Hanoi (VNA) - Indonesian authorities said they have suspended Worldcoin, the eyeball-scanning cryptocurrency project co-founded by OpenAI chief Sam Altman under scrutiny in several countries.
Alexander Sabar, Director General of Digital Space Surveillance at the Indonesian Ministry of Digital and Communications, said the decision to suspend the project was made on May 4, following complaints from the public regarding suspicious activities linked to the platform. The move is to prevent potential risks to the public.
The government will also summon Worldcoin's local operators, PT Terang Bulan Abadi and PT Sandina Abadi Nusantara, to clarify their activities, he said.
Since its launch in 2023, millions of people worldwide have had their iris patterns scanned to create a "World ID", a form of identification that proves they are human and allowing them to conduct transactions.
The project aims to solve one of the main challenges facing the crypto industry that largely relies on pseudonyms to operate, leaving it vulnerable to spam bots and scams.
The data is encrypted and safe but it has run into trouble over concerns about the use of personal data including in Hong Kong (China), Kenya, Spain, and Portugal, according to Worldcoin./.
