Techcrunch reported that social media platform Twitter (now known as X) has officially discontinued support for NFTs as profile pictures for its paid subscribers, and related page descriptions have been removed. However, the company had previously revealed its intention to launch a peer-to-peer payment system, indicating its continued commitment to exploring blockchain technology applications.
Table of Contents:
Toggle
X will no longer support NFT avatars
Kraken co-founder: Removal of NFT avatar feature is a setback for the industry
X’s New Year outlook
According to the report, X seems to have quietly removed support for NFT profile pictures (PFP) among its premium subscribers in a recent system update.
[Image]
[Image]
Previous NFT Profile Picture feature of X
It is understood that this feature was initially introduced in January 2022, allowing Twitter Blue subscribers to use NFTs minted on Ethereum (ERC-721 or ERC-1155 tokens) as their NFT avatars, displayed as hexagonal images in their profiles.
Advertisements – Scroll down for more content
[Image]
[Image]
[Image]
[Image]
Other users could click on someone’s NFT avatar to learn more details about the NFT collection series, contract address, and token ID.
Now, this feature and related descriptions have been removed.
Searching for previous
Internet Archive
The introduction and description of NFT avatars on X’s X Premium support page were clear and explicit:
As a premium subscriber, you can create and customize your profile, showcasing the NFTs you own using your profile picture on your account. Simply connect to your personal encrypted wallet to verify your ownership of the NFT and set it as your avatar, and the digital asset will be displayed as a special hexagonal image.
Previously, social media giant Meta’s platforms, Instagram and Facebook, had also attempted to introduce NFT features in their applications but eventually removed them after April last year.
Currently, users who still have NFT avatars will retain the hexagonal avatars, but they can no longer view detailed token information.
Jesse Powell, co-founder of Kraken, expressed regret on the platform, stating that X discontinuing support for NFT PFP is a setback for the industry. He believes that the reason the feature was not widely used is because it was not properly utilized, such as in terms of signatures and ownership proofs.
However, it is worth mentioning that when the feature was designed, the CEO at the time, Elon Musk, had criticized it:
“Twitter spends engineering resources on these meaningless things, while crypto scammers hold a garbage bot block party in every reply?”
Therefore, the removal of the feature may not come as a surprise.
That being said, X’s recently announced 2024 review and plan, which includes several exciting visions, is noteworthy. These include:
Shifting towards a video-centric platform: X will become a video-centric platform, where users will see video content in 8 out of 10 instances.
Introducing artificial intelligence: X will enhance user search, similar content viewing, and advertising experiences through Grok AI.
Launching a peer-to-peer payment system: X aims to attract more users and unlock new business opportunities through this.
Elon Musk
NFTs
Twitter
X
[Image]
[Image]
Further reading
Trump launches new Mugshot NFT! Single image for $99, dinner for 47?
NFT market heats up, floor prices surge by 30%, how did OpenSea and Blur perform?