The micro-blogging giant Twitter announced today the launch of a feature that will allow users to tip creators using bitcoin on the platform. The bitcoin integration is included via the Lightning network. Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter has always been a crypto fan and had hinted at this move earlier during the Bitcoin Miami conference held earlier this year.
Twitter believes in the new zen creator-driven ecosystem and has formulated a strategy to “turn fans into funds”. Bitcoin tipping integration is part of that strategy. This feature will allow anyone to click a button and tip a creator using bitcoin. The bitcoin transaction will happen through a third-party service like CashApp, which is operated by Square, a payments company founded by Jack Dorsey.
It is in an effort to make monetization accessible in places that may not have easy access to fiat, users can also tip in bitcoin.
Currently, this feature is only available to iOS users and android users will also get it soon enough as promised by Esther Crawford, product manager at Twitter. To make the integration cost feasible and fast, Twitter is utilizing the Lighting Network protocol, a layer 2 protocol, for its lower transaction fees and transaction settlement speed. Users can add their bitcoin lightning wallet or their bitcoin address to enable the sending and receiving of tips in bitcoin.
The Twitter product team is still exploring ways to enable payouts across the world in various countries, but using bitcoin to tip mitigates that.
Esther Crawford, Product Manager at Twitter
Earlier this month, a mobile developer who goes by the name Alessandro Paluzzi had revealed Twitter’s plan of integrating the bitcoin tipping feature using a leaked image that showed the beta for Lightning integration with Tips. In his finding, he also mentioned that the integration would use the Lightning-focused app Strike.
Today’s announcement by Twitter only includes the bitcoin tipping feature. However, Paluzzi had also revealed through the below screenshots that display interfaces allowing users to add their Bitcoin and Ethereum addresses to their profiles. Crawford also confirmed that they are exploring the integration of other digital assets with Tips and there’s “more to come” in the future that will allow crypto integrations across its products.
According to Crawford, Twitter is also exploring an NFT authentication feature that will allow users would directly connect their crypto wallets to their accounts to prove ownership of an art piece. This would convey authenticity, and the integration would likely contain some sort of provenance explanation as well. This will further enable a creator-driven ecosystem and help creators monetize their work in better ways.
