Code within a recent Twitter beta suggests that the company is integrating a Bitcoin payment option for its new “Tip Jar” feature with the help of the lightning network.
Tipping With Bitcoin
Though Bitcoin tips are not yet available to beta users, code reveals that it could soon be implemented as a payment option alongside Cash App, Bandcamp, Patreon, Venmo, and PayPal.
For the unfamiliar, users of the network will be guided through a Bitcoin tutorial, including details about custodial wallets, non-custodial wallets, and the Bitcoin Lightning Network. Given examples of custodial wallets include Zap, Breez, and Phoenix, while examples of non-custodial wallets include Strike, Blue Wallet, and Wallet of Satoshi.
In particular, use of the new Twitter function would require a Strike account, according to the text:
“We use Strike to generate Bitcoin Lightning invoices so you’ll need to connect your account to accept Bitcoin tips”
The arrival of Bitcoin tips was not unforeseen: Jack Dorsey told investors that Bitcoin would be “a big part of Twitter’s future” in July. At the time, he specifically mentioned the tip jar as one product that could benefit from the network, alongside a handful of others, including subscription and commerce.
The launch date of the company’s new Bitcoin feature remains unknown.
Utilizing Strike and the Lightning Network
Strike is a payment app developed by Zap solutions for facilitating the instant purchase and transfer of Bitcoin between parties – with no added fees. The app accomplishes this by utilizing the lightning network, a layer two solution that solves Bitcoin’s problem of scalability due to low transaction speeds.
Seeing Twitter utilize Strike is an interesting and exciting development, signaling the partnership of two major players within the Bitcoin space. Both Jack Dorsey and Jack Mallers (Founder of Zap) were stars of the show at the 12 000 people Bitcoin conference in June, where Dorsey stated that he would leave Square and Twitter if Bitcoin needed him more, and Mallers revealed that El Salvador would be instituting Bitcoin as legal tender.