About
World Chain is an Ethereum Layer 2 built on the OP Stack as part of the World (formerly Worldcoin) project co-founded by Sam Altman and Tools for Humanity. It prioritizes verified human users via World ID, gives priority blockspace to humans, and is designed for global payments and stablecoin use, with USDC available as a primary settlement asset.
Stablecoins
Key products
Chains
- Founded
- 2024
- HQ
- San Francisco, USA
- Stage
- Token (WLD)
- Funding
- Tools for Humanity backed by a16z, Khosla Ventures and others
Related companies
1Money Network
Purpose-built L1 dedicated solely to stablecoin payments
1Money is a Layer-1 network engineered exclusively for stablecoin payments, using a patent-pending Byzantine Consistent Broadcast (BCB) consensus that delivers sub-second, instant-finality transfers, industry-low fees, and built-in compliance. It emerged from stealth in early 2025 with over $20M in funding and a team from Circle, Ripple, Binance, Uber, and Meta, launching a public testnet in August 2025 with mainnet targeted for late 2025.
Celo
Mobile-first payments chain for stablecoins
Celo is a mobile-first, EVM-compatible chain (now an Ethereum Layer-2) focused on accessible stablecoin payments in emerging markets. It supports native USDC, USDT, and local-currency stablecoins (cUSD, cEUR, cREAL), allowing gas fees to be paid in stablecoins.
Gnosis Chain
Stable-payments-oriented EVM L1
Gnosis Chain is an EVM-compatible Layer 1 (formerly xDai) whose native gas token is a stablecoin (xDAI), making transaction costs predictable and well-suited to payments. Stewarded by Gnosis, it underpins the Gnosis Pay Visa debit network that lets users spend EURe and other stablecoins on-chain, alongside a broad DeFi and DAO ecosystem.
Plasma
Stablecoin-first L1 for zero-fee USDT transfers
Plasma is a Bitcoin-anchored, EVM-compatible Layer-1 purpose-built around USDT, backed by Tether and Bitfinex. It uses PlasmaBFT consensus, anchors state checkpoints to Bitcoin, and offers zero-fee USDT transfers, sub-second finality, and gas payable in stablecoins. Its XPL token launched with mainnet in late 2025, and it grew rapidly in stablecoin TVL into 2026.
Polygon
Low-cost EVM network for stablecoin payments at scale
Polygon (PoS and the AggLayer ecosystem) is a low-cost EVM-compatible network widely used for stablecoin payments, remittances, and consumer fintech integrations. It hosts substantial USDC and USDT liquidity and is a supported settlement network for payment processors like Mastercard and Stripe.
Abstract
Consumer crypto L2 from Pudgy Penguins' creators
Abstract is a consumer-focused Ethereum Layer 2 ZK-rollup built with the ZK Stack by Igloo Inc., the company behind the Pudgy Penguins NFT brand. It emphasizes seamless onboarding via the Abstract Global Wallet (passkey-based, gasless account abstraction) and supports stablecoins such as USDC for consumer payments and DeFi.