What Musk’s Twitter acquisition could mean for social media crypto adoption

The emergence of Web3 technologies has brought Web2-based companies to see amendments to their existent products and services. Many starring brands are utilizing Web3 technologies specified arsenic nonfungible tokens (NFTs) to beforehand their marque arsenic good arsenic amusement their affiliation with emerging tech. 

Social media is different domain wherever Web3 seems to person the biggest impact. Facebook rebranded to Meta and has shifted its full absorption from being a societal media level to becoming the aboriginal gateway of the metaverse. Meta-owned Instagram announced it would add NFT minting and trading services wrong the app. Reddit, different salient societal media platform, became a hub for NFT trading with 3 cardinal wallet holders connected the platform.

Apart from NFTs, societal media giants similar Twitter and Reddit person added enactment for users to tip contented creators successful cryptocurrency. However, the bulk of societal media platforms deficiency inherent crypto integration.

Twitter was reportedly moving connected processing its ain crypto wallet, and with Elon Musk’s caller $44-billion acquisition, galore believed that the societal media level could precise good integrate a crypto wallet soon. However, caller reports suggested that Musk has halted crypto wallet plans for the clip being.

Despite the existent setback successful the crypto wallet integration, marketplace pundits are hopeful of seeing much Web3-focused services connected the societal media platform. Martin Hiesboeck, caput of blockchain and crypto probe astatine cryptocurrency trading level Uphold, told Cointelegraph that Twitter already supports crypto tipping, frankincense adding crypto wallet enactment is the adjacent logical step:

“Many successful the crypto abstraction are bracing themselves for however Elon Musk volition interaction the industry, and the effect has been amazingly optimistic. It’s wide Musk volition thrust the integer plus integration with the level along. For instance, galore platforms volition connection their ain crypto wallets successful bid to support transactions adjacent to their ecosystem. Twitter doing this is simply a logical measurement for a societal web that already enables users to nonstop tips successful crypto.”

Musk’s acquisition of Twitter made headlines not conscionable due to the fact that of the controversies starring up to the finalization of the woody but besides due to the fact that helium took the societal media level backstage astir 13 years aft it went public. With Twitter being a backstage institution now, Musk has a bigger accidental successful the decision-making process, and galore judge this volition assistance him propulsion for much crypto and Web3-related services connected the platform.

Jack Jia, caput of GateFi astatine fintech steadfast Unlimint, told Cointelegraph that implicit the people of the past 18 months, a important chunk of Web2 platforms person integrated Web3 support, and helium hopes Twitter volition determination successful a akin absorption with Musk astatine the helm:

“You tin link noncustodial wallets similar MetaMask to your Instagram oregon Twitter and show your NFT arsenic a illustration picture. Google launched a afloat managed Ethereum node work overmuch similar Infura and Alchemy. Then Coinbase and Revolut look much akin contiguous than antithetic successful presumption of crypto features and functionality. So, Musk’s Twitter volition person a large interaction connected crypto, astir apt by launching thing akin to Aave’s Lens Protocol, decentralizing Twitter to marque it much censorship-resistant.”

Web3 onboarding is inactive lagging down and needs to beryllium made simpler and faster, and societal media platforms tin assistance to onboard billions of radical to Web3, practically overnight. This was evident from the occurrence of the Reddit NFTs. 

Max Kordek, CEO of blockchain infrastructure level Lisk, told Cointelegraph that Web3 is not an autarkic net ecosystem but alternatively a transition, and these platforms are champion suited for onboarding.

“I deliberation what radical often misunderstand is that Web3 is not an exclusive caller internet. Inside Web3 we besides find Web2, the aforesaid mode we recovered the erstwhile World Wide Web wrong Web2. In the lawsuit of societal media integrating crypto, we are talking astir a merge of Web2 and Web3. At the extremity of the day, a societal media level is conscionable a organisation channel; Web3 doesn’t marque them irrelevant. They volition beryllium ever much important successful a much connected future,” helium said.

Social media’s past hinders crypto and Web3 aspirations

Social media platforms started retired arsenic a mean to link with radical crossed the world, and successful the Web2 ecosystem, they became an integral portion of the internet. However, with time, these societal media platforms besides became a centralized big of information for millions of users, which large brands and companies trust connected to advertise their products.

Social media platforms’ reliance connected advertisers has led to malpractice astatine respective societal media platforms. These platforms were recovered to beryllium selling users’ delicate information to advertisers, and mediocre information measures person besides led to information leaks and violations of privateness rights. This is the crushed Kayla Kroot, co-founder and manager of plan astatine decentralized publishing protocol Koii Network, believes these societal media companies’ crypto aspirations tin harm the manufacture successful the agelong term.

Kroot cited the illustration of the caller contention astir Musk’s plans to present an $8-per-month interest for the infamous “blue tick,” telling Cointelegraph:

“While immoderate large mainstream exertion platform’s integration of cryptocurrency whitethorn beryllium seen arsenic a affirmative measurement for adoption, the deep-rooted capitalistic tendencies of societal media companies bespeak that it would harm the manufacture successful the agelong term. If mishandled, these integrations volition propulsion millions of imaginable users away. One caller illustration of this is Twitter’s arguable determination towards requiring verified members to wage $8+ monthly for Twitter Blue.”

She further noted increasing consciousness astir information autonomy and idiosyncratic privateness — areas particularly valued wrong the blockchain assemblage — and said that a determination to integrate cryptocurrency “into networks that actively interruption the halfway beliefs of the assemblage volition beryllium seen by crypto natives for what it is: a currency grab. The cognition by the larger colonisation could beryllium overmuch worse, damaging the cognition of cryptocurrency altogether.”

Meta is simply a premier illustration of this arsenic the steadfast is struggling to modulation from its Web2-based origins into a afloat decentralized, Web3 ecosystem. Crypto integrations that are driven by nett and that don’t align with the ethos of the crypto assemblage volition not lone alienate crypto-native users but could adhd substance to the anti-crypto fire. At its core, blockchain exertion promotes distributed governance and ownership for users, but the larger societal media platforms are inactive precise centralized, actively exploiting their users’ contented for postulation and revenue.

Currently, astir fashionable creators connected accepted societal media platforms are driving level traction, but the platforms themselves are benefiting from that traction with advertisement revenue, not the creators. Thus, a bulk of these crypto integrations look to slope connected the inclination alternatively than genuinely enactment wrong the ethos of the emerging technology.

Tom McArdle, main operating serviceman of decentralized messaging services Satellite.im, called Twitter’s Web3 aspirations a “classic wolf-in-sheep’s-clothing infinitesimal for Web3.”

He told Cointelegraph, “It is apt that crypto volition beryllium integrated into the Twitter level post-acquisition. Just adding the quality to wage successful Bitcoin oregon Dogecoin connected apical of an existing Web2 exertion stack is not a measurement guardant for the Web3 movement. Twitter volition proceed to run successful a centralized quality and volition much aggressively monetize level participants since Musk has levered up the institution to prosecute the acquisition and present needs $1 cardinal a twelvemonth conscionable to screen involvement expenses.”

“The integration of crypto payments is conscionable different gross watercourse and has thing to bash with the societal and ethical priorities that travel with the Web3 frontier — transparency, idiosyncratic privateness and information ownership.”

On 1 hand, the increasing involvement successful Web2 societal media platforms successful integrating Web3 technologies has been lauded arsenic a measurement toward greater adoption. On the different hand, Web3 experts judge that societal media platforms are lone banking connected the inclination and not the ethos of Web3, which could yet thrust distant existent crypto adoption, citing the illustration of Meta and its caller nonaccomplishment to rebrand itself arsenic a Web3 brand.