Tools for Humanity, the developers behind the proof-of-personhood eye-scanning Worldcoin project, is launching the World Chain blockchain later this year, the company said on Wednesday.

Developed using a “superchain” from layer-2 provider Optimism, World Chain is built atop the Ethereum blockchain and will use ETH as its native token. Worldcoin (WLD) can be used to pay gas fees.

“We’re building World Chain because the [Worldcoin] project doesn't anymore fit on Optimism mainnet,” Tiago Sada told Decrypt. The Tools for Humanity head of product, engineering, and design added: “We love the Optimism stack, which is exactly why we're using it as the foundation of World Chain.”

Sada explained that Worldcoin users represent, on average, 44% of the activity on Optimism and, at times, exceed 90%. Over 2 million active users use Worldcoin’s technology every day.

“There's a lot of things that need to happen to improve that, but the first one is just having a dedicated network,” Sada said, adding that the same team who developed Worldcoin for Optimism will be working on and scaling the new World Chain project.

A layer-2 blockchain refers to a network built on top of another, usually larger, blockchain like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana. Layer-2 protocols aim to provide faster transactions than the blockchain atop which they run. Examples of layer-2 protocols include Optimism, the Bitcoin Lightning Network, and Polygon.

Since its launch in 2022, Tools for Humanity’s World ID has drawn over 10 million users in 160 countries. According to the company, over 5 million people have verified their identity using Worldcoin Orbs. The goal of the project is to provide a way to verify that a user is a real human and not an automated bot.

"World Chain is a new blockchain designed for humans," Worldcoin said. "It will be open for everyone, and verified humans will get priority blockspace over bots as well as a gas allowance for casual transactions."

In December, Worldcoin announced an integration with Microsoft’s wildly popular sandbox game Minecraft.

In March, the Worldcoin Foundation made “core components” of the orb technology open source, giving anyone the opportunity to examine the code for eye scanners.

Sada said a common misconception about Worldcoin and its related technologies is that it lacks privacy.

Worldcoin has not been without its controversies, however. Last summer, several countries—including the United Kingdom, Kenya, France, and Germany—opened investigations into Worldcoin over privacy concerns related to its orb technology.

“It’s really counterintuitive [because] Worldcoin and World ID are not just privacy-preserving, but are, in fact, one of the most privacy-preserving systems,” Sada said, acknowledging the trepidation surrounding the Orb and cryptocurrency. “You can sign up completely anonymously, and your data is self-custodial.”

While Worldcoin is only available in certain regions, Sada said World Chain and the associated World app and World ID are open to everyone, no matter where they live.

“World Chain is like another other layer-2,” Sada said. “You can connect with it using a supported wallet and use it like another other L2—the benefits for humans are extra if you happen to use a verified World ID.”

While Worldcoin is down 23.6% for the last seven days, the WLD token is trading at $5.00 per coin, up 4.4% since the World Chain announcement.

Edited by Ryan Ozawa.