World Network’s WLD token is down 98% from its all-time high amid the ongoing legal battle between its co-creator Sam Altman and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
Musk claims that Altman reneged on his promises to turn OpenAI into a “non-profit” that benefits humanity, and instead cashed in with multi-billion dollar deals with the likes of Microsoft and Amazon.
The lawsuit is Musk’s attempt to get rid of the firm’s executive leadership, including Altman and President Greg Brockman, however, he voluntarily dropped fraud charges against the company on Friday.
As jury selection began on Monday, only Altman was present and the price of WLD fell by almost 3%.
The token is the financial asset behind the controversial global ID system, World Network (formerly Worldcoin), which Altman helped to create via his firm Tools for Humanity.
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The network uses a series of orbs to scan users’ retinas in exchange for WLD. It then issues users an ID linked to their biometric data.
However, the firm has been under regulatory scrutiny across the globe and criticised for the way it enlists users. Recently, crypto sleuth ZachXBT called out the firm for the token’s “predatory low float… on par with SBF/FTX companies.”
He claimed, “[World Network] have preyed on people from low income countries for biometric data by giving away small amounts of $WLD tokens,” adding that its human ID system “resulted in a black market for verified accounts.”
World Network’s metrics are falling from 2025 highs
World Network was overly ambitious to begin with, and in 2025, it fell short of 988 million sign-ups for its 2023 Orb verification goal of 1 billion.
The firm used to share these statistics, but they can no longer be found on its site.
It also appears to be losing its main user base, as the trading volume and transactions listed on World Chain begin to dwindle.
- There were 4.7 million daily transactions in September last year; yesterday there were 1.26 million, a 73% decrease.
- Daily trading volume reached 17.67 million in September but it’s since fallen 99% to 151,000 on Monday.
- Its daily active wallets reached a high of 868,900 in 2025, but as of yesterday, had fallen to 82,700.
Altman’s OpenAI is also struggling in the metrics game. Indeed, the Wall Street Journal reports that the firm has failed to hit an internal goal of 1 billion weekly active users on its ChatGPT.
WSJ also reported that, according to its unnamed sources, the firm’s chief financial officer is worried that OpenAI might not be able to grow its revenue in time to cover its hundreds of billions of dollars worth of spending commitments.
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OpenAI recently reshaped its partnership with Microsoft, giving the tech titan exclusive access to OpenAI’s products and IP up until 2023 and not, as previously agreed, until the point at which it creates true artificial general intelligence.
Musk’s lawsuit also demands that OpenAI pay $180 billion in damages to its non-profit parent firm, and if he’s successful in court, he’ll disrupt OpenAI’s plans for its initial public offering later this year.
Musk is also facing his own financial problems; his advertising revenue on X is still declining, at least in the UK, and he’s reportedly been taking out loans from SpaceX to help finance his other ventures.
He recently merged xAI into SpaceX to become one of the most valuable private companies in the world, but its future value is still dependent on Musk’s lofty goal of reaching Mars.
Protos has reached out to Tools for Humanity for comment and will update this piece should we hear anything back.
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Source: https://protos.com/world-networks-wld-down-98-amid-altman-musk-legal-battle/