NFTs on Twitter Blue

Back on September 23rd 2021, Twitter announced their plans for NFT integration for their social media platform along with BTC tipping via the Lightning network. Four months and millions of JPEGs later, we are seeing the feature being slowly rolled out and it goes to the Premium Twitter Blue Subscribers on the iOS operating system first. 

Twitter Blue was initially launched back in November 2021 in Australia and Canada. Twitter Blue subscription costs 2.99/month, and it is limited to certain regions and countries, namely the USA, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. It has customization options for regular users in the form of a full thread view on a single page, bookmark folders, themes, and the option to undo tweets. For the NFT and Crypto community, the Verified Profile pictures will have a distinct hexagon container border when it is set as the displayed avatar. By clicking the image, users can view the Collection information, traits, and attributes of the specific NFT. Further exploration can take users to the Opensea storefront of the NFT issuer. 

Twitter is using Opensea API (application programmable interface) for data and most of the commonly used Ethereum wallets like Metamask, Coinbase, Argent, Rainbow, and WalletConnect. Twitter developers teased the feature, and it had chain badges and a collection tab to view all the NFTs collected. But on the newly launched upgrade, those features aren't incorporated yet. The implementation is not perfect and seamless, but that's normal, and it will be improved with every iteration. When Twitter deploys multichain support, we will see chain badges as well. 

As expected, the announcement received mixed views from both crypto & non-crypto users. Some are not fond of hexagonal cropping, and many are against the subscription model. NFT haters are also pushing back to highlight environmental concerns, which is false and a new height of ignorance. Sooner than later, it will be everywhere, and fact denial is not a way to go. 

Facebook has 2.6 Billion users, Instagram has 1.4 Billion, Meta rebranding and recent announcements of NFT marketplaces signals the next wave is fast approaching. Twitter is by far the most used social media for trends and social sentiment, with 206 million daily users. It can be regarded as a tool for gathering information and raising a voice. Hence, a verifiable feature from Twitter gives recognition and validation to the entire NFT community. It will significantly reduce friction and barriers of entry. We are not so far from the future where 'Sign In With Wallets' will be on every website. Web3 now is a reality with integrations of this scale which impact billions of people.