Worldcoin to have its own Layer 2 blockchain called World Chain

Sam Altman's proof-of-humanity project Worldcoin, will soon begin utilizing its own Layer 2 blockchain meant to improve efficiencies as it onboards new users.

The new Layer 2, called World Chain, will be secured by Ethereum, according to a statement. Additionally, users who have been verified as human will "enjoy priority blockspace over bots and some free gas," the statement also said.

Officially, Worldcoin Foundation is launching the new Layer 2, although Worldcoin has been primarily developed and promoted by Tools for Humanity.

Altman, CEO of the high-profile artificial intelligence company OpenAI, is co-founder of Tools for Humanity. The Worldcoin project is dedicated to assigning people World IDs after they prove they are human with an iris scan. People who sign up are given cryptocurrency in the form of WLD tokens.

The vision behind the Worldcoin project revolves around the idea that the future health of the internet will require a system that parses human from non-human actors.

World Chain is meant to "increase capacity so new people can continue to join at scale, and existing users can enjoy faster, cheaper, and more reliable transactions," according to a statement. The new Layer 2 should be out this summer, it also said.

Worldcoin has signed up more than 5 million people, according to its website.