PANews reported on November 18 that according to CoinDesk, a group of crypto veterans, including the co-founder of decentralized finance giant Lido, are preparing to launch "Y", a blockchain identity platform designed to compete with Sam Altman's World Network (formerly Worldcoin). The media obtained an internal planning document for the new project. A person close to Cyber Fund, a venture capital firm led by Lido co-founders Konstantin Lomashuk and Vasiliy Shapovalov, confirmed that the document is authentic. It depicts a vision of a new blockchain-based identity platform that will skip World's controversial eye-scanning device Orb.

Ekram Ahmed, head of marketing and communications at blockchain infrastructure project Celestia, revealed that he will also join Project Y as an advisor. Ahmed said the upcoming project has no other connection with Celestia. The document, titled "Y VS WorldCoin," describes how Project Y will use the controversy of World Network to attract users. Instead of using biometric data, Project Y will use traces left by people when using the Internet to verify whether they are human. According to Project Y's planning documents, this approach addresses privacy risks and minimizes fraud.

Over time, Project Y’s creators apparently intend to build a “crypto super-app that allows users to privately build and monetize their digital identities.” Project Y’s documentation is light on implementation details, instead focusing on how to market Project Y as a “direct competitor to WorldCoin.”