Worldcoin faces another opposition in Spain – What now?

• Worldcoin’s operations in Spain have been temporarily halted. 
• Amidst the legal pressures, WLD users surged, but the price performance remained dismal.

Worldcoin [WLD] project has faced another opposition after Spain shut its operations until end-year amidst an ongoing EU privacy audit.  

Earlier in the week, Spain’s privacy watchdog, AEPD, reported that it had reached a legal agreement with Tools for Humanity, the firm behind Worldcoin’s personal data-gathering project. 

Part of the AEPD’s press release read, 

“The company has now made a legally binding commitment not to resume its activity in Spain until the end of the year or, if applicable, until the BayLDA, adopts a final resolution in relation to the data processing carried out by the company.’ 

EU probe to determine Worldcoin’s fate

The Spanish privacy authority had earlier issued a cautionary warning to the project for unclear details on how the firm was treating the private data it collected from Spanish nationals. 

The authority had issues with the blanket enrollment of even children and with the lack of provision for withdrawing the collected data for those who chose to opt-out. 

Per AEPD, the above issues were resolved, 

“Tools for Humanity Corporation announced changes to its operation, such as the introduction of controls to verify age or the possibility of eliminating the iris code.’

However, Spain’s temporary halt awaited the final report from Bavaria, Germany, which is the main headquarters for the Worldcoin parent firm and is already investigating it.

Per European supervisory guidelines, the report from Bavaria could define Worldcoin’s fate in Spain and across Europe. 

Despite acknowledging the pause of Spain’s operations, Worldcoin noted that about 90% of surveyed Spanish citizens want it to resume. 

“The survey results also showed that respondents in Spain strongly support the return of Worldcoin operations in the country (87% support, with 9% unsure)’

WLD users surge, but…

In the meantime, WLD users have surged, jumping from 2 million addresses in early March to 3.79 million as press time. 

However, on the price charts, the price has remained muted below $5 since mid-May. With the daily RSI (Relative Strength Index) toiling below the average level, buying pressure was still low to push the WLD price beyond $5.