TechFlow: South Korea's Obsession with Worldcoin — Trading Volume Second Only to Binance, Elderly Joining Iris-Scanning Rush
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TechFlow: South Korea's Obsession with Worldcoin — Trading Volume Second Only to Binance, Elderly Joining Iris-Scanning Rush
In South Korea, approximately 90,000 people downloaded the World App, with around 30,000 completing iris verification.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthor: MORBID-19
Translation: TechFlow
Keyword of the week: Worldcoin
Worldcoin is a project that distributes Worldcoin (WLD) tokens to individuals who prove they are human via iris scanning. Its goal is to ensure a basic income for humans in a future where AI might replace jobs. Created by OpenAI's Sam Altman, the project has gained widespread recognition.
In South Korea, approximately 90,000 people have downloaded the World App, with around 30,000 completing iris verification. However, the project is facing legal challenges in Korea, having been fined over 1.1 billion Korean won (about $800,000) for violating the Personal Information Protection Act.
According to Yonhap News:
The investigation revealed that the Worldcoin Foundation and TFH, which was entrusted with handling personal data, collected personal information—including iris data—without proper legal authorization, and transferred this data overseas without complying with the Personal Information Protection Act.
Notably, the Worldcoin Foundation failed to promptly inform users in Korea about the purposes of data collection and usage, as well as the retention period.
Iris codes constitute sensitive personal information that can identify individuals and cannot be changed, thus requiring separate consent and enhanced security measures—requirements that were not met.
The investigation also confirmed that the Worldcoin Foundation and TFH transferred personal data collected in Korea to foreign countries, including Germany, without notifying users.
Furthermore, the Worldcoin Foundation did not establish procedures for users to request deletion or suspension of iris code processing, while TFH’s age verification process during World App registration was found insufficient, particularly regarding children under 14.
This news is especially significant because South Korea accounts for a large portion of WLD trading volume. As of October 6, Korean exchanges accounted for approximately 16% of total WLD trading volume, with Bithumb handling the majority—ranking second only to Binance in WLD trading volume.
Percentage of WLD trading volume on Korean exchanges
In July, @DefiSquared sharply criticized Worldcoin on Twitter, pointing out WLD’s abnormally high valuation, signs of price manipulation by the project team, and a tokenomics model heavily favoring insiders. He warned that retail investors in Korea could become "unfortunate victims," noting that although only 2.7% of the total WLD supply was in circulation, its fully diluted valuation (FDV) had already reached $30 billion, with about 25% of the circulating supply held on Bithumb.
[...] Many of them may not even read enough English to understand the situation. At the time of writing, nearly 25% of all circulating WLD is stored on Bithumb, and newly unlocked token emissions continue to increase despite upcoming unlocks:
This is not a shitcoin chart
Google Trends also shows that searches for “Worldcoin” (월드코인) in Korean closely mirror WLD’s price movements, indicating Koreans were more likely to buy WLD during its peak. WLD rose to about $12 before experiencing a nearly 90% decline since then.
More troublingly, it wasn’t just crypto-savvy young people drawn to Worldcoin—elderly individuals were also attracted, visiting Orb locations to undergo iris scans and receive WLD tokens. While it’s unclear whether these elderly users purchased WLD, if they did, they likely suffered significant losses.
Orbs are installed at multiple locations across Seoul, especially in food and beverage establishments. Operators of these Orbs receive WLD rewards for each new iris verification. This has led to marketing tactics where venues encourage customers to get scanned for “free tokens.”
Such practices have raised concerns about collecting iris data from uninformed elderly individuals. In March, when Worldcoin reached peak popularity, Korea’s Personal Information Protection Commission launched an investigation due to numerous complaints.
Map of Worldcoin Orb locations in Seoul
While it is theoretically impossible to reconstruct personal biometric data from the iris code generated after an Orb scan, most people cannot fully grasp Worldcoin’s technical safeguards. The act of scanning one’s iris may feel intrusive, contributing to public controversy.
Search interest in “Worldcoin” (35.1%) surpassed the combined total of all other keywords
I’ve noticed an interesting phenomenon: there is extremely high demand for Worldcoin-related content on YouTube. On my channel’s search analytics, the keyword “Worldcoin” accounts for about 35% of all searches—more than double the second-most-searched term.
A quick YouTube search for Worldcoin reveals many videos predicting price increases and potential positive developments. This isn’t surprising, as YouTube ranks as Korea’s second-largest information source, behind only Naver.
Korea’s ranking of search platforms: Naver, YouTube, Google, Instagram, Namuwiki/Wikipedia, Kakaotalk, Daum, ChatGPT, Facebook, X
Koreans primarily rely on Naver for information searches, followed by YouTube—not Google. While English speakers mainly use Google, Korea has unique communities like “Naver Cafes” that generate vast amounts of information accessible only through Naver.
As a result, many people seeking to invest in cryptocurrencies often encounter misleading information or, in severe cases, fall victim to pyramid schemes. The isolated environment created by the Korean language and Naver not only poses challenges for projects aiming to enter the Korean market but also makes it difficult for Koreans to access accurate information.
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