More than 120K people have signed up for Worldcoin in Portugal in advance of the mainnet launch scheduled for H1, 2023. In a country of 10.3 million residents, that’s over 1.1% of the total population—with nearly 1,000 new sign-ups taking place every two days.
This is an important milestone for the protocol, which is still in beta, and it demonstrates what can happen when tech and crypto enthusiasm are paired with clear regulations and strong, professional partnerships.
Worldcoin and Nova School of Business & Economics
In May of 2022, Tools for Humanity (TFH) entered into a business incubation agreement with the Nova SBE Haddad Entrepreneurship Institute, part of Portugal’s renowned Nova School of Business & Economics. TFH is a global technology company that led the initial development of Worldcoin and is continuing to build tools and help support the protocol.
Since the agreement, the Worldcoin protocol and its development have been highlighted at the national level in Portugal. TFH team members shared the stage with speakers like the former Dean of Nova SBE Daniel Traça and the Vice Minister of Labor Miguel Fontes during the Nova SBE Haddad Entrepreneurship Institute's grand opening, engaged in the institute’s first panel discussion together with Unbabel CEO Vasco Pedro and hosted a web3 workshop alongside the Nova SBE Blockchain Club.
“Web3, crypto and proof-of-personhood are all emerging as ideas and technologies that could have a vital role to play in the economy of tomorrow. The Worldcoin protocol touches on all three of these in an exciting way, and Nova SBE is proud to work with TFH in a way that helps educate more people about the realities of a rapidly evolving global economic landscape.”
- Euclides Major
Executive Director of the Nova SBE Haddad Entrepreneurship Institute
Portugal’s blossoming tech and crypto scene
Part of Portugal’s rapid adoption of Worldcoin, which has led the World App to become the most downloaded crypto app in Portugal since the summer of 2022, can be traced back to the country’s open-arms approach to the tech sector in general and blockchain/cryptocurrency in particular.
As Bloomberg reported in October when discussing the country’s new tax on short-term crypto gains, a move some investors welcomed as a clear indicator of mainstream adoption and acceptance at the national level:
“Portugal still has most of the things crypto investors and startups need to flourish: an aspiring tech scene, affordable living costs, great internet connectivity and even a visa for digital nomads…Moreover, Portuguese [Assistant Secretary of State to the Prime Minister and former] Secretary of State for Tax Affairs António Mendonça Mendes says he is confident his country would remain one of Europe’s most crypto-friendly nations.”
Learn more
Portugal is one of a growing number of countries seeing increased interest in the Worldcoin protocol. In January, Worldcoin passed one million sign-ups worldwide, and recent deep dives have been published opening the Orb’s hardware files to the public and sharing technical details about privacy protections.
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