© 2026 The DeFi Report. All Rights Reserved.
Hello readers,
Today, we’re launching a new research & onchain data series: The Watch List.
The Watch List is a curated set of crypto projects. The ones on our bear-market (if that’s where we’re going) shopping list. Each Friday, we’ll share an onchain data update spotlighting one of these projects.
TDR Pro members will also receive portfolio management updates whenever we add or remove a project on The Watch List, including full visibility into our active TDR Pro Portfolio.
This way, we can continue to share our research & data broadly, while offering deeper, more actionable insights + access to our portfolio for those who want more.
Each Friday’s Watch List Report will include a dashboard with real-time access to the data shared in the report. You can access the dashboard by clicking the link in the data citation under each chart.
Let’s hop into our first Watch List Update: World Chain
Disclaimer: Views expressed are the author’s personal views and should not be relied upon as investment advice.
The DeFi Report is powered by Bit Digital, the leading global platform for high-performance computing infrastructure and one of the Largest ETH Treasury firms. NASDAQ: BTBT
Let’s go.
Number of World IDs (mobile app downloads): 37.4 million (up from 27 million in May)
Verified World IDs (app downloads + scanned their iris with the Orb): 17.5 million (up from 12.6 million in May)
Number of Apps: 444 (up from 236 in May). As of 11.6.25, there have been 107.9 million app downloads.
Number of Orbs Globally: 7,519 (up from 1,088 in May). There are now 766 Orb locations globally across 47 countries.
For a full breakdown of the product, you can check out the World Chain memo we shared back in May.
Over the last 30 days, World Chain has averaged 606k active addresses per day. That’s up 222% over the same period one year ago.
Over the last 30 days, World Chain has averaged 1.88 million transactions/day. That’s up 447% from the same period one year ago.
World Chain is currently #4 in market share, accounting for 8.7% of all L2 transactions over the last month. Base did 51%, followed by Arbitrum (16.3%) and Optimism (8.9%).
Over the last 30 days, World Chain has averaged 4.36 million DEX transactions/day. That’s up 707% over the last year. All transaction volumes are coming from their Uniswap contracts.
In total, the L2 did $135 million in volume over the last 30 days, representing just 0.14% of all L2 DEX volume. Base was #1 with 59% market share, followed by Arbitrum (28%), Unichain (8.8%), and Optimism (1.7%).
Nearly 60% of all transactions on World Chain over the last 30 days were “account abstraction” transactions — meaning the user is simply tapping the (mobile) app interface rather than dealing with a wallet and interacting with the chain separately from a browser.
World Chain is averaging 63.3k blobs posted to L1 over the last 30 days, up 1,056% over the previous year.
In terms of market share amongst L2s, World Chain is #2 with 24%. Base leads with 37%, followed by Arbitrum (9%) and Optimism (4.5%).
There is currently $611 million in value that has flowed into World Chain from the canonical bridge (directly from L1). This figure is down from its peak of $1.3b in early September, but up 4.2x over the last year.
In terms of bridged value from external chains, World Chain currently has $25 million, down from its peak of $47 million in early September.
*The gap between externally bridged value ($25m) and canonically bridged value ($611m) highlights the benefit (liquidity) that L2s can get via proximity to Ethereum L1.
10 billion WLD (capped until 2038, potential for 1.5% inflation thereafter if needed)
2.27 billion WLD (22.7% circulating)
Only 24.7% of the tokens are held by the World team + investors — significantly lower than most crypto projects (40-50%).
The 7.5 billion tokens (75%) allocated to the “community” are for users (to incentivize adoption) and the protocol’s own treasury. World’s goal is to give 60% of the supply away to users over a 15-year period. The remaining 15% is allocated for the Worldcoin Foundation — to be used to incentivize the developer ecosystem/”app store.”
Investor and Development Team unlocks started on 7/24/24 and will end in July of ‘28 (5-year vesting schedule, including a 1-year lockup).
Through July ‘26, 1.88 million team and investor tokens unlock per day ($1.3m at current WLD price of $.70)
Team and Investor unlocks drop to 1.3 million per day starting in August of ‘26 ($905k/day at current WLD price).
*Please note that a large portion of the community tokens have technically unlocked, but are not yet circulating (these tokens can be used for incentive programs if needed).
Onchain P&L = Tx fee revenue - L1 fee (call data) - blob submission fee.
Over the last 30 days, the chain has done -$15.7k in onchain profit, down from $15k in profit for the same period one year ago. Revenues were up over the period; however, L1 fees increased (ETH price up) and ate into profits more recently.
Now. We should note that the L2 is not the product. The product is the World ID/Identify Network: a database of human verifiable wallets (World IDs) that can interact with onchain apps, payments, and governance systems.
So, what’s the role of the L2?
An accounting system for the Identify Network, secured by Ethereum L1 (the “operational backbone”).
A platform for other developers to integrate with World ID. World can make World ID a native protocol-level primitive. Therefore, app developers who want to integrate human-verified wallets with their service might choose to build on World Chain.
Control and Economics. Owning the chain lets World subsidize gas for verified users and capture downstream value from transaction flows, sequencing, and proof of activity. It also allows them to implement custom privacy and compliance layers specific to biometric and ZK proof data.
The World team is seeking to build a global identity layer for the internet and onchain systems. This is a massively ambitious project.
You can think of it as a Proof of Personhood API + Identity Registry + Developer Platform.
If the project is successful, we expect it to monetize through the channels outlined above. For example, developers, enterprises, or governments might want to pay per verification or per “proof” request (which World now charges customers for).
That’s because the value of World ID is realized when applications integrate it to either enhance their existing services or enable entirely new services. For example, dating apps can improve their user experience by integrating World ID to protect users and ensure only verified humans can use the app. Match Group, the owner of eight dating websites including Tinder and Match dot com is a customer of World.
If we can envision a future in which internet-native businesses are forced to eliminate bots/AI slop (as I do) to protect UX, this could be a huge business.
A “stripe” like business model that can monetize via:
World ID verification or “proofs” (per proof API fees)
Enterprise integrations or “B2B Identity Contracts” (recurring SaaS)
Developer platform tooling via SDK/API tools (usage-based model)
Payments/defi, credit, compliance (spread or service fee)
L2 Settlement via blockspace/identity tx (minimal gas fee)
Token Economy via WLD staking/utility (value accrual via usage of the token)
Today’s report is a progress update on several KPIs we are tracking for World.
If you’d like to access the full investment memo (details on product, TAM, competition, risk, use cases, etc) we shared last May, you can do so here.
The key takeaway for us is that there are now millions of monthly active World IDs. It’s still super early, but a significant accomplishment nonetheless.
We believe the project is extremely misunderstood. In some cases, even more so by some crypto natives (who seem to distrust the Orb and World’s data policies).
It’s a valid concern. And it’s good to be skeptical. That’s why WLD always reminds me of the early days of BTC. I feel like an alien when discussing it. And it does have very poor token economics (low float, $1.3m WLD unlocking per day at current low prices, no buybacks).
At the same time, we think the technology has the potential to change how we use the internet. But the team needs to grow the World ID Network….and start selling access to those human-verified users to other web apps.
We view WLD as a high-risk/reward project. We traded the asset over the summer, exiting in September with a 53% gain. It’s now on our Watch List.
To be notified if/when we buy it back + gain access to our portfolio and weekly market insights, you can sign up here.
Take a Report.
And Stay Curious.
Disclaimer: Individuals have unique circumstances, goals, and risk tolerances, so you should consult a certified investment professional and/or do your own diligence before making investment decisions. The author is not an investment advisor and may hold positions in the assets covered. Certified professionals can provide individualized investment advice tailored to your unique situation. This research report is for general educational purposes only, is not individualized, and as such should not be construed as investment advice. The content contained in the report is derived from both publicly available information as well as proprietary data sources. All information presented and sources are believed to be reliable as of the date first published. Any opinions expressed in the report are based on the information cited herein as of the date of the publication. Although The DeFi Report and the author believe the information presented is substantially accurate in all material respects and does not omit to state material facts necessary to make the statements herein not misleading, all information and materials in the report are provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis, without warranty or condition of any kind either expressed or implied.