The Worldcoin Foundation recently announced the launch of the World Chain developer preview, a major milestone in its quest to create a global digital identity ecosystem. By skipping the traditional testnet phase, developers now have immediate access to start building on a gated mainnet ahead of the full mainnet launch expected later this year. The developer preview offers developers the tools to deploy infrastructure and test applications, benefiting from the prior testing done on the OP Stack, an open-source development framework. Interested developers can apply for access to the developer preview on Worldcoin’s official website.
World Chain, built on the OP Stack and integrated with Worldcoin’s identity protocol, World ID, aims to enable real human transactions on a global scale. The integration promises scalable and cost-effective transactions, operating as a Layer 2 solution secured by Ethereum and supporting both the Ethereum and Optimism ecosystems. With partnerships with key industry players such as Alchemy, Safe, and Elliptic, as well as plans for more collaborations on the horizon, the potential for World Chain to revolutionize digital identity and financial accessibility is significant.
Worldcoin user transactions have surged over the past year, accounting for nearly 50% of OP Mainnet’s activity and even exceeding that during peak periods. To handle this growth, World Chain will initially utilize a standard EIP 1559 fee market with a block gas target of 10 million, double the current capacity of OP Mainnet. Additionally, integration with Reth, a high-performance Ethereum execution client developed by Paradigm, aims to enhance scalability and break through the 1GGas/s barrier. The chain’s design focuses on prioritizing human transactions, ensuring faster confirmation times for verified humans and supporting various decentralized financial and identity applications for real-world utility.
World Chain plans to launch as a Stage 1 rollup, incorporating fault proofs to improve transaction security and integrity while maintaining decentralization and reliability. The developer preview serves as a crucial step toward the mainnet launch, which is poised to enable over 10 million people across 160 countries to explore and utilize on-chain applications through compatible wallets. This transition signals a new era of digital identity and financial accessibility, promising to empower individuals globally with secure and efficient transaction capabilities.
