World Still Not Off the Hook: Thai SEC Raids Iris Scanning Hub Over WLD Token Breach

Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) have raided a Worldcoin-linked iris scanning center in Bangkok, arresting suspects accused of running an unlicensed digital asset ￰2￱ joint operation, announced Friday , is part of Thailand’s growing crackdown on unregulated crypto services amid global scrutiny of Worldcoin’s controversial biometric identity ￰3￱ Worldcoin Crossed the Line in Thailand’s Crypto Crackdown?). The operators were allegedly facilitating token exchanges linked to Worldcoin’s native cryptocurrency, WLD, in violation of licensing ￰4￱ SEC said the arrests were made under Section 26 of the decree, which prohibits the operation of digital asset businesses without a license, with penalties prescribed under Section ￰5￱ law enforcement officials said the move was intended to protect users from potential scams and prevent money laundering through unregulated crypto ￰6￱ the joint press briefing, SEC Deputy Secretary-General Jomkwan Kongsakul said the operation marks a broader effort to tighten oversight of unlicensed digital asset activity.

“This collaboration will enhance the effectiveness of law enforcement in prosecuting and suppressing unlicensed digital asset businesses, while protecting users from a lack of legal protection and mitigating risks of scams and money laundering,” she ￰7￱ raid followed weeks of surveillance by the SEC’s monitoring unit, which has been tracking several unlicensed operators across ￰8￱ agency had previously issued public warnings against exchanging WLD tokens with unlicensed providers and urged the public to verify operator licenses through the official SEC website and its Check First ￰9￱ reiterated that users dealing with unauthorized operators are not covered by legal protection and face high risks of fraud and data ￰10￱ Faces Mounting Global Scrutiny as Thailand Joins Enforcement Wave Worldcoin, now rebranded as World Network , was launched in 2023 by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Alex Blania as a biometric identity verification project that rewards users with WLD tokens for verifying their “humanness” through iris ￰11￱ verification process, carried out using a chrome sphere device known as the Orb, captures iris images to generate a unique digital ID, or World ￰12￱ platform operates over 1,100 Orb devices globally, including more than 100 locations across Thailand.) May 6, 2025 European regulators have also intervened.

Portugal’s data protection commission followed with a 90-day ban , while Germany imposed corrective measures to bring the project in line with EU privacy regulations under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). In Brazil, authorities banned the exchange of biometric data for crypto rewards in early 2024 , ruling that such incentives compromise users’ ability to give free and informed ￰13￱ has ordered Tools for Humanity (TFH), the company behind @Worldcoin , to cease offering crypto in exchange for biometric data. #Brazil #Worldcoin ￰0￱ — ￰14￱ (@cryptonews) January 27, 2025 Also, France , Portugal , Spain , Hong Kong , and South Korea have all launched investigations into the project’s data ￰15￱ Rolls Out New Security and ID Tools—But Can It Regain Confidence?

Worldcoin’s parent company, Tools for Humanity, has responded by developing a new Secure Multi-Party Computation (SMPC) system in 2024 that splits and encrypts iris data across multiple storage ￰16￱ October 2024, the project also unveiled a redesigned version of its Orb device that integrates 5G connectivity and enhanced AI processing powered by NVIDIA’s Jetson ￰17￱ also features 30% fewer parts and a removable SD card for inspection, a change intended to improve transparency and address privacy ￰18￱ reduce reliance on biometric verification, World Network introduced a non-biometric option that allows users to verify identity using passports with NFC, confirming details like nationality and age without sharing personal ￰19￱ company claims the system eliminates the risk of decryption from a single source and says old iris codes are being deleted as part of a privacy upgrade. @worldcoin World ID surpasses 100 million uses across third-party apps despite WLD token down 89% from $11.74 ATH amid mounting global regulatory pressures. #Worldcoin #WLD ￰1￱ — ￰20￱ (@cryptonews) June 26, 2025 Despite growing regulatory resistance, Worldcoin’s global presence continues to ￰21￱ project recently launched its World ID service in the United States and the Philippines ; currently, it has now surpassed 100 million verifications across 160 ￰22￱ World App now counts more than 37 million users, with over 1,000 Orb devices active ￰23￱ Token