Twitter Users Will Soon Be Able To Pay In Bitcoin, Other Crypto Coins Via In-App Feature

Twitter, the micro-blogging site, is working to expand its “Tip Jar” feature and will soon allow content creators to receive tips in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies from their followers. In May this year, Twitter introduced the in-app tipping feature, allowing some users to add a “tip jar” to their Twitter profile so others can pay them without leaving the app. Now, the company is opening up tipping to all its users globally. And for the first time, it will allow users to send and receive tips in Bitcoin, Ethereum and other crypto coins. When this feature is enabled, a Tip Jar icon will appear on a user's profile.

What Is A Tip Jar?

On its website, Twitter explained the Tips as a feature that will let users add links to select third-party payment services – like Bandcamp, Patreon and Razorpay – to their profiles. The feature is currently available for iOS users and is likely to be rolled out on Android in some time. Twitter said that people already share links to third-party payment services on their handles but the new feature will make it easier for users to pay and support content creators to drive a conversation. It will also help people raise funds for a cause. In a recent blog post, Twitter said those who want to pay in Bitcoin can do so by using Strike – a payments application built on the Bitcoin Lightning Network.

How Does This Work?

After enabling the Tips feature, you can add your Bitcoin address to your profile. To send a payment directly to you, people can copy your address and paste it into a Bitcoin wallet of their choice. Users will need to be above the age of 18 to enable this feature. In July, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey had told investors that Bitcoin would be one of the three key trends that the social media platform will follow going into the future. The two others will be Artificial Intelligence (AI) and decentralisation, an idea on which cryptocurrency is based.