Today in Crypto: Worldcoin’s price surged on reports of a new AI project from an OpenAI, US lawmakers return to Capitol Hill as senators weigh amendments to a crypto market structure bill. Meanwhile, Bitcoin mining stocks jumped after US hashrate fell during extreme winter weather.
Worldcoin spikes 40% as OpenAI reportedly plans biometric X rival
OpenAI-linked token Worldcoin spiked 40% on Wednesday following a report that the artificial intelligence firm is working on a bot-free social media platform that requires “proof of personhood.”
According to a Tuesday Forbes report citing sources familiar with the matter, OpenAI is aiming to develop a “humans-only platform” as a point of difference from other social media services on the market.
Still in its early stages, sources state that a small team of around 10 people is building the platform to compete with X, and that it has reportedly been in development since early 2025, according to tech news outlet The Verge.
Forbes’ sources claimed that any “proof of personhood” would likely be verified via Apple’s Face ID or the World Orb eyeball scanner, which has also been utilized as part of World, the blockchain and crypto project co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
US senators to weigh CFTC, other amendments to crypto market structure bill
US lawmakers are expected to return to Capitol Hill on Wednesday after inclement weather delayed committee meetings and votes, with attention turning to how senators will handle proposed amendments to a long-awaited crypto market structure bill.
On Thursday, senators on the Senate Agriculture Committee are scheduled to meet for a markup on the Digital Commodity Intermediaries Act (DCIA), a bill to establish a digital asset market structure framework.
The markup is one of the first attempts by the chamber to advance market structure legislation amid the Senate Banking Committee postponing its markup after Coinbase pulled its support for the bill.
Among the 11 DCIA amendments publicly available at the time of publication were proposals for banning lawmakers and White House officials from engaging with the crypto industry, forcing companies to compete on credit card swipe fees and addressing foreign interference in US markets.
Another amendment would prevent the law to be implemented until the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) had at least four commissioners in its leadership.
The CFTC amendment, proposed by Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, was in response to a dearth of commissioners at the federal financial regulator following the resignation of acting chair Caroline Pham and other members in 2025.
Klobuchar proposed that the market structure bill, if signed into law, not take effect “until at least four commissioners” at the CFTC were confirmed by the Senate.
Top Bitcoin mining stocks rise amid US winter storm hashrate decline
Bitcoin mining stocks saw a significant bump on Wednesday after the US winter storm forced some companies to wind down operations, leading to lower block competition and more profitable mining operations.
Shares of several major mining companies posted double-digit gains over the past 24 hours. TeraWulf rose about 11%, Iren Limited gained roughly 14%, and Cipher Mining climbed around 13%, according to data from Barchart.
The rally occurred days after the Bitcoin network’s hashrate sank to a seven-month low of 663 exahashes per second (EH/s) on Sunday, a 40% drop in two days due to a severe winter storm battering the US.
The hashrate recovered to 814 EH/s on Wednesday, but has yet to recover to the 1.1 zettahash per second (ZH/s) level before the weekend decline, data from Coinwarz shows.
A lower hashrate signals that fewer miners are online, reducing the competition for mining a block on the Bitcoin network, making Bitcoin (BTC) mining more profitable for miners who stay online.
