It looks like Elon Musk’s Twitter is working on a new scheme to monetize the platform. According to screenshots shared by two app researchers, the service appears to be testing an in-app currency called “coins”.
This feature was discovered in recent days by Jane Manchun Wong and Nima Owji, application researchers often publish images of unreleased features. According to their posts, the coin appears to be an extension of Twitter’s existing tip feature. “Coins allow you to support great content Tweet creators,” reads the screenshot shared by Wong and Owji. An image shared by Owji back displayed a new “Coins” tab in the same section where users can track their tips.
For now, it’s unclear exactly what Twitter’s plans are for the coin or when the feature might launch. The company, which no longer hires communications staff, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But the screenshots show that Twitter is at least considering highlighting the coins in its app as both Wong and Owji spotted it in the main sidebar.
But coins can be not just for tipping. Wong also discovered the “Rewards” feature, which allows people to use coins to buy in-app gifts for others. According to the image shared by Wong, users will be able to purchase gifts with just one coin (called “Mind Blown”) or as much as 5000 (called “Gold”). It’s unclear how much the coins will cost, though Twitter will presumably get a portion of the revenue from the coin purchases.
So far, Elon Musk doesn’t appear to have publicly weighed in on coins or prizes, but he has spoken extensively about wanting more ways for creators to be rewarded. He is that Twitter Blue revenue will potentially “provide Twitter a revenue stream to reward content creators” “Creator monetization for all types of content” is also in the works.
It’s also important to note that despite the moniker of “coins,” the feature doesn’t appear to have any crypto tie-ins, at least for now. “Twitter Coin is still under development and we don’t even have any proof that it has anything to do with crypto,” Owji . “Don’t let the scammers fool you.”
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