Indications that micro-blogging platform Twitter is about to take cryptocurrency adoption to new heights with its upcoming features is getting stronger. According to a leaked source, a recently released beta version of the platform’s mobile application will integrate tipping with not only Bitcoin but Ethereum as well.
Screenshots shared by Alessandro Paluzzi, a mobile developer, show the Twitter user interface with options to add Ethereum and Bitcoin receiving wallet addresses. In the tweet, he stated that Twitter was working to allow users to add Bitcoin and Ethereum addresses to their profiles using the “Tip Jar” feature on the application.
Paluzzi was also the source of screenshots supporting the recently rumored integration of Bitcoin Lightning Network through Strike. While it was previously rumored that Bitcoin integration would be done through Strike, a Bitcoin wallet that supports sending and receiving the cryptocurrency over the Lightning Network, he clarifies that it was not necessary to link a Strike account to use the new feature.
The developer who revealed he does not work for Twitter claims to have reverse-engineered the beta release of Twitter’s iOS application and clarifies that his screenshots are not mock-ups, but fully functional features of the application.
The “tip jar” feature which was first announced in July is a feature that allows users to donate to users they find insightful and worthwhile. The initial version of Twitter’s tip jar allowed for users to add in their Cash App, Patreon, PayPal, Venmo, and Bandcamp links. The feature is also a forerunner of other features such as “Super Follows” and commerce on the platform supporting cryptocurrencies.
Twitter has not made any comment on when the feature will be released, nor has it confirmed that it intends to roll this out to the public. However, Twitter product lead Kayvon Beykpour retweeted the initial leaked photo of the Lightning Network integration with the caption “soon”.
Should the feature rollout, it would be a massive boost for cryptocurrency adoption. Twitter currently boasts of having around 199 million monetizable daily active users (mDAU). There is also a large community of cryptocurrency enthusiasts on the platform too who continue to have conversations about cryptocurrencies.
A tipping function will mean that this community will find it easy to give and receive reward in cryptocurrency for content they appreciate. The feature will as well be a means of bringing many new participants to the cryptocurrency space, as it is likely many Twitter users will have their first interaction with crypto on the platform.
This will also mean that their first interaction is likely to be in a fun and casual manner, away from the complexity of cryptocurrency exchanges. With the addition of tipping in Bitcoin and Ethereum, the feature may extend to include other cryptocurrencies. With more users coming onboard, the effect is also likely to be felt in the market as demand surges.
This is undeniably the vision Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has expressed for Bitcoin adoption – to bring Bitcoin to every single market cheaply and rapidly. Dorsey considers Bitcoin to be “the native currency of the internet” and is dedicated to giving his time to making adoption global.
