In Brief:
- Twitter users can now use bitcoin to tip their favourite creators.
- The feature is available to iOS users, and it will become available soon for Android users.
- The team is looking to integrate other digital assets with Tips in the future.
Twitter users can now tip their favourite creators on the social media platform using bitcoin. It announced the rollout of Its Tips feature on iOS and said that the feature will be available on Android soon.
Apple’s iOS users can tip creators using third-party services like CashApp, which is run by Square, a payments startup established by Jack Dorsey, by clicking on the option. Users can now tip with bitcoin to make monetization more accessible in locations where cash is not readily available.
On a conference call with reporters, the company announced the new features, noting that “Bitcoin operates without global barriers.”
The Lightning Network, a layer-two solution chosen by product manager Esther Crawford for its lower transaction fees, will run the bitcoin component. Users can allow tip sending and receiving in bitcoin by adding their bitcoin lightning wallet or bitcoin address.
Alessandro Paluzzi, a mobile developer, posted an image of a reverse-engineering of Twitter’s product earlier this month, revealing the beta version for Lightning integration with Tips. He added the integration will employ the Lightning-focused app Strike. Strike is used in the integration, according to a Twitter spokesman.
“We want everyone to have access to pathways to get paid digital currency that encourage more people to participate in the economy and help people send each other money across borders and with as little friction as possible help us get there,” said Crawford.
Paluzzi also shared photos of interfaces that allowed users to add their Ethereum addresses to their profiles. The Lightning/Strike connection is the only feature included on yesterday’s release. Although Ethereum was not mentioned during the event, a Twitter spokesman later confirmed that the team is looking into integrating other digital assets with Tips and that “more to come” in the future.
Twitter also announced the addition of an NFT verification feature to the platform. No specific timeline was announced.
The addition of bitcoin to Twitter’s tip feature is expected, given that CEO Jack Dorsey is one of the cryptocurrency’s most vocal supporters.
