Twitter wants to get into finances and potentially crypto payments? [76]
The social media platform has already explored NFT profile pictures may be getting into finance
Good afternoon, friends!
Twitter and social media in general have become a strange beast these days, and I know that everyone might be scratching their heads about what’s going on. Certainly, a large number of us have been looking into decentralized media such as Mastodon.
A recent article in the Financial Times suggested that Musk is looking to turn Twitter into an “everything app” that will allow people to also permit payments on the social media platform. This means it will not just offer payments, but banking and potentially cryptocurrency.
We’ve already had Twitter peering into the crypto industry’s windows with NFT profile pictures and adding experimental marketplace listings for NFTs – the same way that stock prices can be displayed – so that people can view listings on OpenSea and similar directly from tweets and potentially go buy and sell them.
Previous to Musk buying the platform, Twitter also explored tipping and ecommerce, which means that this has never been far from the minds of developers. The platform also trialed tests through the Bitcoin Lightning network that would have permitted “tips,” revealed through a leaked image.
However, this potential move might mean that we might see some real movement in the future.
Earlier this month there was also a report that Twitter was developing a “Coins” feature with payments processor Stripe. Although it doesn’t appear that the Coins feature itself is blockchain-based, Stripe itself is crypto-friendly and launched its own Web3 and crypto services in 2022 for paying for cryptocurrency and NFTs. Twitter also tested USDC payments through Stripe in the same year.
Overall, Twitter appears to be attempting to ride the coattails of a number of larger institutions that already do financial transactions that have already begun adapting themselves to the crypto revolution by bridging fiat and crypto payments. For example, the way that payment services such as PayPal, Venmo and Cash App began to.
What Twitter can do is serve as an on-ramp to teach people who would otherwise have little exposure to crypto about it and give them experience with wallets. However, they will need important instruction on its proper use, such as how to store it properly and how to interact with it.
Currently, it looks like the whole point of adding financial services to Twitter is really just a way for Musk to make the platform more profitable than it is currently – which is something that he needs to do given how it’s been flapping in the wind since he took it over. However, even if it’s slow to add cryptocurrency services it will be good for the industry as a whole since it will make crypto even more mainstream than it is now.
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Blockchain Bulletin
Blockstream raises $125M to build out its bitcoin mining infrastructure. The crypto company Blockstream has raised $125 million to build out its crypto mining hosting infrastructure for bitcoin miners looking to host their rigs amid volatile markets, reported CoinDesk.
Stripe reportedly planning a public offering. The crypto-friendly payment processor is reportedly planning a public offering and hired Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan Chase to advise, reported CoinTelegraph.
Blockchain Behind the Scenes
Amazon planning to launch NFT initiative for digital collectibles. Amazon appears to be planning its own play-to-earn gaming NFT initiative behind the scenes, according to a few sources with knowledge of the project, that may be announced in April.
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