Crypto faithful await Elon Musk’s blockchain plans for Twitter
- After firing at least four key Twitter executives, Musk plans to take over the CEO role
- “You can bet digital assets will play a more prominent role on Twitter,” one crypto executive told Blockworks
After six months of dramatic legal back-and-forth, Elon Musk is now at the helm of Twitter after closing his $44 billion blockbuster deal.
The billionaire now plans to take over as CEO, according to Bloomberg. Musk has separate CEO positions at Tesla and SpaceX.
He has already fired top executives CEO Parag Agrawal and CFO Ned Segal, according to multiple reports. Vijaya Gadde, Twitter’s head of legal and policy leadership, and general counsel Sean Edgett are also out.
Twitter co-founder Biz Stone acknowledged their contributions in a chirping on Friday. Meanwhile, Musk tweeted “the bird is freed” in an apparent reference to Twitter’s new era.
His arrival at the company’s headquarters in San Francisco on Wednesday sparked speculation about his plans for the popular microblogging platform. Some crypto stalwarts believe there is a good chance he will include either cryptocurrencies or decentralized blockchain networks with the site.
In his first Twitter meeting back in June, Musk discussed integrating digital payments and cutting out crypto-related fraud.
“I think it would make sense to integrate payments into Twitter so it’s easy to send money back and forth, […] currency as well as crypto,” he said at the time.
Twitter did not return Blockworks’ request for comment by press time about Musk’s intention to become CEO or his crypto-related future plans.
Twitter announces NFT Tweet Tiles
Despite a hectic week, Twitter rolled out a new feature around NFTs on Friday. The site is testing a feature called Tweet Tiles to extend links to certain NFT marketplaces, a chirping from Twitter’s developer account revealed.
This integration currently operates with four NFT-related platforms: Magic Eden, Rarible, Dapper Labs and Jump.trade.
What could be next for Twitter in terms of unique crypto integrations? Social media app Reddit has already launched an NFT marketplace that allows users to buy blockchain-based avatars.
“Without a doubt, you can bet that Elon and his team are seeing what’s happening with Reddit and thinking about the possibilities with Twitter,” Mahesh Vellanki, managing partner at crypto venture firm SuperLayer, told Blockworks. “Perhaps they will choose to include payments, in addition to NFT integrations, perhaps with Bitcoin’s Lightning Network or Solana Pay.”
Vellanki said it’s too early to determine what Musk will do next, but he believes the crypto advocate recognizes the potential of what digital asset technology can do for payments and NFTs.
“Just look at his interest in dogecoin. Yes, it’s a meme coin, but there’s power in memes. He understands that power, and so he may well do something wildly creative with Twitter and its role in meme-focused investing. Here we go into a new world, and you can bet that digital assets will play a more prominent role on Twitter,” he added.
Observers consider what Elon could do with Twitter
Now that Musk is “Chief Twit” at the company, he essentially has the freedom to create the “everything app” he envisioned. If that happens, financial services will become a major pillar of the site, mirroring China’s WeChat.
It could be an overhaul of Twitter to incorporate Web3 components and to find a fair way to reward its top creators on the app, according to CoinGecko CEO Bobby Ong.
The company will also no longer be required to report financial information to the Securities and Exchange Commission, as it will now operate privately.
Budd White, chief product officer at Tacen, said the crypto advocate’s Twitter takeover could be an important moment to mix crypto-focused technologies with the masses.
“What better way to make big things happen than to fully tool Twitter to incorporate digital assets. He could make payments via stablecoins. He could integrate an NFT marketplace. Heck, he could even incorporate a DeFi lending marketplace that is both crypto-native and unique to Twitter,” White told Blockworks.
Another new feature could be a user raising a DeFi loan on Twitter — something that’s not out of the realm of possibility, according to the product expert.
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Shalini Nagarajan
Blockwork
Journalist
