On Wednesday, Twitter launched its long-awaited Bitcoin tipping feature for iOS users. Twitter also announced that it will support NFT authentication, which will allow users to track and display their NFT ownership on the social media platform.
Following the announcement, Twitter’s stock price increased by around 4%, giving investors more confidence. A similar effect was seen in Tesla’s stock price when the carmaker announced a $1.5 billion purchase of BTC in February, resulting in a 2% increase in the stock price. While the company later removed the feature due to environmental concerns, it will “most likely” accept Bitcoin again.
Twitter Is Trying Something New With Blockchain Integrations.
Twitter is the first social media platform to accept Bitcoin as a payment method. This could indicate a desire to compete with rival platforms such as Facebook, which has previously expressed interest in the crypto space through its Diem project.
Twitter’s new tipping system is a cross between Reddit’s karma and upvoting system and tipping on platforms like Twitch, where streamers can receive donations from their fans.
The US microblogging service also announced that it will create a fund to compensate users who create audio chat rooms on its new Spaces feature. Creators who host recurring audio programming on Spaces would be eligible for the fund.
Twitter also announced that it will add a feature to verify NFT ownership, which will allow users to display their NFTs on the platform. Discord has done this before with platforms like Collab-Land for MetaMask integration, so it’ll be interesting to see if Twitter follows suit or develops its own in-house tool.
What Twitter Has to Say About Crypto:
Following the announcement, several users took to Twitter to express their reactions to the news. @cjking711, implying that this new feature will drive more people to Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in general, said that this is crypto’s “Netscape” moment.
Until Internet Explorer took over, Netscape was the most popular internet browser. The analogy is apt because Netscape was the first browser to try to push the limits of the World Wide Web, much like Twitter is doing with Bitcoin and blockchain payments.
The pandemic’s economic hardship has arguably pushed more people into the crypto industry, resulting in unprecedented Bitcoin adoption. When the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) reached 2008 levels in 2021, many people turned to cryptocurrencies to protect themselves from inflation.
Overall, the events of 2021 have proven to be a powerful main reason for Bitcoin adoption. Twitter’s 350 million users are now potentially exposed to Bitcoin, according to @TheMoonCarl.
This year, Twitter’s active user base increased, and the platform outperformed Wall Street expectations. This is in contrast to reports a few years ago that its user base was rapidly declining.
@PrestonPysh also suggested that users be given the option of having any received donations sent to Bitcoin developers instead.
However, not everyone is ecstatic about the new feature. Because Twitter isn’t really a hub for creators, one user, @iamDCinvestor, argued that a tipping feature isn’t necessary.
Nonetheless, according to data from leading blockchain analysis firm Glassnode, the Bitcoin Lightning Network is now at an all-time high, up 226 percent from 2019-2020 levels.
