Ultimate Resource On Bitcoin Innovations On Twitter
Twitter co-founder and CEO Jack Dorsey tweeted the newly added Bitcoin (BTC) emoji on Feb. 2 and tagged Unicode, the consortium managing the character standard, in an apparent suggestion to do the same. Ultimate Resource On Bitcoin Innovations On Twitter
Dorsey’s tweet showed that, now, whenever a Twitter user writes the Bitcoin or BTC hashtag, an image showing its symbol appears next to it.
Dorsey’s apparent suggestion that the symbol be included in the Unicode text encoding standard was appreciated by the community, with Lightning Labs co-founder Elizabeth Stark joining the request.
After Twitter added the emoji to its platform, many cryptocurrency personalities test-tweeted it, including Tron (TRX) founder and Bittorrent CEO Justin Sun.
The official accounts of major cryptocurrency exchange Binance used the emoji and suggested that the cryptocurrency community should join in using the hashtag to get it trending on Twitter. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao also retweeted the message stating, “Let’s do this.”
Jack Dorsey’s Involvement With Crypto
This is not the first foray into crypto by Twitter’s co-founder, who is also the CEO and founder of crypto-friendly mobile payments application Square. In early December 2019, he also announced that Twitter has a dedicated team to develop a decentralized standard for social media.
Updated: 3-6-2020
Ethereum Co-Founder And Elon Musk Back Jack Dorsey As Twitter CEO
While Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey could potentially be ousted by investors, at least two major figures in the crypto industry have already voiced support for the exec.
Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of major cryptocurrency project Ethereum, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who is known for his active endorsement to crypto, do not want Dorsey to step down from his position at Twitter. Musk simply stated:
“Just want say that I support @Jack as Twitter CEO. He has a good [heart].”
Buterin specifically questioned the competence of a new potential CEO that would replace Dorsey, saying:
“I also #StandWithJack. Twitter certainly has flaws but @jack has done a vastly better job than what I expect/fear from a hedge fund appointed CEO swooping in to replace him.”
Activist Investor Seeks To Oust Dorsey After Buying A 4% Stake In The Company
The comments come after Paul Singer, the billionaire founder of hedge fund Elliott Management, acquired a 4% stake in Twitter in a bid to push for major changes at the firm, including the removal of its CEO.
As reported by CNBC, Elliott now has more than a $1 billion stake in Twitter and has nominated four new board members. According to reports, Elliott has already caused troubles for major global companies like eBay, AT&T and triggered several CEO departures.
Subsequently after Bloomberg broke the news on Feb. 28, Twitter shares surged nearly 8%.
Dorsey Is Criticized For His Focus On His Crypto Payment Business Square
As reported by Cointelegraph, the activist investors apparently want to oust Dorsey for not paying enough attention to the company while focusing on his crypto business Square. Moreover, Dorsey has already faced criticism for his role as CEO of two publicly listed companies. Singer is also concerned about Dorsey’s plan to work up to six months a year in Africa.
Dorsey has emerged as one of the biggest public Bitcoin (BTC) advocates, voicing support of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency and claiming that it is the single currency of the future.
On March 4, Dorsey’s crypto payment firm Square Crypto officially introduced a new grant program supporting Bitcoin development.
Square, on the other hand, was recently awarded a patent for a technology that purportedly cracks a present barrier in cryptocurrency merchant transactions by providing a real-time system that exchanges crypto for fiat money. In November, the firm also issued a letter to shareholders showing that Bitcoin buyers on the app doubled in Q3 2019, but brought low profits.
Updated: 3-9-2020
$2B Deal Will Keep Crypto Bull Jack Dorsey As CEO of Twitter
Investment management firm Elliott Management has set up a deal with Twitter to save Jack Dorsey’s role as CEO of the social media network.
Following the deal closure — which considers a $2 billion share buyback — Elliott will gain a seat on Twitter’s board of directors, NBC reported on March 9. As part of the agreement, private equity firm Silver Lake will invest $1 billion in Twitter and also get a seat on the board. Twitter’s board of directors will continue to look for a third board member.
Commenting On The Deal, Dorsey Ostensibly Said:
“Silver Lake’s investment in Twitter is a strong vote of confidence in our work and our path forward. They are one of the most respected voices in technology and finance and we are fortunate to have them as our new partner and as a member of our Board.”
Concerns About Dorsey’s Plans
Paul Singer, a billionaire investor and the founder of Elliott Management, began pushing for the removal of Dorsey as CEO of Twitter in late February. The impetus behind the move lay in concerns of Dorsey’s time split between two $5 billion-plus companies — Twitter and crypto payment firm Square — and his desire to move to Africa.
Following the news about Dorsey’s possible removal, some of the major players in the crypto industry voiced support for the exec. Ethereum’s co-founder Vitalik Buterin and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who is also known for his active endorsement of crypto, did not want Dorsey to step down from his position at Twitter.
Buterin specifically questioned the competence of a new potential CEO that would replace Dorsey, saying: “I also #StandWithJack. Twitter certainly has flaws but @jack has done a vastly better job than what I expect/fear from a hedge fund appointed CEO swooping in to replace him.”
Updated: 9-10-2020
Jack Dorsey Still Thinks Bitcoin Is The Strongest Contender For An Internet-Native Currency
The Square CEO remains a vocal champion of the Blockchain space.
The world of cryptocurrency moves at a whirlwind pace but Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey remains committed to its earliest lodestone, Bitcoin (BTC).
In an interview with Reuters on Sept. 10, Dorsey, who also founded the mobile-payment platform Square, said he believes the coin’s potential still outshines later developments:
“I think the internet warrants a […] native currency and […] Bitcoin is probably the best manifestation of that thus far. I can’t see that changing given all the people who want the same thing and build it for that potential.”
Dorsey connected Bitcoin’s founding principles with the cooperative and decentralized ethos that he considers to be the driving spirit behind the web:
“The internet is something that is consensus-driven and is built by everyone, and anyone can change the course of it. Bitcoin has the same patterns, it was built on the internet.”
Dorsey lauded the fact that “anyone with a great idea” who wants to be part of Bitcoin can join the community — they “don’t have to be part of a company,” he said.
Dorsey appeared committed to both Bitcoin and the internet in an idealized form — free from the specters of oligopoly, the excesses of corporate and government surveillance, and the stubborn asymmetries of power and capital that the advocates of decentralization must necessarily wrestle with.
Consistent with this belief in the possibility for grassroots control over the cryptocurrency’s — and the internet’s — future direction, Dorsey told reporters that it’s important to focus on improving users’ experience of Bitcoin in order to foster its widespread adoption.
The cryptocurrency needs to evolve to become as “intuitive” to use and as convenient as existing digital payments infrastructure, he said. Cost- and time-efficiency, particularly when it comes to transaction processing, are another crucial hurdle to overcome, he added.
Dorsey’s commitment to an ideal ethos of the internet and cryptocurrency does not imply he is blind to the gulf between ideal and reality, however.
Last winter, Twitter funded a dedicated team of open source architects, engineers, and designers tasked with developing a decentralized standard for social media. Dorsey said that the goal was for Twitter to ultimately be a client of the fruits of their efforts.
Outlining the challenges that Twitter faces as a centralized platform, Dorsey identified blockchain, the technology that underpins Bitcoin, as a key technological development that points to the real possibility of a viable, decentralized future.
“Much work to be done, but the fundamentals are there,” he wrote.
Updated: 10-8-2020
Jack Dorsey’s Square Adds 4,709 Bitcoin To Its Balance Sheet
They went so far as to refer to cryptocurrency as “an instrument of economic empowerment.”
In a surprise move, Square announced the acquisition of 4,709 Bitcoin (BTC) worth roughly $50 million at time of publication. The company’s co-founder Jack Dorsey has been a long-term proponent of Bitcoin and crypto, while the company’s CashApp allows its users to invest in Bitcoin.
This news comes months after another publicly traded company, MicroStrategy, decided to convert a portion of its treasury into Bitcoin. Currently, the company holds 38,250 BTC and its CEO Michael Saylor has become one of the most vocal Bitcoin advocates. Though MicroStrategy is a large company in its own right with a $1.5 billion market capitalization, it pales in comparison to Square, which holds an $81 billion capitalization.
Square’s Accompanying Press Release Indicated That The Move Is Something Of An Ideological Statement:
“Square believes that cryptocurrency is an instrument of economic empowerment and provides a way for the world to participate in a global monetary system, which aligns with the company’s purpose.”
#Bitcoin (aka “crypto”) is direct activism against an unverifiable and exclusionary financial system which negatively affects so much of our society. Important to at *least* acknowledge and connect the related societal issues your customers face daily. This leaves people behind: https://t.co/0LMlF1qcmG
The press release noted the investment represents approximately 1% of Square’s “assets as of the end of the second quarter of 2020.” As of June 30, the company’s total assets amounted to $7.8 billion, so the acquisition may represent closer to 0.64% of the company’s assets.
Updated: 2-10-2021
Twitter Looking Into Bitcoin Payments For Employees, Says CFO
“We’ve done a lot of the upfront thinking to consider how we might pay employees should they ask to be paid in Bitcoin,” said Ned Segal.
Twitter may be the next major company to purchase Bitcoin, according to the tech firm’s chief financial officer.
In an interview on CNBC’s Squawk Box today, Ned Segal, who has served as the CFO of Twitter since 2017, responded to questions about how Twitter would react to Tesla’s recent $1.5 billion Bitcoin (BTC) investment this week.
Segal said the tech firm was watching other companies closely, and discussed potentially adding the crypto asset to its own books or using it for Twitter employees’ salaries.
“We’ve done a lot of the upfront thinking to consider how we might pay employees should they ask to be paid in Bitcoin, how we might pay a vendor should they ask to be paid in Bitcoin, and whether we need to have Bitcoin on our balance sheet,” said Segal.
“We’ve done a lot of the upfront thinking to consider how we might pay employees should they ask to be paid in #bitcoin, how we might pay a vendor if they asked to be paid in #btc and whether we need to have #btc on our balance sheet,” says @NedSegal$TWTR. pic.twitter.com/KjIgnqDmYC
Though the CFO said Twitter hasn’t “made any changes yet,” he added that the tipping point could come if enough people are interested in conducting BTC transactions with the tech firm.
“When we hedge currencies, when we do business in another country, when we think about all the different exposures that we have, we’re really trying to match our assets and our liabilities, and we take the same approach to Bitcoin that we do to all the other types of risks that we have.”
With a market capitalization of more than $51 billion, Twitter is a fraction of the value of a company like Tesla, whose market cap has risen to $780 billion this week. Following the news Tesla had purchased $1.5 billion of Bitcoin and was considering accepting it for payments, the price of Bitcoin reached a new all-time high of $48,200. If other multi-billion dollar firms announced similar purchases or adoption plans, it could help push the price even higher.
“Every CFO is going to be asked now that Tesla made the move,” said Bitcoin bull Anthony “Pomp” Pompliano in response to Segal’s interview.
“These are just the early innings of corporate adoption, as digital currencies are beginning to play a larger role in robust balance sheet management,” said Nathan Cox, the CIO at Two Prime, an investment firm specializing in digital assets. He added:
“We’ve been having many conversations with corporates to create clear Bitcoin strategies for their treasury reserves as a hedge against inflation. Announcements like these from corporate giants serve as a signal of what’s to come.”
Twitter stock has risen more than 11% since the tech firm’s most recent earnings report yesterday. However, the price of Bitcoin dipped 5% overnight to reach $44,880 at time of publication.
Updated: 7-9-2021
Jack Dorsey Confirms Square Is Building An ‘Assisted Custody’ BTC Hardware Wallet
Jack Dorsey and hardware lead Jesse Dorogusker have both confirmed Square’s plans to develop a Bitcoin hardware wallet.
Digital payments firm Square is building a Bitcoin (BTC) hardware wallet, with CEO Jack Dorsey and hardware lead Jesse Dorogusker both confirming the plan on Twitter.
The tech entrepreneur and Bitcoin proponent first teased the idea for a Square hardware wallet and custody service last month but revealed today that “we’re doing it.”
Dorogusker said on Twitter that Square wants to make Bitcoin custody more mainstream and outlined the pathway for the hardware wallet rollout:
“We have a lot of questions and issues to reconcile and we’ll start with this product direction: bitcoin first, global distribution, multisig to achieve ‘assisted-self-custody,’ and prioritizing mobile use.”
Our next step is to build a small, cross-functional team, which will be led by @max_guise (welcome back!!). We will incubate this full-stack of tech, design, product, manufacturing, and supply chain with @templetonthomas & Square’s hardware team to start with a strong foundation.
— Jesse Dorogusker (@JesseDorogusker) July 8, 2021
Our next step is to build a small, cross-functional team, which will be led by @max_guise (welcome back!!). We will incubate this full-stack of tech, design, product, manufacturing, and supply chain with @templetonthomas & Square’s hardware team to start with a strong foundation.
Dorsey explained the term “assisted-self-custody” last month, noting that the firm is looking to provide a simplified experience for managing a hardware wallet.
“Custody doesn’t have to be all-or-nothing. We can probably simplify custody through ‘assisted self-custody.’ Assisted requires great product design: minimal setup time, relying on existing devices, and end-to-end reliability,” he said.
As crypto has seen a massive uptick in speculation from new investors amid the growth of the sector over the past 12 months, the topic of crypto custody is becoming increasingly important.
Hardware wallets are one of the most secure ways to hold crypto-assets because they enable users to store their private keys and holdings on external offline devices. But average users complain they are complicated to learn how to use.
Storing funds on an exchange can be risky, as the user doesn’t have full control over their assets, which can be lost to hacks or caught up in regulations.
It is also alarmingly easy for hackers to swipe users’ digital assets by deploying tactics aimed at acquiring personal information, such as SIM swaps, malware and even fake apps on Google Play.
Software wallets on computers or mobiles also face the risk of malware.
Jack Dorsey Says Square’s New Division Will Make It Happen
Jack Dorsey has outlined plans to build an open developer platform focused on creating Bitcoin DeFi services.
Square CEO Jack Dorsey has revealed that Square is building a new division that will focus on building decentralized finance (DeFi) services that utilize the Bitcoin network.
Dorsey made the announcement via Twitter earlier on Friday and revealed that Square’s new division will be building an “open developer platform with the sole goal of making it easy to create non-custodial, permissionless, and decentralized financial services. Our primary focus is Bitcoin.”
Like our new #Bitcoin hardware wallet, we’re going to do this completely in the open. Open roadmap, open development, and open source. @brockm is leading and building this team, and we have some ideas around the initial platform primitives we want to build.
Dorsey named engineer Mike Brock as the head of the division, who previously led a development team that was working on integrating Bitcoin features for the Cash App back in 2018. Brock has experience with open-source projects through his work with enterprise open-source solutions provider Red Hat Inc.
On a personal note, I just want to say that I am super excited to return to the world of open source. I cut my professional teeth in open source at @RedHat and excited to prove to the world (again) that great businesses can be built atop of free and open software.
A firm of Square’s stature working to make easy-to-use DeFi services on Bitcoin could potentially ramp up adoption and provide greater competition to Ethereum-based DeFi.
The Bitcoin network currently does not have smart contract capability, which makes it difficult to compete with Ethereum-based DeFi and its interoperable “Money Legos.” Decentralized finance on Bitcoin relies on additional infrastructures such as bridges and sidechains to initiate smart contracts.
According to data from Defi Llama, Ethereum dominates top 100 DeFi platforms in terms of locked value (TVL), with Aave topping the list with $9.09 billion in TVL. Binance also provides competition with platforms such as the eighth-ranked PancakeSwap, which has $3.76 billion in TVL.
In comparison, the highest-ranked Bitcoin-based project on Defi Llama is the Lightning Network, which ranks at 103 with a TVL of $58.7 million. However, TVL may not be the best way to measure the utility of the Lightning Network.
DeFi on Ethereum has exploded in 2021, and according to Data from Dune Analytics, the total DeFi user base (as measured in terms of unique addresses) has grown from 1.1 million at the start of January to around 3 million in July.
Days from 0 to 1m unique addresses pinging DeFi: 1,080 Days from 1m to 2m unique addresses pinging DeFi: 143 Days from 2m to 3m unique addresses pinging DeFi: 79
Along with Square’s latest project, another factor that could aid the adoption of Bitcoin-based DeFi is the Taproot upgrade slated for mid-November.
Cointelegraph reported on June 26 that the upgrade will reportedly open the door to Bitcoin smart contracts.
Square’s new division adds to its business lines that include Cash App, Square Seller and the Tidal streaming service — which Dorsey also recently teased that would have potential blockchain tech integrations such as smart contacts and nonfungible tokens.
The Bitcoin DeFi announcement follows up from earlier this month when Dorsey took to Twitter to announce that Square will be launching its own Bitcoin hardware wallet to provide assisted custody to make the process easier for mainstream users.
Updated: 9-1-2021
Twitter Reportedly Working On Bitcoin Tipping Feature
Bitcoin tipping via the Lightning Network may be in the cards for the next Twitter app update.
Twitter is reportedly laying the groundwork to enable Bitcoin (BTC) tipping for content creators.
According to MacRumors, the latest Twitter iOS beta includes lines of code that could see Bitcoin become a part of the “Tip Jar.” Indeed, as previously reported by Cointelegraph, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey had previously hinted that Bitcoin tipping was in the works.
Twitter introduced Tip Jar back in May as a way for users to reward content creators on the popular social media platform.
If the reports of Bitcoin tipping are true, then BTC will be added alongside Cash App, PayPal and Venmo as acceptable payment options on the Tip Jar.
As part of the rollout, Twitter may provide a brief tutorial about Bitcoin and the Lightning Network. According to a portion of the text quoted by MacRumors, the Bitcoin tipping feature will utilize Lightning Network payment gateway Strike to “generate Bitcoin Lightning invoices.”
The tutorial may also include information about concepts such as custodial and non-custodial wallets for storing Bitcoin.
A Bitcoin tipping feature on Twitter is only the latest in a string of BTC-focused adoption developments for the social media giant and for Dorsey himself. Earlier in August, the Twitter and Square chief announced plans to build a decentralized exchange for Bitcoin.
Dorsey has previously described Bitcoin as being the key to Twitter’s future while stating the company’s intention to integrate BTC into services like commerce and subscriptions.
Bitcoin tipping on Twitter via Lightning Network will also confirm plans to integrate LN into the social media platform that first started back in June. The move could also bring crypto token tipping to the mainstream in fulfillment of one of the several use cases for cryptocurrencies espoused by proponents.
In July, Dorsey also revealed that Square was developing an “assisted custody” hardware wallet for Bitcoin.
Updated: 9-3-2021
Twitter To Allow Users To Add BTC And ETH Addresses To Profiles, Per Leaked Screenshots
While the news is unofficial at this stage, Twitter’s product lead Kayvon Beykpour hinted that there could be an announcement soon.
Twitter appears to be developing functionality that enables users to add Bitcoin and Ethereum addresses to their profiles.
The latest update is believed to be a part of Twitter’s Tip Jar feature, which was introduced in May this year, and adds to reports, which surfaced earlier this week, that the firm would enable Bitcoin (BTC) tipping for content creators.
Italian mobile developer and self-described “leaker” Alessandro Paluzzi tweeted screenshots on Thursday that showed BTC and Ether (ETH) wallet address options in the settings toolbar of the app version of Twitter.
#Twitter is working to allow you to add your #Bitcoin and #Ethereum address to your profile to receive tips via the Tip Jar feature
While the news is unofficial at this stage, Twitter product lead Kayvon Beykpour retweeted Paluzzi’s Wednesday post about the BTC tipping feature with the lighting and “soon” arrow emoji.
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey hinted in July that BTC tipping was a part of the company’s broader plans to integrate that asset into the platform via avenues such as commerce and subscriptions.
A Tuesday report from MacRumors claimed that the BTC tipping feature will utilize Lightning Network payment platform Strike. However, Paluzzi has suggested that “it is not necessary to link a Strike account” to add BTC addresses to user profiles.
Dorsey’s Square Inc has outlined multiple BTC initiatives in 2021, including an assisted custody wallet and BTC-based decentralized finance services. The idea of digital gold being used to tip content creators on Twitter is unsurprising, given that Dorsey is a BTC maximalist. However, the inclusion of ETH appears to be uncharted territory for the tech leader, who has notably refused to have anything to do with the second-most popular cryptocurrency in the past.
Updated: 9-24-2021
Twitter’s New Crypto Features Are A BFD
The social network’s new tip wallet and forthcoming NFT verification are game-changers – and a bulwark against attempts to co-opt a movement.
The past four months have been full of transformational moments for crypto. From El Salvador’s adoption of bitcoin as legal tender to the political firepower that manifested during the U.S. Congress’s infrastructure bill debate, it feels like the ideas and predictions that I’ve been covering for nearly a decade are starting to become reality.
I think Thursday’s announcement of new crypto features on Twitter is of a similar significance. First up is a tipping feature that will connect profiles to Bitcoin and Lightning Network addresses (as well as other payments services).
The service isn’t available on Android yet, so I haven’t been able to use it. But early glimpses show a streamlined and intuitive experience that looks set to smoothly onboard new bitcoin users. Twitter also says it will implement non-fungible token (NFT) verification on the platform soon, though no firm timeline was announced.
This will be the largest integration yet of crypto with an existing, mainstream digital service (aside from crypto features in financial apps like RobinHood and PayPal). And the fact that it’s Twitter making the first move could hardly be more bullish.
The past four months have been full of transformational moments for crypto. From El Salvador’s adoption of bitcoin as legal tender to the political firepower that manifested during the U.S. Congress’s infrastructure bill debate, it feels like the ideas and predictions that I’ve been covering for nearly a decade are starting to become reality.
This article is excerpted from The Node, CoinDesk’s daily roundup of the most pivotal stories in blockchain and crypto news. You can subscribe to get the full newsletter here.
I think Thursday’s announcement of new crypto features on Twitter is of a similar significance. First up is a tipping feature that will connect profiles to Bitcoin and Lightning Network addresses (as well as other payments services). The service isn’t available on Android yet, so I haven’t been able to use it.
But early glimpses show a streamlined and intuitive experience that looks set to smoothly onboard new bitcoin users. Twitter also says it will implement non-fungible token (NFT) verification on the platform soon, though no firm timeline was announced.
This will be the largest integration yet of crypto with an existing, mainstream digital service (aside from crypto features in financial apps like RobinHood and PayPal). And the fact that it’s Twitter making the first move could hardly be more bullish.
It’s true that Twitter, with about 360 million monthly active users, is far from the largest social network in the world – it’s smaller than even Pinterest, with about 450 million MAU, and can’t hold a candle to Facebook, which is approaching 3 billion MAU.
But more important than raw size is that Twitter (though this is subjective) is the social network of choice for influential figures across a variety of fields, and the place where a lot of those leaders talk most impactfully amongst themselves.
Further, they’re surrounded by a huge resource in the form of Crypto Twitter, which by happy coincidence has lately (at least from where I’m standing) become notably less toxic and more supportive.
That said, I’m actually not certain the Bitcoin integration is the biggest part of the Twitter news. The friendly-looking Lightning interface is exciting, but Twitter has never prevented posting public crypto addresses to profiles, so in some sense it’s more an upgrade than an entirely new option.
NFT verification, however, will be a step change.
NFT verification, however, will be a step change. The feature is still in development but it will provide some way of confirming and visually conveying that an NFT displayed in a Twitter profile is authentic, and that it is owned by the same person as the Twitter profile.
As we’ve discussed in these pages at length, NFTs are a novel and powerful way to flex and show community affiliations online, but this integration will make those claims vastly clearer and more powerful.
Finally, it’s very good news these features, which use truly public blockchain infrastructure, will make it to market before Facebook’s weird, still-floundering attempt to create a knockoff pseudo-crypto called diem.
Diem has always, in part, been a gambit to leverage Facebook’s size to ensnare users and advertisers in a payment system over which Facebook would have substantial influence. Twitter’s embrace of a system it doesn’t control demonstrates that a better future is possible.
Bitcoin Hits $45K, TWTR Stock Price Rises 3.8% After BTC Tipping Comes To Twitter
Twitter’s stock feels the benefit of the “orange pill” as surging stocks add to positive tailwinds for Bitcoin.
Bitcoin (BTC) hit four-day highs of $45,000 on Sept. 24 as the market digested news that Twitter had enabled BTC tipping.
Twitter Stock Surges 3.8% On Bitcoin News
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD reaching $45,180 on Bitstamp.
The largest cryptocurrency had struggled to overcome resistance at $44,000, but the Twitter announcement provided some much-needed bullish momentum.
The social network rolled out the first phase of its Lightning Network tipping feature via payments gateway Strike for iOS users Thursday. Other interfaces would soon follow, Strike confirmed, with other tipping partners in the pipeline and set to be announced in the coming weeks.
“What the internet did for communication, Bitcoin and the Lightning Network is doing for money,” CEO Jack Mallers summarized in an accompanying blog post.
Twitter immediately felt the benefits, with its stock up nearly 4% after yesterday’s close. A video from Mallers showing him using the new tipping feature, meanwhile, attracted 1.6 million views in just 15 hours.
I just published Announcing the Strike API
Today, @Twitter enables free, instant, global payments for their users with their integration of the Strike API.
Now, already bullish Bitcoin traders were even more optimistic. For Rekt Capital, a trend continuation involving a dip, consolidation and eventual exit to the upside was well on track.
“Daily Closed just like that and a dip has indeed taken place today,” he tweeted Friday, showing the predicted BTC/USD trajectory.
“This was all done in an effort to establish trend continuation from this point. Bitcoin is following the black path well thus far.”
Dollar Dip Boosts BTC
The macro picture also provided hope for Bitcoin, with stocks reversing upward after suffering over Evergrande fears.
The S&P 500 saw its best day since July on Thursday, and Bitcoin maintained its positive correlation to equities.
The United States dollar, which had capitalized on stocks’ sell-off, fell dramatically, with the U.S. dollar currency index (DXY) bouncing off support at 93.
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