Twitter Developing ‘Coins’ Feature With Stripe Payments

Twitter is continuing to develop a new feature that will allow users to give each other “Awards” using “Coins” that can be purchased with fiat currency.

According to security researcher and data miner Jane Manchun Wong, Twitter is currently developing a purchase interface and menu item button for its “Coins,” and will use Stripe to process payments in fiat.

Twitter is working on Coins purchasing screen
On the web, Twitter Coins purchase will be done through Stripe https://t.co/RFpWswnZfGpic.twitter.com/eAzPWjfoye
— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) January 10, 2023

The news suggests that Twitter’s upcoming monetization features are continuing to develop despite losing much of its staff just a few months ago following new CEO Elon Musk’s takeover.

Twitter is also working on a “Coins” menu item that takes you to the purchase screen pic.twitter.com/tSG8msWBGe
— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) January 10, 2023

While it’s unlikely that Twitter’s “Coins” will exist on the blockchain, it’s possible crypto could be added as a payment method through Stripe, allowing users to buy Twitter Coins with crypto in the future. Stripe leaned into supporting crypto payments last year, and Twitter tested USDC payouts through Stripe for its creators monetizing their content through the social media site last year as well.

For now, it appears that those who receive Twitter Awards will have to wait until they’ve earned at least $50 worth to redeem, which is the same as the minimum payout amount for those monetizing Twitter’s existing “Super Follows” feature.

Looks like Twitter Awards payout will be done in fiat, with the minimum payout threshold of $50 https://t.co/PpgHebBWD6pic.twitter.com/pNcvPXxNsc
— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) January 5, 2023

Could Twitter’s Coins or Awards go crypto in the future? Don’t count on it—for now.

“Not seeing any explicit indications that Twitter’s Coins is crypto,” Wong told Decrypt via direct message.

Developer and app researcher Nima Owji, who also shared leaks of Twitter Coins in December, told Decrypt that he hadn’t found any leads on whether crypto will be involved with Coins or Awards. But Owji said that if Twitter was planning to implement crypto, it may be keeping those plans under tighter wraps.

“They usually don't push the sensitive information about such things when it's not ready,” Owji told Decrypt in a message. “I guess even if it's going to be related to crypto, they'll add it to the code when they want to release it.”

Here’s the list of Twitter Awards: https://t.co/PpgHebBWD6pic.twitter.com/BePDVAkzhy
— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) January 5, 2023

Last week, Wong said that Twitter’s “Awards” will include reactions such as “Mind Blown,” “Bravo,” “Bullseye,” “Gem,” and “Crown,” to name a few. Such reactions—which will require Coins to give to a user’s tweet—are similar to Reddit Gold, a feature where Redditors pay to buy “Gold” with fiat to recognize threads or posts they believe are moving or helpful.

Twitter has not yet responded to Decrypt’s requests for comment.