Cryptocurrency News: Twitter To Allow Users To Tip Creators Using Bitcoin

Twitter on Thursday rolled out a new feature that will allow users to tip their favorite tweeters in bitcoin. The move makes the social media network the first ever to support cryptocurrency as a form of payment.

Users will have the option to link their bitcoin straight into a fixed spot on a profile specifically for tips, making the process easy and trustworthy for users to send a payment. It will be available to all Apple iOS users this week and will later become available for Android users.

The Tips feature can be found right next to the follow button on a profile and has a graphic of dollar bills.

The new feature will also allow users to link their Capp App, Patreon, GoFundMe, Venmo, and more.

“Whether you want to tip your favorite account because you adore their commentary, send some love to an emerging comedy creator for their hilarious Tweets, help a small business owner through a difficult time, give to an important cause — whatever you want to support (and we know you already have some ideas), Tips is here to help you do it,” Twitter said in the announcement.

Twitter will use Strike, a payment application built on the Bitcoin Lightning Network. The network is a processor that allows people to globally send and receive bitcoin for free. To receive bitcoin on a Twitter profile users will need to make an account with Strike, but you can use any Bitcoin Lightning Network to send tips to an account.

Strike is available to anyone in the U.S., excluding Hawaii and New York.

The Tips feature will also allow users to accept bitcoin through Twitter by adding a “bitcoin address.” Someone can directly send a payment this way by copying and pasting the address into a bitcoin wallet.

“We want everyone on Twitter to have access to pathways to get paid. Digital currencies that encourage more people to participate in the economy and help people send each other money across borders and with as little friction as possible,” Twitter said in a statement.

The move is not completely surprising. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey told investors this year that bitcoin would be a “big part” of the social media company’s future.