Worldcoin Rallies on OpenAI Bot Free Social Media Plans

Speculation started spreading that OpenAI could use tools like Apple Face ID or the World Orb. The report coincided with a roughly 40% intraday increase in WLD before the price pulled back. Meanwhile, Hyperliquid’s HYPE token climbed about 60% over two days, triggering more than $20 million in liquidations of short positions. The rally followed reports that a publicly listed digital asset treasury company added HYPE to its balance sheet and came alongside reduced sell pressure after a large staking unlock.

Worldcoin Surges on OpenAI Rumors

Worldcoin surged sharply this week after reports linked the token’s price action to a new social media initiative allegedly being developed by OpenAI. According to a report that was published by Forbes, the artificial intelligence firm is exploring a “humans-only” social media platform that would require users to verify their identity through a form of “proof of personhood,” to reduce bot activity and automated engagement.

The report suggested that the platform is still in its early stages and is being built by a relatively small internal team. Development is said to have started in early 2025, with the goal of creating a clear point of differentiation from existing social media platforms, particularly those struggling with large volumes of automated or bot-generated content. Tech outlet The Verge separately reported that the project is intended to compete directly with X by offering a more authentic, human-verified social experience.

Central to the concept is the idea of identity verification. Sources quoted by Forbes indicated that proof of personhood could be established using Apple’s Face ID technology or the World Orb, which is a biometric device used by the World ecosystem. 

World Orb

The World Orb scans a user’s face and iris to confirm that they are a unique individual, issuing a World ID that can be used across participating services. The biometric approach has attracted some criticism from privacy advocates, but supporters argue it offers a scalable way to distinguish real humans from automated systems online.

The timing of the report coincided with a sharp rally in WLD, which jumped roughly 40% on the day of publication. The token briefly climbed from around $0.52 to $0.63 before retracing some of its gains. At press time, WLD was trading closer to $0.51, according to data from CoinCodex. Despite the short-term spike, Worldcoin has struggled over the past year, falling nearly 70% thanks to the downturn in the crypto market during the second half of 2025.

WLD’s price action over the past 24 hours (Source: CoinCodex)

Details on how the proposed social media platform will integrate with OpenAI’s existing products or with the Worldcoin token is still unclear. However, sources believe that ChatGPT could play a role in helping users generate or enhance content like images and videos. The idea aligns with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s previous public comments criticizing the prevalence of bots on modern social networks, which he has described as making online interactions feel increasingly artificial.

HYPE Rips Higher

In addition to Worldcoin, another crypto is turning quite a few heads. Hyperliquid (HYPE) saw a sharp surge in price on Wednesday, extending a rally that began earlier in the week. HYPE climbed to a high of $34.90 after trading close to $21.80 just two days prior, which was a roughly 60% move in a short time frame. The aggressive upside momentum also triggered more than $20 million in liquidations tied to bearish leveraged positions.

HYPE’s price action over the past week (Source: CoinCodex)

The rally followed reports that a publicly listed company focused on building digital asset reserves added HYPE to its balance sheet. This development coincided with a noticeable reduction in sell pressure after a large staking unlock, which previously weighed on price action. Together, these factors contributed to a huge shift in market sentiment.

Attention also turned to Hyperliquid Strategies, trading under the ticker PURR US, after X user lukecannon727 raised questions about whether the firm redirected token flows away from market maker Flowdesk. Blockchain analysis pointed to the accumulation of roughly 3.6 million HYPE beginning in December of 2025, with associated wallets staking the tokens shortly after receiving them through Anchorage custody solutions. Additional transfers totaling around 460,000 HYPE from OKX and Bybit were also identified and later staked, aligning with patterns attributed to Hyperliquid Strategies’ treasury operations.

Some traders suggested the rally reflected a shift in Hyperliquid’s market position, but on-chain metrics offered limited confirmation. Synthetic perpetual volumes, protocol fees, and total open interest stayed mostly unchanged week over week, with open interest holding near $8.5 billion. While Hyperliquid reported an all-time high in open interest driven by synthetic commodities, claims that its Bitcoin futures liquidity surpassed Binance were viewed as overstated, given Binance’s larger aggregate BTC futures exposure.