Sam Altman’s World Foundation Sells 239M WLD Tokens for $65M Amid Price Slump

Key Points

• World Foundation sold 239 million WLD tokens for $65 million at steep discount.
• Six-month lockup applies to $25 million, limiting near-term market pressure.

The World Foundation, which oversees Sam Altman’s biometric identity initiative Worldcoin, sold 239 million WLD tokens to four institutional buyers for about $65 million.

The transaction was executed through World Assets, Ltd. starting March 20, 2026, at an average price of $0.2719 per token.

The sale price reflects a 97.7% decline from WLD’s March 2024 peak of $11.82.

This positions the deal among the largest foundation-level over-the-counter token sales completed near historical lows.

Market Conditions and Pricing

At the time of the transaction, WLD was trading close to cycle lows, briefly touching $0.2440 in March 2026 before recovering slightly.

The average execution price stood about 11% above that level, indicating limited pricing distance from the recent bottom.

According to data from TradingView, market activity remained subdued during this period.

WLD’s circulating supply is approximately 3.1 billion tokens out of a total 10 billion, with additional unlocks scheduled through July 2028.

Eighty percent of team and investor allocations are set to vest over five years, contributing to a continued supply overhang.

With a market capitalization near $852 million at the time, the $65 million raise represents a notable capital injection relative to the token’s valuation.

Deal Structure and Use of Proceeds

The sale was arranged as a private OTC transaction rather than through public exchanges, reducing immediate order-book impact.

By distributing the allocation among four counterparties, the Foundation diversified buyer exposure while keeping the trade off open markets.

About $25 million of the proceeds is tied to a six-month lockup agreement, delaying potential resale of that portion until at least the third quarter of 2026.

The remaining approximately $40 million in tokens carries no disclosed lockup restrictions.

The Foundation stated that proceeds will support core operations, research and development for its Orb biometric device, and expansion of the World Chain Layer 2 network.

Orb production and hardware deployment remain central cost components of the project’s infrastructure strategy.

In 2024, institutional funding was reportedly secured at around $1.13 per token, implying materially higher capital intake for a comparable token volume.

The current pricing illustrates the financial impact of fundraising during a prolonged market downturn.