The former head of Y Combinator wants to distribute UBI via cryptocurrency – and is testing an eye scanner that would identify recipients

The former head of Y Combinator wants to distribute UBI via cryptocurrency – and is testing an eye scanner that would identify recipients

A new cryptocurrency aims to distribute wealth to "every single person on earth" with the help of an orb-shaped device that would scan people's irises to identify them, according to a . , the former president of Y Combinator, a seed-money company that helped grow among others, thought of the concept of Worldcoin in 2019 in the hopes of capitalizing on the economic idea of , Bloomberg reported. According to an online job listing, the new cryptocurrency is "free, frictionless and not controlled by anyone." Worldcoin hopes to reach mass adoption by "distributing it to everyone on earth through a novel approach: a dedicated hardware device ensuring both humanness and uniqueness of everybody signing up, while maintaining their privacy and the overall transparency of a permissionless blockchain," the post said. The silver, basketball-sized device would scan peoples' irises to create a personal identifier for the coin and prevent users from defrauding the system, Bloomberg reported, adding that the creators said the image isn't stored. Bloomberg said the device is being tested in various cities with Bitcoin because Worldcoin itself is not yet ready to hit the market. Altman - who is one of three founders and now serves as an