The Global Foundation, the entity behind Sam Altman’s Worldcoin biometric identity network, offloaded 239 million WLD crypto tokens to four undisclosed institutional parties for approximately $65 million, with the settlements being carried out through World Assets, Ltd. As of March 20, 2026, with an average price of $0.2719 per token.
The sale price represents a 97.7% discount from the March 2024 all-time high for WLD cryptocurrencies of $11.82, placing this transaction as one of the largest institutional OTC sales at the highest valuation in recent institutional cryptocurrency history.
Approximately $25 million of the transaction – approximately 38% of total proceeds – is subject to a six-month lock-in agreement, a structural concession designed to limit direct pressures in the secondary market from institutional buyers.
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Spot Market Context: WLD Cryptocurrency Rolling Supply and Debit Accounts
WLD was trading near cycle lows at the time of the transaction, having touched $0.2440 in March 2026 before a modest rebound.
The average strike price of $0.2719 lies just 11.4% above this minimum, suggesting that the institution either accepted pricing near the bottom to close the trade quickly or found limited appetite at 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 significant portion of WLD still subject to the foundation’s token unlock schedule, which runs through July 2028, with 80% of the team and investors’ allocations awarded over five years.
This accumulation, combined with a market cap approaching $852 million, deems the $65 million raise operationally necessary rather than opportunistic, given the token’s lower price trajectory.
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Structure, reservation and revenue allocation
The deal is structured as a private over-the-counter sale rather than an open market liquidation, a mechanism that avoids the direct impact of the order book at the expense of accepting a negotiated discount for immediate delivery.
By channeling 239 million tokens through World Assets, Ltd. To four separate institutional buyers, the institution distributed counterparty concentration risk while keeping the collective trade off public exchanges entirely.
🚨UPDATE: SAM ALTMAN WORLD SELLS 226M WLD IN OTC DEAL WORTH $63M
The world has emptied a large portion of its token supply.
A total of 226.43 million $WLD It was sold via OTC in a sale that took place within the past 10 days, per Lookonchain.
The deal brought in approximately $63 million USD/USD. this… pic.twitter.com/UFuKM8sEqM
-BSCN (@BSCNews) March 30, 2026
The six-month hold on $25 million worth of tokens acts as a partial buffer to market impact: buyers controlling this tranche cannot immediately flip their positions, effectively postponing supply pressure on the rolling float until at least Q3 2026.
The remaining $40 million in tokens — about $147 million at the average commingled price — carry no advertised security, meaning these buyers have an immediate option on their positions.
The global organization announced that proceeds will fund core operations, Orb hardware research and development, and overall growth of the ecosystem, including the World Chain Layer 2 network.
Orb’s iris-scanning device is the primary driver of capital expenditures to expand Worldcoin’s physical infrastructure, and the costs of manufacturing specialized biometric hardware don’t get compressed in a bear market the way software burn rates might. This operational reality makes the timing of this near-low high a function of hardware production schedules rather than distinct market strategy.
For context, the previous institutional raise in 2024 reportedly secured capital of around $1.13 per WLD, a figure that would have meant a raise of $270 million for the same 239 million tokens. At $0.2719, the institution received approximately 76% less in dollars for the same token size, illustrating the cost of delaying fundraising in a declining market. In contrast, institutional buyers have gained exposure at a level that only requires a modest rebound to around $0.30 – for gains, a similar dynamic to the asymmetric entry points examined in Capital raising approach to strategy during downturns in the Bitcoin market.
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Disclaimer: Coinspeaker is committed to providing unbiased and transparent reporting. This article aims to provide accurate and timely information but should not be considered financial or investment advice. Since market conditions can change rapidly, we encourage you to verify the information yourself and consult with a professional before making any decisions based on this content.
Daniel Francis is a technical writer and Web3 educator specializing in macroeconomics and DeFi mechanics. A crypto native since 2017, Daniel brings his background in cross-chain analytics to author evidence-based reports and detailed guides. It is certified by the Blockchain Council and is dedicated to providing “information gain” that cuts through the market noise to find the real-world utility of blockchain.
