World, the human-centered financial and identity network, is reportedly a global network of 12,185,058 “real humans.”
According to a blog post by World, more than 1500 Orbs “currently live in the field to verify unique humanness across 23 countries.”
As with any network, its developers claim that World becomes “more useful as more people join,” which is why expansions into Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines are significant.
World is also quietly gaining notable traction in three other Asian countries: Japan, Singapore and South Korea.
In January, Singapore posted its “most monthly verifications ever, over 15,800, to surpass 100,000 total.”
Japan, meanwhile, verified over “100,000 people in 2024 alone.”
And Korea just achieved over “10,000 verifications in the first three weeks of April.”
While each of these countries is seeing an uptick in verifications, the approaches the World team “has employed are unique to the situation on the ground.”
In Korea, a country known for its vibrant cultural legacy, the World team has had success by “recognizing strong family ties and adapting to recent trends.”
These include:
- Making World ID accessible to elderly citizens, who are prone to being left behind in technological advancements
- Partnering with SuperWalk, a move-to-earn application, to tap into the running craze and its communities
- Increasing accessibility of the Orb by exploring new verification locations, including a football stadium visited by families
- Hosting a community meet up and pop up location for individuals to learn more about proof of human
In Japan, long known for its technological and business innovation, World has integrations with:
- Hakuhodo, the country’s second-largest marketing agency, which wants to build a fraud-proof ad network so that it can affordably reach more unique humans—not paid “click farmers”
- SARAH, a foodie app for discovering new restaurants that wants to stop bots from scooping up benefits
- Tokyo BEAST, a new videogame that’s preventing bots from taking all the fun out of the game
- YAY!, a growing SocialFi app of 8 million users that is eager to keep bots off the platform
In Singapore, an urban center and conference hub, World has “leaned into partnerships to make World ID accessible to everyone.”
It has recently:
- Partnered with co-living and hospitality brand Habyt to integrate World verifications into living spaces
- Popped up at Sneaker Con Southeast Asia to verify attendees, many of whom are fed up with limited edition sneakers getting sniped by bots
- Announced a global partnership with Razer to help ensure fair play by prioritizing human gamers in the age of AI
- Moved Orbs to e-commerce collection points where individuals regularly grab packages
To maintain momentum and emphasize World’s “pro-social” nature, they are launching “referral programs that reward both the inviter and invitee.”
And the introduction of new Mini Apps, “including World Chat, is attracting even more World network users looking for a communal experience with other humans.”
Increased verification contributes to a flywheel effect: More verified humans leads to “greater interest from businesses, organizations and residents, who see the good World ID can do and engage with platforms and projects like those mentioned above.”