No references to blockchain technology or cryptocurrencies were found in the newly leaked images about the “Twitter Coins” project – the social networking platform’s secret digital asset currently under development.
Many community members speculated that the secret “Twitter Coins” project would involve cryptocurrencies in some way after the project was first revealed in early December by tech bloggers Jin Manchun Wong and Nima Oji.
Members of the Dogecoin (DOGE) community were particularly optimistic given Twitter CEO Elon Musk’s relationship with memecoin. Speaking on Twitter Spaces on Dec. 4, Musk said he was still interested in integrating cryptocurrencies into the social media platform.
However, newly leaked screenshots of the project’s development, which Wong and Owji shared on Jan. 10, make no mention of cryptocurrency or blockchain technology.
Augie wrote on Twitter that no leaks so far have provided any indication that cryptocurrencies will be part of the Twitter Coins: project:
“It appears to be a currency built into the app to support creators. I haven’t found anything that links it to cryptocurrency*.”
The leaked images provide more details about the usefulness of the digital currency for users of the app.
One of the images is a screenshot of the landing page for the alleged purchase of Twitter Coins, which explains that the app’s currency will allow users to “support creators who produce great content.”
Coins allow you to support creators who tweet great content. Unused coins are kept in your balance. pic.twitter.com/ksNu75mI2r
– Nima Oji (@nima_owji) January 10, 2023
“Coins allow you to support creators who produce great content. Unused coins are kept in your balance.”
– Nima Oji (@nima_owji)
This appears to refer to the platform’s “Twitter Awards”, which were also leaked by Manchun Wong a week earlier, on January 3. 5.
according to Mail From Wong, prizes like “Mind Blown,” “Bravo,” and “Super Like” can be sent to creators on the platform—at a cost set in Twitter coins.
This feature has similarities to Reddit’s tipping system, whereby Reddit uses “Reddit Coins” to send rewards to content producers for posts, comments, or live video streams they deem noteworthy.
Even the purchase of Twitter Coins will not include cryptocurrency payments in its initial stage. According to Wong, the purchase of Twitter digital currency through Stripe will be enabled with fiat currencies.
Stripe is a fiat currency-based payment processing platform that allows merchants to accept credit and debit cards, bank transfers, and vouchers.
However, that doesn’t mean that encryption can’t eventually play a role in the equation.
On April 22, Stripe announced that it had begun supporting US dollar currency (USDC) payments to select Twitter creators, with payments running on the Polygon network.
However, this does not mean that cryptocurrencies cannot ultimately play a role in this equation.
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