Code supporting a Bitcoin “tip jar” feature for content creators on the social network has been found in an iOS beta update.
Reports that Twitter plans to allow users to tip content creators in Bitcoin received a big boost on Tuesday.
MacRumors, long a well-regarded source of inside information about Apple products, said on August 31 that code in the latest beta version of Apple’s iOS contains a “tip jar” feature for Twitter.
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey is a strong Bitcoin supporter. In July, he told investors that he intended to integrate Bitcoin into a variety of the social network’s products and services, including e-commerce and subscriptions, as well as new offerings like the Twitter Tip Jar and paywalled Super Follow content.
While the Bitcoin Tip Jar feature has not been activated, the existence of the code in the iOS beta “suggests that Twitter is in the process of rolling it out,” MacRumors said.
Details about a Bitcoin tutorial covering the use of both custodial and non-custodial wallets, as well as the Bitcoin Lightning Network, was found in the iOS beta code.
The feature will also require use of a Strike account. Strike is a Bitcoin mobile payment app similar to Venmo. Created by a Lightning developer, it uses the Lightning Network to move funds without fees. A Strike-branded Visa debit card is coming soon, the company said on its website.
“We use Strike to generate Bitcoin Lightning invoices so you'll need to connect your account to accept Bitcoin tips,” text in the beta code reads.
It also gives examples of custodial wallets like Strike, Blue Wallet and Wallet of Satoshi, and non-custodial wallets Muun, Breez, Phoenix and Zap.
Bitcoin’s Biggest Fan
In that same Q2 earnings call, Dorsey said that Bitcoin will be a global currency that ensures “people and companies can freely trade goods and services anywhere on the planet.”
He added, “I think it's hugely important to Twitter and to Twitter shareholders that we continue to look at the space and invest aggressively in it.”
Dorsey’s other company, payments firm Square, supports Bitcoin trading and has bought more than 8,000 BTC for its treasury. At current prices, Square has nearly $400 million invested.
Longer term, Dorsey hopes to move Twitter onto a blockchain-based, decentralized platform for social media apps. Twitter is leading — but won’t be controlling — the Bluesky project to build this open-source platform.
