Twitter was founded by Jack Dorsey on March 21, 2006. That same date, he published the first-ever tweet: “just setting up my twttr”. About 15 years later, Dorsey has now put up this one-lined tweet for auction in Valuables in the form of NFT or non-fungible token. Notably, “Valuables” is an online platform where Twitter users can buy and sell tweets.
As of now, the highest bid for Dorsey’s tweet is from Bridge Oracle CEO Sina Estavi. He bid $2.5 million. After the tweet was sold, the Twitter CEO will convert the proceeds into bitcoin and donate them to charity.
Popularity Does Not Equate to Respect
Moreover, what Dorsey did can possibly become more influential than the social media giant Facebook. This is especially true in terms of news dissemination.
However, just because a person is influential and popular does not necessarily mean he will gain respect. For instance, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was once seen as a rebellious yet tech-savvy businessman who gained huge respect after he built Facebook. However, the same creation that brought him popularity and influence also brought him to his demise. The reason is that Zuckerberg’s company disregards privacy and censorship and has non-transparent practices in terms of decision-making.
That being said, there is a huge possibility for Dorsey and his many real Twitter Followers to face the same fate. Since last year, the micro-blogging platform has faced various controversies in terms of how it handled the hacking incidents last year. In addition, it has been criticized for the way that it handled and censored sensitive tweets during the presidential campaign and elections in 2020.
In the heat of the issue, the Twitter CEO said that his company is facing something that feels impossible. The reason is that they were required to make public conversation healthier while making sure that the largest possible people can participate. However, many people think that banning Trump from the platform is a form of partisan censorship.
Apart from the aforementioned issue, there is a more complicated story behind Twitter. Contrary to Zuckerberg and Facebook’s shallow efforts of utilizing cryptocurrency and blockchain into the business, Dorsey advocates for cryptocurrency so much. In fact, the Twitter CEO is committed to promoting this industry and disseminating its adoption.
The Foundation of Square Inc.
One of the efforts that Dorsey did to promote digital currency is the launch of Square, Inc. Such is a fintech payment company offering cryptocurrency brokerage services within its CashApp. Just recently, the payment company announced that it invested a total of $170 million in Bitcoin. That is thrice higher than its last cryptocurrency investment. This investment, combined with the previous $50 million Bitcoin purchase, is a representation of nearly five percent of Square’s total cash, cash equivalents, as well as marketable securities as of December 31 last year.
There is no doubt that the micro-blogging giant has taken and will continue to take a lot of steps for the digital currency industry. For this reason, it leads us to the question of whether or not there is an exclusive connection between the two.
What is Crypto Twitter?
Looking at the outside perspective, crypto Twitter would not have so much meaning. It is basically just a forum, a community of knowledgeable people about cryptocurrency as their passion, profession, hobby, interest, and even skepticism about it.
However, you will get a completely different answer when you ask an individual who spends an ample amount of time in the industry. The micro-blogging giant helps n supporting the goals of cryptocurrency and bitcoin in more ways than one.
That being said, one can assume that crypto Twitter is a place where people can get insights and perspectives from many excellent financial and technological individuals. The better thing is that these insights are often uncensored. As a result, those who are relatively new to the industry are given a chance to interact with professionals and learn from them. Additionally, those interested in the said industry are given a place to share or ask questions and stay updated about the breaking news. At the same time, it is a place where people can interact while remaining anonymous.
Moreover, crypto Twitter also has contradictions, which is already not surprising for a centralized platform that works by hosting semi-anonymous discussions.
Just like the bitcoin creator’s pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, Twitter accounts can be anonymous. That means that a user is not required to provide their real name or display picture in order to use the platform.
Cryptocurrency And Twitter Followers: A Match Made in Heaven
@TheCryptoDog, a notable anonymous Twitter account, said that the anonymity of most crypto Twitter accounts is an indication that one’s government-sanctioned identity is not required to build a reputation or business. In fact, pseudo-anonymity is at the very core of the crypto industry. For instance, while people always ask who Satoshi is, Satoshi is all that they need to be. Blending in the crowd via making a Twitter account and buying Twitter followers is a straightforward thing to do.
Another anon Twitter account, @loomdart, said that he thinks there is no difference between being anonymous or not on Twitter, and both should be treated the same.
Clearly, users need to be able able to choose whether or not they will display their real identity on Twitter real identity on Twitter. For this reason, the micro-blogging giant is struggling in terms of how it can balance the need for privacy and the risks that can potentially come with it.
For instance, over the past years, Twitter has verified lesser accounts. That was also when there was an increase in the number of scams and impersonators on the platform. And unless a change occurs in the future, the problem of fake accounts will only become worse.