Musk is Open to Adding Crypto Functionality to Twitter Payments System

According to a Monday report, Twitter is actively seeking extensive regulatory approval for its Payment System throughout the US. While the system is intended to be fiat-focused initially, Elon Musk is allegedly planning for it to add crypto functionality at a later date.

Musk Hopes Twitter Payments Will Offer Crypto Functionality

While Twitter registered its payments-processing subsidiary—Twitter Payments LLC—already in August and filed the paperwork to become a “money transmitter” in November, the firm is now reportedly expanding its efforts. According to a report from Monday, the company is seeking licenses across the US to gain state-level regulatory approval.

Furthermore, while Twitter’s payments systems are reportedly planned to be fiat-focused at launch, Elon Musk is intending for them to be built in a way that would enable digital asset functionality to be added at a later date. Support for cryptocurrencies could help the social media platform’s payment services attract more customers as some have expressed doubts about whether it can stand out among competitors like Venmo and Zelle. 

Twitter Payments is reportedly a part of Musk’s plan to turn the social media website into an “everything app” inspired by WeChat. Twitter is facing revenue issues and its CEO already stated it is losing an estimated $4 million per day. Furthermore, the crisis has only been deepened by the mass exodus of advertisers from the platform due to the changes in community guidelines expected after Musk took over. 

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Twitter’s Increasing Crypto Integration

While the launch of Twitter Payments with crypto functionality would be a great step forward, the social media website has been slowly increasing its support for digital assets for over a year. Already in January 2021, Twitter Blue users got the option to use their NFTs as profile pictures.

The NFT functionality got expanded last year in late October when the so-called Tweet Tiles got introduced. Tweet Tiles gave users the ability to trade non-fungible tokens listed on a selection of marketplaces based on a variety of networks directly through the app. After Musk took over, digital asset integration on the platform was further expanded.

In December, the social media website added a new feature that allows users to see the prices of major stocks and ETFs, as well as of Bitcoin and Ethereum. The biggest setback for cryptocurrencies on Twitter arguably came in the turmoil following Musk’s acquisition as the platform’s head of crypto was one of the thousands to leave the company.

Do you think adding crypto functionality could help Twitter Payments rise above competitors like Venmno? Let us know in the comments below.