On the website of the MacRumors portal , news has appeared about the latest beta version of the iOS operating system, in the code of which there is information about Bitcoin as part of the Tip Jar service.
Recall that the so-called Tip Jar appeared on Twitter back in May, with its help users can reward the content creators they like with a tip. At the same time, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey hinted back in July that Bitcoin could become an important part of his social platform in the future. Let’s talk about what is happening in more detail.
By tradition, let’s start with an explanation. The topic of tips in cryptocurrency is not new – they are actively used on the Reddit social platform. Accordingly, users of the service can thank the author of the publication they like using a small amount of cryptocurrency. These payments are made in the so-called satoshi or sats, the smallest indivisible part of BTC, which is 0.00000001 bitcoin. The amount to be sent is indicated in the comments using the «! Tip» or «+ bitcointip» commands.
The head of Twitter, Jack Dorsey himself, was also on the eve of the crypto community. In particular, a few days ago, he announced the creation of a decentralized exchange for Bitcoin, which should make cryptocurrency more popular among newcomers. Ideally, the platform will allow users to buy BTC using their local currencies. How exactly this will be implemented is unknown.
Dorsey’s desire drew criticism from Ethereum fans, on the basis of which such platforms have existed for a long time. They also allow you to interact with Bitcoin – though in this case we are talking about its equivalent token Wrapped Bitcoin or WBTC.
Support for Bitcoin on Twitter
If the information about the cryptocurrency turns out to be true, it will become another Tip Jar payment method along with Cash App, PayPal and Venmo. In addition, Twitter, along with BTC itself, will most likely support payments through the Lightning Network. This is quite logical, because LN provides almost instant transfers of coins, while ordinary transactions can take up to several hours under heavy network congestion.
Recall that the Lightning Network is a second-tier solution for Bitcoin that creates structures from payment channels for conducting micropayments. LN has very low fees compared to regular transfers and almost instant coin sending.
We checked the actual data: yesterday the average cost of making a transfer on the Bitcoin network was the equivalent of $ 3. Naturally, this is a lot to send in gratitude for the content you create – especially when it comes to relatively small amounts. Therefore, support for the Lightning Network will be fully justified.
However, it is important to note that working with the Lightning Network requires a more advanced level of knowledge than the usual interaction with BTC on exchanges or hardware wallets. Here, in order to work with other network participants, you need to create channels, as well as open them to each other. Given these difficulties, LN has relatively few users.
The official integration of Bitcoin into Twitter began almost a year and a half ago when Dorsey announced the addition of an emoji in the form of a cryptocurrency emblem for correspondence and tweets within the social platform. Even before that, the CEO of Twitter has repeatedly stated that Bitcoin is supposedly the main currency of the Internet , and therefore its development is extremely important for the gradual growth of the decentralized space.
«Tipping» in BTC within one of the most popular platforms of our time will give a huge boost to the spread of Bitcoin. Given its popularity, the digital asset will clearly be interested in well-known content creators who were previously far from the innovations of the crypto market. Plus, fans of the service will have a reason to spend coins rewarding their favorite content creators. Well, there is no doubt about the popularity of BTC tips among the crypto community on Twitter.
We believe this initiative will benefit the digital asset industry. After the introduction of Bitcoin on Twitter, more and more people will begin to perceive cryptocurrencies as a full-fledged means of payment and a replacement for ordinary money, albeit on the Internet. Thus, people will have noticeably more reasons to contact coins.