A new feature will allow some Twitter users to set their own NFTs as their profile pictures to signal their commitment to the emerging digital art. The feature began rolling out on Thursday. By launching a feature for the flashy NFT trend, Twitter becomes one of the well-known tech platforms.
A nonfungible token, or NFT, is a verifiable, one-of-a-kind digital collectable, often a work of art, that can be traded on the blockchain, the underlying technology of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin. In spite of not being exactly new, NFTs have evolved into a lucrative industry over the past year, with digital art selling for millions of dollars, and celebrities and companies making and selling them.
NFT profile pictures are only available to Twitter Blue subscribers. What does Twitter Blue mean? Seeing a blue checkmark next to an account name means Twitter has taken steps to make sure it is owned by the person or organization it claims to represent. It lets people know that a public account is authentic.
People’s Twitter (TWTR) avatars have started to include NFTs such as characters from the “Bored Apes” collection in recent months. By linking a person’s digital wallet where the NFTs are stored to their Twitter account, the new feature will prove that they own the NFTs. This feature is only available to Twitter subscribers.
On Twitter, the NFT avatars will appear as hexagons instead of circles, and users will be able to click on the images for additional details, such as who the artist is and where the art is listed.
Facebook and Instagram are reportedly considering launching marketplaces for NFTs on Facebook and Instagram, according to reports from the Information and the Financial Times.
As part of the deal, Twitter will also offer users the option of tipping creators using bitcoin. In July, the company’s CEO, Jack Dorsey, stated bitcoin was a key component of the company’s future. In September, Twitter made tipping creators possible using bitcoin.
Additionally, Twitter announced last year that it had created a crypto team to focus on cryptocurrencies, blockchains and related technologies.
For now, NFT profile pictures are only available to Twitter Blue subscribers using the iOS app in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, although users on any platform can see the new avatars.
