Worldcoin users unable to claim grants as app goes down

Users of the Worldcoin cryptocurrency project were on Monday unable to claim their grants on the platform as the app went down because of what the company attributed to high traffic.

Grants are one-time crypto payments for anyone who joins the Worldcoin network.

However, some users who tried to access the project’s World App received ‘Can’t fetch data’ and ‘Returning shortly’ messages along with the notification; “World App is experiencing higher than usual traffic. It will return shortly, please try again later.”

Via the project’s customer support account on the X social media platform, formerly Twitter, Worldcoin responded to user complaints, saying, “The App is currently under maintenance, it will be back soon.”

And on the crypto project’s website, the company urged users to expect delays in response.

“We are currently experiencing a high volume of support tickets. Please expect a delay in responses as we do our best to address your issues. It is best if you do not submit multiple tickets at this time. We greatly appreciate your patience,” read a notice.

Worldcoin is owned by the US generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) company OpenAI.

It has seen a hysterical uptake locally; over 350,000 have scanned their eyeballs with the Worldcoin Orb to verify their online identity, called World ID.

New members were getting 25 free cryptocurrency tokens known as WLD after the process, valued at Ksh.8,256.

Last week, the government however stopped all activities associated with the crypto project over safety concerns, until relevant agencies certify the absence of any security risks.