World Currency (WLD) has been heavily criticized after a recent development, which led to talks of possible price manipulation by the team. Leading crypto on-chain investigator ZachXBT also responded to these accusations of price manipulation, suggesting that the Worldcoin team could indeed be guilty of this.
“Biggest Scam Token of the Bull Run”
ZachXBT recently described Worldcoin as the “biggest scam token of the bull run” as he blasted venture capitalists and team members who backed the crypto token. ZachXBT’s comments were in response to a piece by crypto trader and analyst DeFi Squared, which claimed that the Worldcoin Team has manipulated the price of the crypto token.
In his articleDeFiSquared claimed the team is manipulating The value of WLDcontrary to Worldcoin CEO Alex Blania’s claims that they do not control the market. He noted that an 11-figure valuation for Worldcoin is only possible because of the team’s tokenomics design. The crypto analyst further claimed that the team has on many occasions influenced the token’s daily price movements through the active changes it makes to emissions.
DeFiSquared added that the team influences WLD’s daily price movements through market maker contracts and timely announcements before unlocks. The crypto trader noted that such actions beg the question of why the Worldcoin team continues to deny that they do not control the market.
Meanwhile, the crypto trader suggested that the team’s recent announcement about Worldcoin’s token unlock schedule was aimed at manipulating the coin’s price. Worldcoin announced that they extended the unlock period for 80% of the tokens held by team members from three to five years.
DeFi Squared stated that it is likely no coincidence that the team waited until a week before the unlock period before releasing this positive news. WLD is reportedly up over 30% on the back of the news. The crypto analyst noted that the news has proven to be “incredibly effective” in forcing retail investors to bid higher prices and provide more liquidity for insiders to leave their positions when the unlock period begins on July 24.
Retail investors serve as exit liquidity for the Worldcoin team
DeFi Squared revealed that Korean private investors are responsible for most of those who currently hold the WLD token keeping the coin’s value so high in the run-up to the token’s unlock period. He suggested that these investors may not even understand the gravity of the situation Worldcoin’s Tokenomics Design and how they may be used as exit liquidity by team members.
Interestingly enough, the South Korean government launched an investigation into WLD earlier this year over concerns about privacy and how the team collects user data. In addition to accusations of price manipulation, the Worldcoin team has also been accused of violating data protection laws in various countries using the “Orb” to obtain user data in exchange for WLD tokens.
Main image created with Dall.E, chart from Tradingview.com