Twitter's New Year's Resolution: NFT profile picture feature removed, peer-to-peer payment system launching soon
Techcrunch reported that the social media platform Twitter has officially ceased support for NFT profile pictures for its paying subscribers, and related descriptions on the page have been removed. However, the company had revealed a few days ago its intention to launch a peer-to-peer payment system, indicating its ongoing commitment to exploring the applications of blockchain technology.
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X to No Longer Support NFT Avatars
Reports indicate that X has quietly removed support for NFT Profile Picture (PFP) for premium subscribers in its recent system update.
It is understood that the feature was initially introduced in January 2022, allowing Twitter Blue subscribers to use NFT ERC-721 or ERC-1155 tokens minted on Ethereum as their NFT avatars, displayed as hexagonal images in their profiles.
Other users could click on someone's NFT avatar to learn more about the NFT collection series, contract address, token ID, and other details.
Now, the feature and related descriptions have been removed.
Referencing a previous web archive, X's support page for X Premium clearly stated the introduction and description of NFT avatars:
As a premium subscriber, you can create and customize your profile, showcasing the NFTs you own by setting an NFT as your avatar through connecting to your personal crypto wallet to verify ownership of the NFT, which will be displayed as a special hexagonal image.
Prior to this, social media giant Meta's Instagram and Facebook had also attempted to introduce NFT features in their apps, but subsequently removed them after April last year.
Currently, users who still have NFT avatars will retain the hexagonal avatar but can no longer view detailed token information.
Kraken Co-Founder: Removal of NFT Avatar Feature is a Step Back for the Industry
In response, Kraken co-founder Jesse Powell expressed regret on the platform, stating that X discontinuing NFT PFP is a step back for the industry, believing the feature's lack of widespread adoption stemmed from improper usage in aspects like signatures and ownership verification.
Discontinued support for NFT profile pics on @X is a step back for the industry. Reduced utility is always a loss. NFT PFPs weren't widely used but it was an MVP and never got the treatment it deserved: communities, message signing and features built around proof of ownership.
— Jesse Powell (@jespow) January 10, 2024
However, even when the feature was initially designed, CEO Elon Musk had previously criticized it:
Twitter devoting engineering resources to this meaningless thing while crypto scammers hold a block party in every comment?
Hence, the removal of the feature may not come as a surprise.
X's New Year Outlook
Nevertheless, it is worth noting that in X's 2024 year in review and plans announced a few days ago, they presented several exciting visions, including:
- Shifting to a Video-Centric Platform: X will become a video-centric platform where users will see video content in 8 out of 10 instances.
- Introducing Artificial Intelligence: X will enhance user search, view similar content, and advertising experiences through Grok AI.
- Launching Peer-to-Peer Payment System: X aims to attract more users and unlock new business opportunities through this feature.