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Worldcoin’s World App launched encrypted messaging with integrated crypto payments and virtual bank accounts on Thursday, marking the digital identity platform’s most significant expansion since its 2023 debut.
CEO Alex Blania and co-founder Sam Altman unveiled the features at an event in San Francisco, positioning the app as a ‘super app’ combining secure communication with blockchain-based finance.
The latest World App Updates introduce end-to-end encrypted chat layered with instant crypto transfers — a move industry watchers say places World in direct competition with mainstream payment platforms like Venmo, Cash App and even Telegram.
The app now enables users to send, deposit and withdraw crypto directly inside chat conversations, effectively turning every message window into a mini-banking hub.
The World Wallet now supports USDC, EURC, wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC), Ethereum (ETH) and more than 100 additional crypto tokens.
Developers presenting the upgrade referred to the new build as a “super app,” marking a strategic leap into multifunctional digital services.
“It’s really hard to identify unique people while preserving privacy”, said Sam Altman, in comments shared via Mezha.
World is trying to solve one of the most important problems of the AI era — proving you’re human while keeping your data safe.
To bolster trust, World App’s chat interface now displays blue bubbles for verified humans and gray bubbles for unverified users, with profile images cross-checked against the Orb-captured photo stored locally on each user’s device.
The second major component of the World App Updates is the rollout of virtual bank accounts, a surprising move that signals World’s ambition to bridge traditional finance and crypto rails.
These new accounts allow users to:
Receive salaries directly inside the World App
Make deposits from U.S. bank accounts
Convert deposited funds instantly into cryptocurrency
Move seamlessly between fiat and digital assets
A report on Thursday confirmed: Users can receive their salary directly in the World App, make deposits from bank accounts, after which funds can be converted into cryptocurrency.
This transition places World closer to the neobank sector while maintaining its identity-verification foundation.
In addition to the expanded token list, the World App Updates include access to World Chain native tokens and real-world asset (RWA) products, including tokenized gold.
Users can now buy, hold, swap and trade across the entire selection of more than 100 supported crypto assets.
This expansion underscores World’s broader plan to build a holistic ecosystem centered on identity-verified crypto usage, a move many analysts view as timely amid rising fears of AI-driven impersonation and fraud.
World launched in 2023 with the mission of verifying human identity in an environment increasingly polluted by synthetic personas and AI-generated deepfakes.
Earlier this year, the company pushed its iris-scanning identity project into the U.S., allowing users to generate a unique “IrisCode” in under 30 seconds.
The World App Updates continue this mission by integrating secure communication, financial tools, and blockchain verification into one streamlined platform.
World CEO Alex Blania said Thursday that the upgrade “moves World closer to becoming a trusted digital layer where identity, communication and finance work seamlessly together.”
In its announcement, the company hinted that the app overhaul is only the beginning. The team plans to expand partnerships across payments, fintech, and Web3 infrastructure as it pushes toward mainstream adoption.
With these World App Updates, World is positioning itself as a major contender in the race to merge identity, messaging, and digital finance under a single, privacy-centric framework.
