Twitter is embracing blockchain technology.
Starting today, users worldwide will be able to upload their bitcoin wallet directly into their profile – while a more limited subset will be able to more directly integrate a bitcoin payment app. With the addition of cryptocurrency payments to Twitter via Tips (formerly dubbed Tip Jar), Tips is being rolled out globally to all iOS users, with Android access to follow shortly.
On a Thursday press call, Esther Crawford, Twitter’s product lead for creator monetization, explained that people could add a bitcoin lightning wallet or their bitcoin address to send and receive bitcoin Tips.
According to a Twitter blog post, users in the U.S. (excluding residents of Hawaii and New York) and El Salvador will be able to use the third-party Strike app to send and receive bitcoin over the lightning network. Users will also be able to add bitcoin addresses to their profiles.
In other words, it doesn’t appear that Twitter is getting into the business of directly facilitating bitcoin transactions. Rather, Twitter is giving other services that do that work prominent real estate on its platform.
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Square’s Cash App, a payment service founded by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, enables users to buy and sell bitcoin.
Crawford also discussed Twitter’s interest in non-fungible tokens and how they’re currently being used. NFT owners often use their NFTs as their profile pictures, and Twitter is looking at ways to formalize this practice.
We’re excited to explore NFT authentication soon,” she said. It’s a way to show support for creators who make this art. By directly connecting their crypto wallets, people can track and showcase their NFT ownership.”
What that means, exactly, is still unclear. Will verified NFT profile pics be designated as such, and, if so, how?
“We want to convey visually that this is an authenticated avatar, as well as provide some insight about the provenance of that NFT,” Crawford explained.
In other words, Twitter knows NFTs and bitcoin aren’t going away any time soon, so decided to embrace what’s already organically happening on its platform.
