The co-founders of President Trump-backed World Liberty Financial (WLFI)—Zach Witkoff, Zak Folkman, and Chase Herro—met with Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) in Abu Dhabi.
Their conversation centered on developing strategic initiatives to standardize and expand the cryptocurrency industry worldwide.
What Did WLFI Co-Founders and CZ Discuss in Abu Dhabi?
WLFI highlighted the meeting in a post on X (formerly Twitter). The organization stressed that the move marked the start of a broader initiative to drive innovation in the industry. The meeting agenda centered on strategies to accelerate the global adoption of cryptocurrencies.
It also covered the creation of new industry standards. Finally, the participants discussed initiatives to push the crypto sector into its next phase of growth and development.
“The future belongs to the builders, not the bystanders. We’re just getting started,” Witkoff stated.
In a separate post on X, CZ highlighted that he also met with Bilal Bin Saqib, CEO of the Pakistan Crypto Council (PCC), alongside Witkoff. Notably, the meeting comes shortly after WLFI and PCC’s latest collaboration.
“Our goal is to work alongside industry leaders and showcase Pakistan as a global case study in how emerging markets can harness blockchain to create transformative opportunities,” Saqib said.
Zhao also expressed optimism about the meeting. However, he cautioned that traditional media might frame the event negatively.
“I have a feeling the trad media will try to make up some negative story about this. But we keep building,” CZ wrote.
Zhao argued that Bloomberg negatively framed his efforts by emphasizing his past legal issues rather than focusing on his current work.
Meanwhile, the criticism isn’t limited to CZ. World Liberty Financialhas also been the center of substantial scrutiny, given its ties to the President. US senators have raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest. In fact, previous reports emerged about the Trump family possibly acquiring a stake in Binance—claims that CZ strongly refuted.
Despite external scrutiny, the high-profile meeting affirms the involved parties’ commitment to building a more solid and collaborative future for the cryptocurrency sector.
Worldcoin is redefining how digital identity is developed by centering on the human iris as its primary biometric. However, in doing so, Sam Altman’s company, which now goes by simply as World, has drawn scrutiny from individuals and governments alike.
According to Shady El Damaty, CEO of Holonym and expert in zero-knowledge cryptography, the World Network’s centralized infrastructure makes it particularly vulnerable to data leaks and exploitation. Given the project’s global reach, the consequences of such breaches can prove catastrophic.
A Universal Digital Identity
With artificial intelligence continually blurring the lines between humanity and technology, Altman’s most recent project has taken the concept to the next level.
World, an initiative the OpenAI CEO launched in July 2023, has a bold objective: to scan every eye on Earth and forge a universal digital identity for humanity.
At its heart lies the World ID, a privacy-preserving digital identity generated through a unique biometric scan of a user’s iris, referred to as “the Orb.”
“Worldcoin is the very first example of a company… that has the explicit mission of documenting every single person in the world with a cryptographically immutable link between a cryptographic hash of your eye and… your biometrics,” El Damaty told BeInCrypto.
In exchange for this biometric verification, users receive WLD tokens, World’s native cryptocurrency. These tokens serve as both an incentive and a fundamental component of participating in this global network.
The initiative is undoubtedly innovative. However, it’s also tremendously risky.
Why the Iris? Unpacking World Network’s Biometric Choice
Unsurprisingly, World’s launch has been received with skepticism.
While users have generally grown comfortable with biometric authentication, such as fingerprints for passport scans or Face ID to unlock smartphones, the prospect of having one’s eyeballs scanned to create a digital identity has elevated the feeling of living in a simulated reality.
“[World] settled on… the iris, which has enough entropy within it that it’s really difficult to brute force. They could have gone with fingerprints, but they didn’t because these can be very easily modified; they can be burnt off, or you could use different fingerprints. Whereas for eyes, they are very difficult to change,” El Damaty explained.
The reason behind World’s decision to use such a specific biometric is in line with its stated purpose.
As artificial intelligence continues to develop at a rapid pace, this initiative is a way to provide a trust layer for the world post-AI.
Orbs are available in 46 countries. Find one near you, and join the real human network today. pic.twitter.com/5K4aSbvDwT
This mission is often framed as creating “proof of personhood” in an era when distinguishing real humans from AI bots will become increasingly complicated.
“In the future, it might be really difficult to know who you’re interacting with, maybe both in the digital world as well as the physical world as robotics and automation continues to improve,” El Damaty added, noting, “With OpenAI, I think they really quickly realized that the most valuable commodity in the world isn’t going to be a currency or some hard asset, but it’s going to be authenticity.”
Though the cause may seem noble enough, the way World Network has decided to go about it has drawn scrutiny. Part of it stems from a fundamental disagreement on what digital identity should entail, leading to a philosophical divide.
Monolithic vs. Pluralistic Identity Systems
Worldcoin’s “one iris scan belongs to one identity” system embodies a monolithic identity. Experts often criticize such an approach for heightened security risks.
In a recent blog post, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin warned that such a singular, universally linked identity risks online privacy and individual freedom. He expressed concern that even with advanced privacy tools, a one-identity-per-person property brings several security risks.
“That’s the real risk. If someone takes a picture of your eyes, can they use all publicly available information, or maybe even dark web information, to identify who you are and what you’ve done on-chain,” El Damaty told BeInCrypto.
This approach also contrasts with the cypherpunk ethos that birthed Bitcoin, which emphasizes anonymity. Critics argue that World represents a significant philosophical shift away from this privacy-first tradition by permanently labeling individuals.
A specific point of concern for Buterin and others is World’s nullifier. This cryptographic mechanism ensures that each person signs up only once. However, its very function also presents a significant vulnerability.
“As soon as your nullifier is given up… all of the accounts that you have linked to that nullifier are also given up… it could be the foundation of a really massive data leak,” El Damaty warned.
In response to these risks, El Damaty advocates for pluralistic identity systems with multiple online identities for different purposes. This protects sensitive real-world information from being inextricably linked to a single, globally unique ID.
“Those iris codes shouldn’t be linked to the same amount of information that can be used to access your voting record or your social security benefits or other really critical information that, if ever given up, would undermine your status as a person in the real world,” he added.
This tension also forms the backdrop for World’s direct conflict with national governments.
Could Worldcoin Data Become a Government Honeypot?
World Network’s global scope directly challenges national sovereignty, especially a state’s right to define its citizens’ identity. This raises a critical question: What if foreign governments demand access to their citizens’ biometric data collected by this company?
Tools for Humanity, World’s parent company, might use its distributed infrastructure as a defense, claiming data resides in various nations. However, El Damaty believes this defense is precarious.
“[World] also ha[s] infrastructure in the United States that’s going to be beholden to the US government’s authority. The US can come in and say, ‘hey, we’re going to pull the plug and put your executives in jail if you don’t hand over all of the logs that are coming from this central server that’s responsible for coordinating the entire network.’”
This vulnerability transforms World’s vast biometric database into a potential honeypot for governments. El Damaty pointed to precedents like the 2018 CLOUD Act, which allows US law enforcement to compel US-based tech companies to provide data, even if stored overseas.
Many nations have not waited for such hypothetical scenarios to play out, leading to immediate and forceful regulatory action.
Countries like Spain, Portugal, Kenya, and Indonesia have either imposed bans or initiated investigations into World’s operations, citing concerns over data handling, transparency, and age verification.
El Damaty highlighted a crucial transparency issue. As a private company, World’s financial and operational details aren’t fully open for public scrutiny. This, he suggested, enables them to strategically control how they present their activities to the world.
This opaqueness contributes to existing global skepticism.
“I don’t think governments are going to suddenly turn overnight and say, ‘okay, well, we’re going to let this American company [from] Silicon Valley run by one of the world’s most powerful people to track all of our citizens and give them their crypto tokens,’” El Damaty said.
Without detailed clarity, many nations remain wary of entrusting such fundamental identity information to a private entity perceived to be operating outside established legal and ethical norms.
Binance recently conducted a survey of its Asia-based users on the topic of security, and the results were encouraging. Over 80% of these users employ 2FA, and 73% double-check their transfers.
The poll concluded that user education is the most effective way to take advantage of growing security enthusiasm. Exchange-led scam simulations may be a potential solution to make anti-fraud knowledge accessible.
Binance was very clear that increasing 2FA (two-factor authentication) usage is unambiguously good. Still, there are a few key holes in the community’s preferences.
Most of the other important user-end security practices have very low rates of adoption, which Binance blames on insufficient awareness. It described a few measures to foster security education:
“As the industry evolves, so do the tactics of bad actors. We’re investing heavily in localized anti-scam education that is practical, accessible, and tailored to users’ real needs. We’re also working closely with regulators and law enforcement… to better protect user assets,” claimed Jimmy Su, Binance’s Chief Security Officer.
This education question touches on several different topics. For one thing, most of Binance’s Asian users claimed that existing security guides are “too technical and difficult to understand.”
However, they’re ready to learn. Over 60% said they would participate in anti-scam simulations, especially if this was gamified or paired with rewards.
The survey also noted a key data point in an age-old debate: whether or not to self-custody assets. Binance reported that its users have a growing expectation that exchanges actively manage security.
Meanwhile, 62.5% believe that CEXs are responsible for intercepting high-risk transactions in real time, and more than half would “immediately” contact an exchange over scam attempts.
Still, as with the firm’s previous surveys, it’s important to remember the participants’ demographics. Binance only questioned Asian users on their security preferences, and it identified regional variations even within this sample. For example, depending on the respondent’s location, they may give four different answers to the question, “What platform spreads the most scams?”
In other words, Binance or other firms may need to conduct follow-up polls over a wider net to corroborate this security data. In this isolated form, though, the Asian user data is still very useful.
Hopefully, it can help craft beneficial anti-fraud policy and educational resources for a global audience.
The US Senate Banking Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing today. Top lawmakers will meet with Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and other key industry figures to discuss the evolving structure of digital asset markets.
Amid rising anticipation of more regulatory clarity, crypto whales appear to be making bold plays. On-chain data shows that large investors have ramped up the accumulation of CRO, SHIB, and BONK.
Cronos (CRO)
CRO, the native token of the Cronos Chain, has already made headlines this week after Trump Media & Technology Group named it in a proposed ETF.
On Tuesday, the company submitted a filing for a new exchange-traded fund (ETF) named the “Truth Social Crypto Blue Chip ETF. ” The fund will hold a diversified portfolio of five cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), XRP, and CRO.
This has triggered renewed investor interest in the coin. The combination of ETF-related momentum and anticipation of more regulatory clarity has led to a noticeable uptick in whale confidence.
According to data from Santiment, large CRO holders—wallets holding between 10 million and 100 million tokens—have accumulated an additional 20 million CRO over the past two days, bringing their total holdings to 1.03 billion coins.
If this trend of whale accumulation continues, it could provide the bullish momentum needed to push CRO’s price toward the $0.104 mark in the near term.
However, if profit-taking commences, CRO’s price could fall to $0.085
Shiba Inu (SHIB)
Leading meme coin SHIB is among the assets that crypto whales are buying ahead of today’s Senate hearing.
Per IntoTheBlock, SHIB’s Historical Concentration shows a 3% increase in holdings by addresses with more than 1% of the coin’s total circulating supply. This means that the largest holders are tightening their grip on the meme coin, a sign of growing confidence among major investors.
As of press time, this whale cohort collectively holds 62% of SHIB’s total supply, amounting to 603.30 trillion tokens.
Typically, buying activity from large holders is seen as a vote of confidence. It prompts smaller investors to follow suit in fear of missing out (FOMO). As SHIB whales tighten their grip on the supply, the resulting scarcity can create upward price pressure, pushing its price toward $0.000013.
However, if bullish momentum wanes, SHIB could lose some recent gains to trade at $0.000011.
Bonk (BONK)
The recent spike in activity on Bonk’s decentralized meme coin launchpad LetsBonk has sparked renewed demand for the token among both retail and whale investors. As excitement builds ahead of today’s US Senate hearing on digital assets, whale accumulation of BONK remains firmly underway.
According to data from Moby Screener, 11 whales have executed 70 large trades within the past 24 hours. Of these, 39 are buy transactions, totaling 3.17 billion BONK tokens, compared to 31 sells totaling just 172.14 million tokens.
This has resulted in a net positive flow of 3 billion BONK over the past day. The accumulation trend confirms that whales are positioning ahead of a potential policy shift, signaling increased confidence in BONK’s near-term outlook.
