World, the online verification startup co-founded by OpenAI’s Sam Altman, has raised $52.5 million through a crypto token sale to strategic investors.

Participating investors joined a 12-month lockup sale of World’s token, WLD. Lockup periods prevent asset buyers from selling or trading their tokens for a set period of time. The year-long lockup demonstrates investors’ “long-term commitment to World’s continued growth and utility,” the company said Friday in a press release.

The money will go to the World Foundation, an exempted limited guarantee foundation based in the Cayman Islands, created to steward the expansion of World’s network.

The sale’s lead buyer is Pantera Capital, a venture capital firm focused…