An on-chain address labeled 0xf0007b56607bb268… transferred 30 million USDC stablecoins to the Worldcoin team wallet on December 23.
A few hours later, this address received 60 million WLD tokens from the Worldcoin team wallet. On-chain analyst Yu Jin tracked these transactions and pointed out that the address likely belongs to the well-known crypto investment firm Multicoin Capital.
This classic over-the-counter (OTC) transaction didn’t trigger a direct sell-off in the public market, but it made waves in the intersection of AI and crypto assets—like a boulder splashing into a lake.
01 The Eye of the Trading Storm
On-chain data reveals a clear two-step process for this transaction. First came the fund transfer: on December 23 (Beijing time), a wallet linked to Multicoin Capital moved 29,999,999 USDC to the Worldcoin team wallet.
Next was the token delivery: around December 24, the same address received 60,000,000 WLD tokens from the Worldcoin team wallet. Based on these figures, the OTC transaction price was about $0.50 per WLD, with a total value close to $30 million.
Although the trade didn’t occur directly on the open market, its signaling effect spread quickly. According to Gate platform data, as of December 26, WLD was trading near $0.5, up 1.2% in the past 24 hours.
02 Market Ripple Effect
This large OTC deal quickly triggered price swings in the secondary market. After news of the transaction spread, WLD’s price climbed from a closing price of $0.48891 on December 24 to the $0.49 - $0.50 range, marking a 4% gain in 24 hours.
Even more notable was the surge in trading volume. Stimulated by the news, WLD’s 24-hour trading volume soared to $1.46 billion, the highest since 2025 and a new peak since July 2024.
The derivatives market reacted just as strongly. Data shows funding rates on major exchanges turned negative—for example, Binance at -0.0028% and Bybit at -0.0111%. Negative funding rates mean short sellers must pay longs, typically seen as a short-term bullish signal.
03 Resonance Across the AI Crypto Sector
This transaction’s impact extended beyond WLD itself, rippling through the entire AI crypto sector. Current stats show the total market cap for AI crypto tokens is about $25.3 billion, down 0.3% in the past 24 hours.
This volatility mirrors recent trends in the US stock market’s AI sector. In traditional finance, AI bellwethers like Oracle have dropped nearly 50% from their September highs, fueling debate over whether the "AI bubble" is nearing its breaking point.
Crypto market analysts believe this WLD transaction demonstrates ongoing institutional interest in AI infrastructure projects—a sharp contrast to the equity market’s concerns about AI capital expenditures.
According to a Goldman Sachs report, generative AI could bring $5 trillion to $19 trillion in discounted capital income to the US economy. Since the launch of ChatGPT, the market cap of AI-related stocks has grown by more than $19 trillion.
04 Macro Backdrop and Industry Challenges
The current macro environment adds layers of complexity to this transaction. The US recently endured a 43-day government shutdown, halting key economic data releases and leaving markets searching for direction amid uncertainty.
At the same time, the global AI industry faces skepticism about whether hefty capital investments will translate into real profits. In the crypto sector, AI token performance cooled in November, with some capital rotating into RWA (real-world assets) and privacy coins.
Worldcoin itself faces unique challenges. As a project aiming to create global digital identities via iris scans, it has come under privacy scrutiny in multiple regions. Its token distribution is also highly concentrated—the top five addresses hold more than 63% of the WLD supply.
05 Technical Analysis and Trading Outlook
From a technical analysis perspective, WLD is at a critical juncture. The current price hovers around $0.49, just above the key support level at $0.47. Analysts are split on the short-term outlook: bulls argue that holding this support could lead to a rebound toward $0.67 within two weeks.
On the other hand, bears point out that as many as 79% of technical indicators still signal downward momentum, and market sentiment remains in "extreme fear." Long-term moving averages are still in bearish alignment, with WLD trading below all major averages.
On-chain position data shows that, following Multicoin’s transaction, other large addresses accumulated about 150.59 million WLD between December 22 and 25. This suggests institutional investors may be building positions in coordination.
06 Institutional Positioning and Industry Implications
With this latest purchase, Multicoin Capital’s total WLD holdings reached about 75 million tokens, valued at approximately $37.9 million, putting it among the top 25 WLD-holding addresses. At an entry price of around $0.50, Multicoin’s position has already generated an unrealized profit of about $7.9 million, for a return exceeding 26%.
This transaction comes at a relatively quiet time for AI crypto project fundraising. Market data shows the overall market cap for AI crypto has declined this year, but capital appears to be concentrating in leading infrastructure projects.
From a broader perspective, this deal reflects crypto capital’s ongoing bet on the convergence of AI and blockchain. Despite short-term spillover effects from the traditional AI equity market’s pullback, long-term narratives like decentralized AI, compute markets, and data ownership continue to develop.
Outlook
WLD’s circulating supply stands at 2,581,691,863.65 tokens, with a total market cap of about $7.62 billion. Even after institutional inflows, WLD’s price remains down more than 91% from its all-time high of $11.968 set in March 2024.
The AI narrative in crypto has never been more tightly linked to the AI sector in US equities. Any shift in one market quickly transmits to the other. Multicoin Capital’s transaction may just be the beginning of a new wave of volatility.
