Twitter embraces cryptocurrency by rolling out Bitcoin tipping
It is a few months since Twitter added Tip Jar -- now simply known as Tips -- giving users a way to receive donations and appreciative financial tips from followers. Now the company has expanded the capability two key ways, in a move that will be welcomed by creators and entertainers alike.
Firstly, the Tips option is being made available globally to iOS users, with the promise that Android users will get it in "the coming weeks". Secondly, and more interestingly, Twitter is also making it possible to send and receive tips using Bitcoin.
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Twitter notes that many people already include links to their online payment profiles in their bios, but points out that Tips makes things much easier. Once a user activates Tips on their account, a new button appears in their profiles which provides easy access for others to send money using a range of payment services and platforms.
Right now, it is possible to accept payments via Bandcamp, Cash App, Chipper, GoFundMe, Patreon, PicPay, Razorpay, Wealthsimple Cash and Venmo, and Twitter will not charge a fee or take any commission
Writing about the rollout of the cryptocurrency option in Tips, Twitter says:
In addition to the services currently enabled through Tips, people can now seamlessly tip with Bitcoin using Strike -- a payments application built on the Bitcoin Lightning Network that allows people to send and receive Bitcoin. Strike offers instant and free payments globally.
Strike is available to people in El Salvador and the US (excluding Hawaii and New York). People in the eligible markets will have to sign up for a Strike account and add their Strike username to receive Bitcoin tips over the Lightning Network. You can use any Bitcoin Lightning wallet to send tips to someone's Strike account.
The company also says: "When you enable Tips on your profile, you can now also add your Bitcoin address. People can copy your address and paste it into a Bitcoin wallet of their choice to send you a payment directly".
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