Twitter Rolls Out Tipping With Bitcoin, Plans Support For NFTs
Twitter is at it again with bringing new and unique features for everyone. The social media giant announced its ability to send and receive tips in Bitcoin through its app. As a result, Twitter is now the first social media platform to adopt cryptocurrency as a payment method.
Twitter first tested the Tipping feature back in May, but it wasn’t available to everyone until Thursday. This means that it will let people tip their favorite content creators or “Twelebs” (slang for Twitter celebrities) with Bitcoin. The social media giant will also support creating GoFundMe campaigns for users.
Allowing a Widely-Available Tipping Platform
In its previous attempts at tips, Twitter allowed platforms like CashApp and Venmo to send suggestions. However, the tech giant now has a diverse list of methods that its users can use to tip certain accounts on the network. And, no, Twitter isn’t taking any money sent through the Tips feature.
The Twitter Tips feature will also allow users to link their Bitcoin Lightning wallets with the app or add their Bitcoin address to start exchanging tips in Bitcoin. Lightning wallets are popular among the masses due to their low transaction fees. The social media giant is using Strike, a payments platform built on the Bitcoin Lightning network. Twitter encourages the use of cryptocurrencies, which is big news for its rivals, such as Facebook.
“There’s this growing interest among creators to use apps that run on the blockchain,” said Esther Crawford, a product executive at Twitter. “We want to help creators participate in the promise of an evolving decentralized internet directly on Twitter.”
Above all, it’s not surprising that Twitter is the first platform to add support for cryptocurrencies; Twitter’s CEO, Jack Dorsey, is a great cryptocurrency enthusiast. Dorsey also believes decentralization and NFTs (or Nonfungible Tokens) are essential for that decentralized network.
Furthermore, Twitter is also planning to support authentication for NFTs by letting people connect their cryptocurrency wallets. “NFT authentication will come in the form of a badge, shown in profile pictures, marking the owner’s NFT as authentic,” a Twitter spokesperson said. This means that users will be able to mark their NFTs as authentic, right on Twitter to avoid any conflict, and even have the chance to show it off.
NFTs have gained an immense amount of popularity over the past few years. Twitter has even initiated particular giveaways of NFTs before. As for the rollout, the new Tipping feature is rolling out to everyone on iOS and will be available to Android users within the coming weeks.
