The World Foundation, the entity behind Sam Altman’s biometric identity network Worldcoin, has sold 239 million WLD crypto tokens to four undisclosed institutional counterparties for approximately $65 million, with settlements executed through World Assets, Ltd. starting March 20, 2026, at an average price of $0.2719 per token.
The sale price represents a 97.7% discount to WLD crypto’s March 2024 all-time high of $11.82, positioning this transaction as one of the largest core OTC sales to peak valuation in recent institutional crypto history.
About $25 million of the transaction, or about 38% of the total proceeds, is subject to a six-month lock-up agreement, a structural concession designed to limit immediate pressure from institutional buyers in the secondary market.
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Immediate Market Context: Circulating Supply of WLD Crypto and Calculation of Rebates
WLD was trading near cycle lows at the time of the trade, having touched $0.2440 in March 2026 before a modest recovery.
The average execution price of $0.2719 sits just 11.4% above this floor, indicating that the Foundation either accepted a price close to the floor to complete the transaction quickly or found limited appetite for higher levels among institutional counterparties.
Source: Tradingview
The circulating supply currently stands at approximately 3.1 billion tokens out of a total of 10 billion, leaving a substantial portion of the WLD still subject to the Foundation’s token unlock schedule, which extends through July 2028, with 80% of team and investor allocations vesting over five years.
This surplus, combined with a market cap near $852 million, sees the $65 million increase as operationally necessary rather than opportunistic, given the token’s depressed price trajectory.
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Structure, blocking and distribution of products
The transaction was structured as a private over-the-counter sale rather than an open market liquidation, a mechanism that avoids direct impact on the order book at the cost of accepting a spot negotiated discount.
By routing 239 million tokens through World Assets, Ltd. to four separate institutional buyers, the Foundation spread counterparty concentration risk while keeping block trading entirely off public exchanges.
🚨UPDATE: SAM ALTMAN’S WORLD SELLS 226M WLD IN $63M OTC DEAL
World has unloaded a large portion of its token supply.
A total of 226.43M $WLD was sold via OTC in a sale executed within the last ten days, according to Lookonchain.
The deal brought in approximately $63 million in $USDC. This… pic.twitter.com/UFuKM8sEqM
– BSCN (@BSCNews) March 30, 2026
The six-month lockup on $25 million worth of tokens functions as a partial buffer against market impact: buyers controlling this tranche cannot immediately reverse their position, thereby postponing supply pressure on the circulating float until at least the third quarter of 2026.
The remaining $40 million in tokens – approximately 147 million WLD at weighted average price – have no disclosed lock-ups, meaning these buyers hold an immediate option on their positions.
The World Foundation said profits would fund core operations, research and development of Orb hardware and general growth of the ecosystem, including the World Chain Layer 2 network.
The Orb iris scanning device is the primary capital expenditure driver for expanding Worldcoin’s physical infrastructure, and manufacturing costs for the specialized biometric hardware do not compress in a bear market the way software burn rates would. This operational reality means that the timing of this price increase is a function of material production schedules rather than a symbolic market strategy.
As a reminder, a previous institutional increase in 2024 would have resulted in capital of approximately $1.13 per WLD, a figure that would have implied an increase of $270 million for the same 239 million tokens. At $0.2719, the Foundation received approximately 76% less in dollar terms for the same token volume, illustrating the cost of delayed fundraising in a declining market. Institutional buyers, on the other hand, have gained exposure to a level that requires only a slight rally, to around $0.30, to realize a gain, a dynamic similar to the asymmetric entry points examined in The Strategy’s Approach to Raising Capital During Bitcoin Market Downturns.
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Disclaimer: Coinspeaker is committed to providing unbiased and transparent reporting. This article is intended to provide accurate and current information, but should not be considered financial or investment advice. Because market conditions can change quickly, we encourage you to verify the information for yourself and consult a professional before making any decisions based on this content.
Daniel Frances is a technical writer and Web3 educator specializing in macroeconomics and DeFi mechanics. Hailing from crypto since 2017, Daniel leverages his experience in on-chain analytics to write evidence-based reports and in-depth guides. He holds certifications from the Blockchain Council and is dedicated to providing “insight gain” that overcomes market hype to find real utility for blockchain.
