Jack Dorsey-led social media giant Twitter is launching its Tips feature, which allows 18+ users to tip each other with Bitcoin (BTC), among other things.
According to the company, people can now tip using BTC Strike-a payment application based on the Bitcoin Lightning Network, which is now used in El Salvador.
The new feature will be introduced first for iOS users, while Android devices should support Twitter tips in the coming weeks.”
“Individuals in the eligible markets must sign up for a Strike account and add their Strike username to receive Bitcoin tips through the Lightning network. You can use any Bitcoin Lightning wallet to send tips to someone else’s Strike account” the company said.
At 04:24 UTC, BTC is trading at USD 44,336 and has risen 0.4% In one day, while almost all other big coins are red today.
On Twitter’s website, people for whom the Tips option is available will see the money icon on the profile pages of people who have tips set up in their profile. It instructs users on how to set up the service and adds:
” If you add a third-party payment service to your profile, please note that your username for that service will be publicly linked to your Twitter account. Information about you, including but not limited to your full name, address, and tip, may be shared with the recipient or others subject to the terms of the third-party payment service.”
While Twitter doesn’t charge, third-party payment services can, they said.
It is also not surprising that a big news like this would come with a variety of opinions.
One aspect that is being discussed is how many people can actually use this. While Twitter has more than 353m monthly active users, the Cryptoverse stresses that one Twitter user alone is not enough to activate the tipping service – users state that one needs a Lightning Network wallet as well as actual BTC to tip, while the recipient needs Strike, a depository exchange that comes with the know-your-customer requirement for withdrawal.
Speaking of wallets, a point of confusion popped up when it comes to which wallets are supported for sending and/or receiving tips. Users online claim that they managed to send tips with certain other wallets, but that this is necessary for receiving the tip.
In addition, many of those who have BTC have not yet tried Lightning Payments, as Alex Gladstein, chief strategy officer of the Human Rights Foundation, tweeted.
According to Gladstein, some test screenshots suggest that the team may include “functionality” that allows users to plug their own non-custodial Lightning wallet directly into Twitter.”
There were already Apple / iPhone related complaints. Some said that there must be a way to change the default Lightning wallet opened by Twitter when a tip is sent, others added that you must continue to “click Copy wallet address instead of opening wallet”, adding: “Blame Apple for this” and “It’s not Twitter, it’s iPhone.”
“Bitcoin Maxis has a field day today,” wrote Carl Vogel, senior product manager at Paxos. “Lightning’s Twitter integration is great for the industry”he said, adding,” But expect measured adoption for some time due to friction points for the mass market.”
Of course, there is some discussion specifically between Ethereum (ETH) and Bitcoin supporters, with the former camp arguing that should non-fungible tokens (NFTs) be added to Twitter, they “won’t be on Bitcoin, they’ll be on Ethereum.However, NFTs are also available on other blockchains that compete with Ethereum.
This is a reference to the reports that the company plans to allow users to connect their wallets and authenticate possession of NFTs they tweet with a special badge.