On Wednesday, officials from the Worldcoin cryptocurrency project shared some significant news with Parliament.
They revealed that more than 635,000 Kenyan citizens have downloaded the Worldcoin app.
Tools For Humanity (TFH), a global hardware and software company based in Germany, was the primary force behind developing the Worldcoin protocol.
Representatives from TFH were present at the Parliamentary Ad Hoc Committee to answer questions regarding the suspended crypto project’s operations.
Sam Sadle, the Head of Government Relations and Public Policy at TFH, informed the committee that out of the nearly 3 million people who have downloaded the app globally, 635,000 are Kenyan users.
Among these Kenyan users, 345,000 have not undergone iris scanning with the Worldcoin Orb to verify their identities.
This delay in verification occurred after the project’s activities were halted in Kenya on August 2.
Sadle expressed the team’s desire to work with both the government and Kenyan citizens to find a solution and bring the project back to the country, citing the numerous inquiries they’ve received from interested Kenyans.
The decision to suspend the crypto project in Kenya was due to concerns related to data security.
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Although the project was introduced worldwide on June 24 with the aim of establishing a decentralized global currency, it faced privacy issues and doubts about the security of the biodata collected from Kenyan participants.
The distribution of 25 free cryptocurrency tokens to new members after verification, valued at Ksh.8,256 at the time, further raised eyebrows.
Thomas Scott, TFH’s Chief Legal Officer, explained that they had been testing the project in Kenya, Chile, and Portugal for three years before the global launch in June.
When asked why Kenya was chosen, Scott pointed to the country’s high level of tech adoption and the presence of tech talent, political stability, and integrity.
During a previous committee hearing, the Central Bank of Kenya Governor, Kamau Thugge, clarified that the CBK had no role in licensing or approving Worldcoin’s proprietors.
He also stated that the bank had no prior knowledge of Worldcoin’s activities in the country.
However, Worldcoin emphasized that they had been in contact with the Office of the Data Commissioner since April 19, 2022, and they were registered as a data controller rather than a limited company, as indicated on their website.
According to its website, the company has attracted 2,279,884 sign-ups and verifications from users across 34 countries.
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