enough to steady the price in the meantime depends on how quickly the network converts its 39 million users into demand for WLD — and whether Proof of Human catches on beyond the crypto native crowd.
