Worldcoin Thrives in Emerging Economies: A Look at Chile

In downtown Santiago, a shiny silver orb beckons passersby outside a metro station. The response? Forming a line, it seems. Worldcoin reports that over 200,000 Chileans have had their retinas scanned by its innovative yet contentious Orbs. For advocates of privacy, this marks a stride towards an impending dystopian future. However, for many, it’s an opportunity to earn some free money.

Carlos Santibañez, a 29-year-old resident of Llanquihue, a small town in southern Chile, shared with Decrypt that he opted for the scan in September 2022, driven by curiosity. At that point, the WLD token held no monetary value. However, since then, he has accumulated over $150 and continues to receive WLD tokens.

Santibañez highlighted a perspective often missed by critics of Worldcoin. “Their data collection is less invasive than many other companies,” he noted. “This realization made me think: ‘At least I’m earning something from this information.’”

He also emphasized the credibility added by the high-profile investors supporting Worldcoin. “Observing the magnitude of Worldcoin,” he remarked, “I didn’t want to miss out.”

Currently, a retina scan yields 25 WLD tokens, valued at approximately $42, as per Coingecko.

In countries like Chile, where the minimum wage is $512, receiving 8% of one’s monthly wage for a simple scan is an enticing proposition.

Worldcoin has witnessed similar success in other emerging economies with comparable economic landscapes to Chile. The company revealed that Argentina, grappling with soaring inflation rates, recorded a signup every nine seconds on a day in August.

In Africa, Kenya experienced extensive queues, with over 350,000 registrations reported by local media. Given the country’s minimum wage barely surpasses $100 per month, the figures are hardly shocking.

However, Kenyan authorities have since prohibited Worldcoin’s operations due to privacy issues.

In Chile, many are engaging with Worldcoin out of sheer curiosity. Javier Santelices, a 25-year-old student, despite being a crypto-skeptic, decided to give it a try. “They were offering free money, so why not?” he pondered.

He concurs with Santibañez about the prevalent data collection by various companies. “This is no different from what is ubiquitously done on the internet,” he asserted.

Despite the substantial registration numbers claimed by Worldcoin, Chile has not witnessed extensive regulatory resistance against the project. The country is renowned for its economic liberty and burgeoning tech industry and leads in AI in the region.

The fact that 1% of the population has registered for Worldcoin has raised eyebrows.

Francisco Díaz, a Chilean anthropologist specializing in DAOs, expressed his astonishment at the public’s paradoxical stance on crypto. “It’s intriguing to see people, who often deem the crypto world a scam, queueing for some ‘free money’,” he observed.

Díaz, an active member of talentDAO, believes the success of Worldcoin in his homeland is “probably due to the economic incentive.” Given the country’s minimum wage, he concluded: “It’s not a trivial sum.”

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