Some Twitter users said they could buy Twitter Coins as of February 22. Rumors of Twitter issuing its own token started in December 2022.
A soft launch aims to test the product or service in a real-world environment, gather feedback from early adopters, and identify and address any issues or bugs before a wider release. The slow rollout of the crypto payment features follows Twitter CEO Elon Musk’s pursuit of regulatory and legal licenses to integrate such financial features into the social media platform.
A Twitter user named ‘Tree of Alpha’ said a bundle of 150 Twitter Coins priced at $1.99 was available for purchase on Wednesday. The only available payment method is Stripe.
IBC Group CEO Mario Nawfal has previously said that when Twitter Coins launched, users will be rewarded with Tweets.
Application researcher Nima Owji posted a Twitter screenshot explaining the native token:
Twitter said its token will allow fans and audiences to reward content creators while creating a channel of passive income.
However, head analyst at Blockware Joe Burnett noted that Twitter rival Nostr’s zaps are “1,000x better than Twitter Coins.” Nostr is a decentralized social media platform where zaps signify micropayments made using Bitcoin’s Lightning Network.