X (previously Twitter), underneath the possession of Elon Musk, has discontinued a characteristic that allowed premium customers to make use of non-fungible token (NFT) pictures as their profile photos.
The characteristic, introduced in January two years ago, was aimed toward Twitter Blue subscribers, providing them the power to show a verifiable NFT as their profile image.
The initiative was seen as a pioneering step within the social media sphere, validating the usage of NFTs at a time when different main platforms like Fb and Instagram, owned by Meta, had been but to combine such know-how.
Nonetheless, latest developments point out that the choice to activate this characteristic through the iPhone model of the Twitter app is now not out there.
X has eliminated assist for NFT pfps.
Simply so you realize:
Digital property rights will not be a joke.
If any of you are taking screenshots of my CryptoPunk and faux it is yours, I’ll sue you. pic.twitter.com/SHnSNEjXqo
— Farokh (@farokh) January 10, 2024
The absence of this selection within the app’s present iteration suggests a strategic pivot by Elon Musk, though X has not but made any official statements relating to this determination.
What Was Twitter’s NFT Profile Image Characteristic
The NFT profile image characteristic allowed customers to make use of Ethereum blockchain know-how to confirm the possession of their NFT, which then appeared as a hexagonal picture, differentiating it from the usual round profile photos.
The way forward for this verification methodology and the hexagonal profile image format is presently unclear, particularly for customers who nonetheless have an NFT-equipped profile image.
The transfer comes amidst a backdrop of evolving attitudes in direction of NFTs and blockchain know-how within the social media business.
Meta, for instance, lately introduced a lower in its deal with NFTs on Instagram, selecting to pay attention extra on AI improvement and its broader metaverse imaginative and prescient.
The choice to take away the NFT profile image characteristic follows a collection of crypto-related incidents on Twitter.
In a notable occasion, the official account of the US Securities and Change Fee (SEC) on X was compromised, resulting in a false announcement relating to the approval of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
This breach was attributed to the dearth of two-factor authorization and unauthorized entry to a linked telephone quantity.
The SEC has since concerned the FBI in investigating this cybersecurity lapse.
Regardless of Elon Musk’s determination, NFT Buying and selling Quantity Continues to Improve
In October, NFT buying and selling quantity surged by $99 million, reaching $405 million, signifying ranges of gross sales not seen since August.
Likewise, gross sales of NFTs on the Bitcoin (BTC) community reached a new milestone in December 2023, surpassing $881 million for the primary time ever.
NFT gross sales on the Bitcoin chain reached $881,223,753.92 final month, setting the very best single-month gross sales document so far.
This included 111,713 purchaser addresses and 98,744 vendor addresses, each setting the very best single-month data so far.
Ethereum, the second-largest blockchain, trailed behind with NFT gross sales totaling $364.79 million.
BTC-focused NFT gross sales outperformed ETH’s by a major margin, being 2.34 occasions better in December.
Solana secured the third spot with roughly $325.14 million in NFT gross sales, experiencing a outstanding 312% enhance from the earlier month.
Following the highest three, Polygon and Arbitrum emerged as the following main blockchains when it comes to NFT gross sales.