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.