Sam Altman’s blockchain identity project, World, is planting roots in the United States. At a press conference in San Francisco, the company announced it would roll out 7,500 of its eyeball-scanning “orbs” in cities across the country by the end of 2025.

Galaxy Digital, the crypto investment firm led by Mike Novogratz, plans to list its shares on the Nasdaq on May 16, a move that could widen access for U.S. investors and strengthen the firm’s profile.

Grayscale Investments has launched a new exchange-traded fund designed to track companies adopting bitcoin as part of their corporate treasury strategy.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• Sam Altman’s Worldcoin Brings Eye-Scanning Orbs to Six U.S. Cities in Major Expansion
• Galaxy Digital Eyes Nasdaq Listing as Crypto Stocks Rebound in April
• Grayscale Launches ETF Focused on Bitcoin Treasury-Holding Companies and Miners

Sam Altman’s Worldcoin Brings Eye-Scanning Orbs to Six U.S. Cities in Major Expansion

Sam Altman’s blockchain identity project, World, is planting roots in the United States. At a press conference in San Francisco, the company announced it would roll out 7,500 of its eyeball-scanning “orbs” in cities across the country by the end of 2025.

The orbs, which resemble shiny metal bowling balls, verify users’ identities through iris recognition. They’ll first appear in six cities: Atlanta, Austin, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville and San Francisco. People who opt in will receive an airdrop of the project’s WLD token and access to a growing suite of crypto tools via the World app.

The app will support crypto-backed loans through Morpho, a non-custodial lending protocol, and prediction markets powered by Kalshi. A Visa debit card linked to users’ WLD balances is also in the works. In a pilot with Match Group, World ID will be used to verify ages on Tinder, starting in Japan.

To support this U.S. expansion, World will open a factory in Richardson, Texas to manufacture the orbs. Future deployments are planned for cities including Seattle and Las Vegas.

Galaxy Digital Eyes Nasdaq Listing as Crypto Stocks Rebound in April

Galaxy Digital, the crypto investment firm led by Mike Novogratz, plans to list its shares on the Nasdaq on May 16, a move that could widen access for U.S. investors and strengthen the firm’s profile.

The move, still subject to shareholder and Nasdaq approval, comes as crypto stocks stage a recovery following months of volatility driven by macroeconomic policy shifts and inflation worries. 

Nasdaq-listed crypto firms including Coinbase, MicroStrategy and CleanSpark saw double-digit gains in April. Galaxy, which trades under the ticker GLXY on the Toronto Stock Exchange, is down over 12% year-to-date but aims to reverse that trend as it positions for U.S. growth.

Novogratz said the move “would position us to advance our vision of building a gateway for investors to safely and efficiently access every corner of the digital asset and artificial intelligence ecosystems.”

Galaxy first listed in Toronto in July 2020 and will continue trading on the TSX during the transition. A shareholder vote on the listing is scheduled for May 9. If approved, the firm will begin U.S. trading under the same GLXY ticker.

Grayscale Launches ETF Focused on Bitcoin Treasury-Holding Companies and Miners

Grayscale Investments has launched a new exchange-traded fund designed to track companies adopting bitcoin as part of their corporate treasury strategy.

The Grayscale Bitcoin Adopters ETF gives investors exposure to firms that either hold BTC on their balance sheets or actively acquire the asset to hedge against inflation. 

The fund includes companies across seven sectors, such as mining, energy, automotive, and aerospace. Among the ETF’s holdings are Strategy, Tesla, Metaplanet, mining company Marathon Digital (MARA), and KULR Technology Group.

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