Overview

• China’s Ministry of State Security issued a public advisory warning that crypto projects offering tokens for iris scans may compromise national security by transferring biometric data abroad.
• The agency highlighted cases where stolen facial, fingerprint and iris data have enabled deepfake identity fraud and espionage operations in secure environments.
• Although unnamed, the company described mirrors Worldcoin’s model, and its WLD token fell about 4% following the warning.
• Worldcoin has previously faced investigations, suspensions or bans in Germany, Kenya, Spain, Portugal and Hong Kong, and fines or legal actions in South Korea, Brazil and Colombia over data privacy concerns.
• The MSS urged citizens to demand clear explanations of how collected biometric data will be stored, processed and used under China’s Data Security Law, Cybersecurity Law and Personal Information Protection Law.