Twitter has introduced a new tipping feature called Tips, which allows users a choice of different payment options including crypto to receive payments on the platform.
How do Tips work?
At the moment, Twitter has only rolled out the Tips feature for those on iOS with plans to get it to the Android and web users in the coming weeks.
Even though it started with a few people for the testing phase, the Tips feature has now been rolled out for several other profiles.
To tip a user, they must be eligible to use Tips and have turned it on. You will confirm this when you see a fiat money icon next to the follow button on the profile page. You will then click on the icon to view a list of payments the user has enabled, then select the preferred one.
Some of the currently supported payment methods include; Bitcoin, Strike (Bitcoin Light Network), Cash App, Patreon, Razorpay, Chipper, Venmo, GoFundMe and PicPay.
Once you choose the ideal payment method, you get directed to the payment app to send the funds. Twitter does not take any cut from the transacted amount. Also, the availability of the payment method depends on the location of the user. Only Bitcoin and the Lightning options are available globally.
Tipping with Bitcoin on Twitter
Here are the two main ways to tip with Bitcoin on Twitter
1. Using a Bitcoin wallet
Tipping via a Bitcoin wallet is the simplest way to tip Bitcoin on Twitter. You first have to confirm that the user has Bitcoin wallet transfer as a supported tipping third party payment option. When supported, it comes with a Bitcoin wallet on the profile.
Copy then paste the recipient’s Bitcoin wallet address to your Bitcoin wallet and send the BTC directly to their account.
2. Using the lightning network
In addition to the direct Bitcoin wallet transfer, Twitter also supports tipping with Bitcoin using Strike – a payment platform on the Bitcoin Lightning Network for receiving and sending Bitcoin. It supports instant and free Bitcoin transactions.
Strike is currently available to people in El Salvador and the US (except New York and Hawaii). To receive Bitcoin payments through Strike, the users must first be in the eligible location. They should then sign up on the platform and create a Strike username to receive the payments on the lightning network. A Strike account can receive payments from any Lightning network.
The Strike account can also receive payment from a Bitcoin wallet. However, unlike the free transactions between the lightning accounts, transferring money from a wallet would incur network transaction fees.
Note – that you must be 18+ to enable the Tips options and start receiving money on Twitter.
