Divine Research issues unbacked crypto loans using Sam Altman’s World ID
Divine Research has issued 30,000 unbacked USDC loans using Sam Altman’s World ID to verify borrowers, targeting underserved users.
San Francisco-based lender Divine Research has issued around 30,000 unbacked short-term crypto loans since December, using OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s iris-scanning platform World ID to verify borrowers.
Divine offers loans under $1,000 in the USDC (USDC) stablecoin, mainly to overseas borrowers underserved by traditional finance. It uses World ID to ensure users cannot open multiple accounts after defaulting.
“We’re loaning to average folks like high-school teachers, fruit vendors . . . basically anyone with access to the internet can get access to our funds,” Divine founder Diego Estevez told the Financial Times. “This is microfinance on steroids.”