Twitter jumps into the NFT conversation and starts accepting Bitcoin

Twitter is going to let NFT fans and creators display their ownership of the high-value virtual goods through a new crypto-initiative it launched on Thursday as part of wider updates to the service that cater to the passions of its super-users. And continuing the focus on crypto-communities, Twitter also announced that it would start transacting in Bitcoin, allowing the largest accounts on the service to accept tips in the digital currency—an expansion of a monetization program it started this year. Esther Crawford, Twitter’s product lead for creator monetization, revealed Twitter’s first major foray into serving enthusiasts of NFTs (non-fungible tokens), which are unique digital assets built on cryptocurrency technology in a currently thriving online marketplace. Twitter will incorporate the NFT assets by allowing people to link to their NFT collections. NFT ownership has been a hot trend on Twitter, with people using images of famous NFT pieces like “Cryptopunks,” a valuable early NFT project, as their Twitter avatars. “We’ve seen a growing conversation on our service about NFTs,” Crawford said in a call with media on Thursday. Crawford added that “by allowing people to directly connect their crypto-wallets they can track and showcase their NFT ownership on Twitter.” As for Bitcoin, Twitter said it would now be an acceptable currency for accounts that are eligible for “tips,” which are one-time payments that Twitter started facilitating this year to encourage users to contribute more to the platform. Twitter has been an early adopter of NFTs as a company. Facebook has also been publicly expressing interest in the technology. Earlier this year, CEO Jack Dorsey minted—when a digital media file is converted into an authenticated NFT—the first Twitter message. The NFT tweet sold for almost $3 million. In June, Twitter created 140 NFT artworks. NFTs have been capturing the imagination of brands and marketers, too, with companies including Pringles, Pizza Hut, Coca-Cola, Taco Bell and Anheuser Busch InBev creating them. NFTs are in an embryonic stage of their development as an online asset class, but many technologists think they could be one of the foundations of wealth creation in the next generation of the internet. On Thursday, Twitter also announced a series of new controls for users to improve their safety and well-being on the service with new filters to limit offensive conversations. Twitter is trying to tackle some of the most persistent problems on the platform that have included few tools for its most active users to cultivate their audiences and make money from their contributions. There also have been longtime concerns about negativity and harassment for which Twitter is still trying to solve. To that end, Twitter introduced new safety tools like “remove yourself from a convo,” which allows a user to slyly exit a Twitter thread that mentions their username. Twitter also is introducing automated ways for users to block accounts that are likely to offend them. “People only talk on Twitter if they feel comfortable doing so,” said Kayvon Beykpour, Twitter’s head of consumer product, during the call.

Twitter jumps into the NFT conversation and starts accepting Bitcoin

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