Twitter Now Allows Users to Tip in Ethereum (ETH) – Here’s Why Some Users Are Unimpressed

Following the successful integration of Bitcoin payments in September last year, Twitter has updated its ‘Tips' feature. As part of the updates, it has added support for Ethereum payment – marking the second cryptocurrency to be accepted on the platform.

Here are more details on the new feature and how users have reacted to it:

Ethereum and other payment options now supported on Twitter

The support arm of the social networking company shared a tweet on Wednesday detailing that the platform has added other payment channels.

“Have you set up Tips on your profile yet, so it's easy for people to show their support? Yes: Cool, we've added Paga, Barter by Flutterwave, Paytm, and the option to add your Ethereum address. No: What are you waiting for?” Twitter support team posted.

With these regional-focused payment options, Tips will now include users from Ghana, India, and Nigeria.

Content creators and influencers who would like to receive tips via Ether must enable the tipping feature from their profile settings and then update it with an Ethereum address. However, they will have to contend with their lengthy, clunky Ethereum addresses rather than Ethereum Name Service (ENS) domain names.

Twitter will not charge any fees for sending tips, but third parties via which the payments are completed might do. Also, there remains no limit to the amount that users can tip their favorite content creators on the social media platform.

Tips have been a thing on Twitter for a while now, with support available for Bitcoin and other payment services. These include Patreon, Venmo, Cash App, and GoFundMe. In Bitcoin's case, the social platform processes transactions via the Strike payments app, built on the Bitcoin Lightning Network.

Users worried about Ethereum's exorbitant fees

While the idea to add support for Ethereum brings diversity to the table, the fact that massive fees plague the Ethereum blockchain does not change. This reality led to some Twitter users launching an onslaught, questioning why one would send tips using Ether only to suffer the high gas fees.

“Nice, so if you wanna pay someone $5 tip, you have to pay $50 gas fee,” one user remarked.

Another user responded to CoinDesk's tweet about the news, sarcastically describing the milestone as ‘revolutionary.'

“You can now easily tip Ethereum on Twitter and only pay $5 – $20 in network fees. Truly revolutionary,” he wrote.

Post-Dorsey Twitter

Many users quickly pointed out that Ethereum support comes not long after former Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey walked away from the firm to focus on other initiatives. Dorsey, a long-time Bitcoin maximalist, has been vocal in supporting the leading cryptocurrency. His bio on the platform befittingly reads ‘#bitcoin' alongside the Bitcoin emoticon.

Indeed, he has an unwavering belief in the crypto asset as he has turned a blind eye to all other cryptocurrencies, including Ethereum. Dorsey reportedly said none of the other crypto assets mattered to him during last year's edition of the Bitcoin conference in Miami.

As the platform targets broader masses, post-Dorsey Twitter is taking a more encompassing approach to other cryptocurrencies whose name is not Bitcoin. The addition of support for ETH tips is an indication that the departure of the Twitter founder was impactful on the social media platform's diversification into other blockchain use cases.

Notably, Twitter has been warming up to the home of smart contract functionality. Its recently launched NFT profile picture feature is exclusive to Ethereum-hosted collectables. Also, while Dorsey was still CEO, Twitter launched Ethereum NFTs in June last year.

To learn more about Ethereum visit our Investing in Ethereum guide.