Twitter seems likely to integrate tipping using Bitcoin.

[Darker45]

Reports have it that Jack Dorsey's Twitter is currently testing the use of tips on the platform using Bitcoin on the Lightning Network. This will likely use the services of Jack Mallers' Strike. Furthermore, the new function is rumored to support both custodial and non-custodial wallets.^[1]

A leaked image is released by developer, Alessandro Paluzzi, as to how the feature would probably look like.


https://twitter.com/alex193a/status/1432963409151135744/photo/1

Jack has already made hints about it several weeks ago when he made statements regarding Bitcoin and Twitter's future.^[2]

However, it seems this development is not that interesting at all given the fact that the Bitcoin Lightning App Strike implements KYC. John Carvalho, for example, who used to be an executive of Bitrefill, expresses his dismay on Strike's KYC/AML screening requirements.^[3]

[1] https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/116320/twitter-appears-to-be-adding-the-ability-to-tip-using-bitcoin
[2] https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/112299/bitcoin-big-part-twitter-future-ceo-jack-dorsey
[3] https://twitter.com/BitcoinErrorLog/status/1433041075032281091

[mk4]

It sure seems like they're going to require KYC/AML. And while it sucks for sure, can we really blame them? It's highly like that Twitter allowing non-KYC money sending(even if it's just a front-end UI thing, not necessarily them facilitating the transactions) is just going to get themselves in trouble with the government.

In the end, while again— it sucks, this is still in no doubt positive in my book.

[xypos]

It sure seems like they're going to require KYC/AML. And while it sucks for sure, can we really blame them? It's highly like that Twitter allowing non-KYC money sending(even if it's just a front-end UI thing, not necessarily them facilitating the transactions) is just going to get themselves in trouble with the government.

In the end, while again— it sucks, this is still in no doubt positive in my book.

Agreed.

Regardless of how you look at it though this can't be bad news. KYC is totally expected with a company of this size.

Certainly will showcase to the world the potential that bitcoin has as a means of payment as well as a store of value, I think. These high profile endorsements of blockchain technology are certainly for the better.

[Darker45]

It's highly like that Twitter allowing non-KYC money sending(even if it's just a front-end UI thing, not necessarily them facilitating the transactions) is just going to get themselves in trouble with the government.

"I fought the law and the law won." Well, perhaps Jack's a fan of The Clash and has learned a precious lesson from them.

In the end, while again— it sucks, this is still in no doubt positive in my book.

Agreed.

Same here. Agreed. This might still be net positive to me as well. This is still more like a step forward rather than a step backward. Although I must say there has to be even just a mild resistance. Wouldn't you think? Or are we just to nod, yield, say yes, and avoid displeasing them all the way?

Of course, it is easier said than done. It is easy to say this because I don't own Twitter. However, when are we to stop walking on eggshells and start pushing for a little privacy? After all, this is just about a social media platform and small amounts of tips in Bitcoin. Surely, the fears upon which KYC in line with AML and CFT policies are founded could hardly be applicable here.

[sunsilk]

im pretty sure they are not going to demand KYC. As long as you only tip with crypto, KYC is not required. KYC is only required once you are involved in fiat currencies.

Twitter will be hit by its government if there's an issue with its compliance towards KYC/AML. In all exchanges that are catering their users in the US, they're requiring KYC and that's why many have been having issues about it.

But we'll see how Twitter will implement such thing and if there's a concern about KYC. Because I'm sure that they're going to be compliant with the governments rule about it as there's still 'money' involve.

[NeuroticFish]

For now, Twitter users will need a Strike account to receive tips in Bitcoin.

That for now may mean anything. As I wrote yesterday too on a similar topic , while strike is custodial, the news is not that great, not yet, not "for now".

[dkbit98]

Using Strike should be only temporary during testing phase, and I think their service is only available in United States and El Salvador (sorry rest of the world).
They mention using Blue Wallet, Wallet of Satoshi as LN custodial wallets and Breez, Muun, Phoenix and Zap as non-custodial wallets, so there are plans to add other options for tips maybe even upcoming Square hardware.
Jack is now like octopus working on everything related with Bitcoin and he also plans to use BTC for Twitter Super Follows and subscriptions.
I wouldn't pass any KYC for this but if you do you can order Strike card and earn some cashback for purchasing stuff.

[shield132]

It sure seems like they're going to require KYC/AML. And while it sucks for sure, can we really blame them? It's highly like that Twitter allowing non-KYC money sending(even if it's just a front-end UI thing, not necessarily them facilitating the transactions) is just going to get themselves in trouble with the government.

In the end, while again— it sucks, this is still in no doubt positive in my book.

It's very positive news but at the same time the trouble that user has to go through doesn't worth and in this case I mean, you have to create account, get KYC verified, deposit bitcoins and then fund others. Will people really do that just for twitter? Maybe yes if Strike will partner with Google, Apple, Facebook and other companies that will share the same provider for tips.

Idk, since they are going to do that, there would be a lot of research behind this and most likely they expect that this service will work and it will benefit their business well.

[stomachgrowls]

It sure seems like they're going to require KYC/AML. And while it sucks for sure, can we really blame them? It's highly like that Twitter allowing non-KYC money sending(even if it's just a front-end UI thing, not necessarily them facilitating the transactions) is just going to get themselves in trouble with the government.

In the end, while again— it sucks, this is still in no doubt positive in my book.

They would surely be cleaning their hands from the start and if its needed to imply KYC then it is something not surprising. Just like what others been saying then this is something not that interesting nor
giving out some positive effect.

In regards with exposure then it would somehow give that awareness specially to those people who havent able to meet or aware about bitcoins existence specially if they do saw that it can
be used in tipping when its already integrated and we know that when curiosity strikes then people would search or dig deeper about it.

[mk4]

It's very positive news but at the same time the trouble that user has to go through doesn't worth and in this case I mean, you have to create account, get KYC verified, deposit bitcoins and then fund others. Will people really do that just for twitter?

Maybe, or maybe not. What's good is that people have the option to do so if they want to. And not only that, the fact that Twitter users can use bitcoin itself is good news, as it sorts of gives more "legitimacy" to bitcoin as an asset to those who still think in 2021 that bitcoin is a scam.

[Taskford]

It sure seems like they're going to require KYC/AML. And while it sucks for sure, can we really blame them? It's highly like that Twitter allowing non-KYC money sending(even if it's just a front-end UI thing, not necessarily them facilitating the transactions) is just going to get themselves in trouble with the government.

In the end, while again— it sucks, this is still in no doubt positive in my book.

Well maybe yes they will implement that since knowing we are dealing money for using twitter but we shouldn't get afraid for that requirements if they require their user to do that since Twitter is a strong platform which is now registered to the government. For sure they think about legalities for implementing that so there's no really big thing to afraid regarding unto this since for sure the one we see is great thing addition usage of bitcoin if twitter would really add up that feature.

[mk4]

Well maybe yes they will implement that since knowing we are dealing money for using twitter but we shouldn't get afraid for that requirements if they require their user to do that since Twitter is a strong platform which is now registered to the government. For sure they think about legalities for implementing that so there's no really big thing to afraid regarding unto this since for sure the one we see is great thing addition usage of bitcoin if twitter would really add up that feature.

Regardless if a certain company/platform is "trusted" or not, it's still a great move to decrease the usage of AML/KYC as much as possible. Twitter could be the best non-evil company in the world, but if their database gets breached, good luck erasing your personal information from the web.

[Woodie]

Twitter being among one of the preferred platforms by most  influencers this should be a good way to showcase some of bitcoins strengths such as being able to send micro payments (tips) a thing not so popular with fiat and also remove the burden of user verification another stressful process about fiat systems. Honestly this is a win win for bitcoin and crypto just hope if btc is used fees don't jump high like it's counter part Ethereum.

[FinneysTrueVision]

Strike only requires the receiver to be KYC'd but anybody can send them BTC from any wallet that supports Lightning Network. I don't know why it would be necessary for the sender to go through KYC. I don't want to have to be asked for ID when supporting a charity or even for personal transactions where I send money to friends. Bitcoin is designed to be permissionless so if they add all these requirements then it would be a huge disappointment and it will keep many people excluded from their payment platform.

[o_e_l_e_o]

Sorry, am I missing something here? You need to use Strike, which requires KYC, and connect that to your Twitter profile to display a Lightning invoice for other users to send tips to. And what exactly is stopping me just using a non-custodial non-KYC wallet and generating my own Lightning invoice and putting that on my Twitter profile, bypassing their system and their KYC altogether?

This seems like a privacy nightmare. Potentially millions of people are about to de-anonymize themselves by linking their very public names and social media accounts to their bitcoin wallets. Also, the amount of Twitter scams I can see coming is going to be ridiculous. Now fake Elon Musk accounts can just ask people to send donations directly to the bitcoin address listed on their profile.

[PrimeNumber7]

A leaked image is released by developer, Alessandro Paluzzi, as to how the feature would probably look like.

This person does not appear to be associated with Twitter, beyond having a Twitter account. I am not sure why news outlets are citing this person. Most likely, this person was speculating as to what using bitcoin via twitter would look like.

I would also find it very unlikely that Twitter will encourage using bitcoin on its platform. Doing so would create a lot of risks, one of which being that it gives people direct financial incentives to hack Twitter accounts. After Twitter was hacked last year, they prevented (verified?) users from posting bitcoin addresses in their tweets.

Regardless if a certain company/platform is "trusted" or not, it's still a great move to decrease the usage of AML/KYC as much as possible. Twitter could be the best non-evil company in the world, but if their database gets breached, good luck erasing your personal information from the web.

Twitter is far from a "non-evil" company for many reasons. They allow terrorists who want to commit mass murder to publish propaganda to get more people to join them, while they censor people they disagree with.

This seems like a privacy nightmare. Potentially millions of people are about to de-anonymize themselves by linking their very public names and social media accounts to their bitcoin wallets.

If people are displaying LN invoices as a means to receive payment, there should not be a major de-anonymization issue, as it is not trivial to get a lot of information about transaction history from a LN invoice, and is even more difficult if you are not actively monitoring a channel.

Also, the amount of Twitter scams I can see coming is going to be ridiculous. Now fake Elon Musk accounts can just ask people to send donations directly to the bitcoin address listed on their profile.

It has the potential to be even worse than what you describe. Accounts can get hijacked, and new addresses/invoices can be changed in a profile without someone creating even a single fraudulent tweet.

[Darker45]

A leaked image is released by developer, Alessandro Paluzzi, as to how the feature would probably look like.

This person does not appear to be associated with Twitter, beyond having a Twitter account. I am not sure why news outlets are citing this person. Most likely, this person was speculating as to what using bitcoin via twitter would look like.

Yeah, he is not connected with Twitter. He's just a self-proclaimed leaker. But it seems he's got access to some beta versions. Perhaps he was one of those who also made tests on certain versions. It seems he's also gathering screenshots from those who had the opportunity to made the test themselves.


https://twitter.com/alex193a/status/1433537509523214337

Even Twitter's product lead developer, Kayvon Beykpour, confirmed the truth of one of his tweets.^[1]

I would also find it very unlikely that Twitter will encourage using bitcoin on its platform. Doing so would create a lot of risks, one of which being that it gives people direct financial incentives to hack Twitter accounts. After Twitter was hacked last year, they prevented (verified?) users from posting bitcoin addresses in their tweets.

Well, it seems the direction is toward integrating Bitcoin to the social media platform. There are always risks, of course. But a hack is a hack and even if there is no Bitcoin address on the profile, just like when the 2020 hack happened, the risk is still existent and damage could still be done. Even the current Tip Jar feature is risky enough if a hack occurs. The hacker could also change the user's PayPal, Cash App, Venmo, and other addresses.

[1] https://twitter.com/kayvz/status/1433115154028187650

[PrimeNumber7]

I would also find it very unlikely that Twitter will encourage using bitcoin on its platform. Doing so would create a lot of risks, one of which being that it gives people direct financial incentives to hack Twitter accounts. After Twitter was hacked last year, they prevented (verified?) users from posting bitcoin addresses in their tweets.

Well, it seems the direction is toward integrating Bitcoin to the social media platform. There are always risks, of course. But a hack is a hack and even if there is no Bitcoin address on the profile, just like when the 2020 hack happened, the risk is still existent and damage could still be done. Even the current Tip Jar feature is risky enough if a hack occurs. The hacker could also change the user's PayPal, Cash App, Venmo, and other addresses.

PayPal, etc transactions are reversible, so if a twitter account hack results in someone sending payments to one of these types of accounts, the payments can be reversed. This is not true for bitcoin nor LN payments.

Like I mentioned, twitter reduced the future potential benefit to a similar hack as what took place in 2020 by preventing users from being able to post bitcoin addresses.

[o_e_l_e_o]

If people are displaying LN invoices as a means to receive payment, there should not be a major de-anonymization issue, as it is not trivial to get a lot of information about transaction history from a LN invoice, and is even more difficult if you are not actively monitoring a channel.

Assuming that they are only going to allow you display Lightning invoices. I'd be very surprised if there was no option to display a standard Bitcoin address, especially if the information about allowing users to display Ethereum addresses is accurate.

It has the potential to be even worse than what you describe. Accounts can get hijacked, and new addresses/invoices can be changed in a profile without someone creating even a single fraudulent tweet.

I never even thought of that. How often will the average Twitter user visit their own profile to double check the address/invoice hasn't been changed. Even worse considering a hacker could have days to generate a look-alike address using a vanity generator so it is not immediately obvious.

But a hack is a hack and even if there is no Bitcoin address on the profile, just like when the 2020 hack happened, the risk is still existent and damage could still be done.

I agree. If you are careless enough to believe a fake Elon Musk Twitter profile will send back double whatever you send to the address they post, then you are also careless enough to follow a link saying the same thing.

[leea-1334]

As long as they do not make it difficult for people to withdraw a few satoshis or dollars every now and then,,, then it is fine. But imagine if you allowed 10 satoshi tipping or okay 20 satoshi (over US 1 cent now) and then discover you need min 30,000 satoshi to withdraw, plus fee.

I can foresee a lot of abandoned accounts making money for Twitter.