Signs Point to Twitter Rolling Out Bitcoin for Tip Jar

Twitter chief Jack Dorsey teased the arrival of bitcoin on the social media platform back in the middle of the summer. In July, he said the leading cryptocurrency would be a “big part” of Twitter going forward, and it appears that the wheels are now in motion for just that.

Based on speculation on social media combined with a report on MacRumors, Twitter has included the code for users to access bitcoin on the social media platform’s Tip Jar feature, though it is not apparent just yet. Twitter reportedly inserted the relevant code in a recent beta update, so BTC tipping could make its way to the platform sooner than later, potentially, for beta users.

Tip Jar currently supports payment platforms such as PayPal, Venmo, Cash App and others.

Instant Payments

Once the bitcoin tipping feature is in place, users shouldn’t have to wait around 10 minutes for the transactions to be completed on the blockchain. That’s because Twitter is reportedly planning to use the second-layer Lightning Network (LN) technology for instant micro-payments on the blockchain. The Lightning Network uses smart contracts, which rose to popularity on the Ethereum network, to do this.

Twitter seemingly plans to support both custodial and non-custodial BTC wallets. A non-custodial wallet is more decentralized in nature, giving the owner the ability to hold their own private keys. A custodial wallet involves a third party having the private keys, such as a crypto exchange, for example,

According to the Twitter update cited by MacRumors,

“We use Strike to generate Bitcoin Lightning invoices so you’ll need to connect your account to accept Bitcoin tips.”

KYC Pushback

Not everybody is thrilled with the way that Twitter is going about implementing bitcoin tips. For example, John Carvalho is a former Bitrefill executive who is currently behind an entrepreneurial venture in the space. Carvalho tweeted that he has no interest in touching LN tips if he has to jump through know-your-customer (KYC) regulatory hoops to do so. The reason he cited in the Twitter thread is that Strike, which Twitter uses for the LN invoices, has KYC/AML screening requirements.

If @jack thinks I am gonna KYC to get LN tips, he has another think coming.

— John Carvalho (@BitcoinErrorLog) September 1, 2021

Bitcoin Stuck

The bitcoin Tip Jar feature did little to lift the bitcoin price out of the doldrums today. Bitcoin remains stuck below the USD 50K level for now.

If market leaders are right about their year-end projections, however, the BTC bulls could be unleashed at any time.