Twitter Becomes a Platform for Web3 Platform

Twitter hasn't gone as far as Coinbase (COIN), whose new NFT marketplace looks like an "Internet 3 Instagram."

Twitter has made modest moves in that direction: tipping in BTC, NFT profile photos, and crypto payments for Twitter authors through Stripe's new cooperation with Polygon's new alliance (MATIC).

"Many of the best ideas come from watching user behavior on the platform, and then we just productize that," as product manager Esther Crawford described in Wired earlier this month.
"There are all these blockchain protocols that exist, and we need to figure out how to make them useful and accessible for real people," 

Tess Rinearson, who joined the Twitter Crypto team in November as an engineering lead, has been added to the team.

For Rinearson, blockchain-based solutions for digital identification have a lot of promise. 

In the Wired interview, she made five mentions of it, whereas just one reference was made to crypto payment capabilities. 

So much so that she took part in the most recent round of investment for Context, the new identification business I profile here.

However, for Twitter to be truly Web3, it would have to be a marketplace of ideas and a marketplace of money. 

The platform would let users exchange crypto – most often, the platform's native token – for services or items. Users would also have a stake in the cryptocurrency's success by owning a portion of it. (Also, often with the right to rule!)

Rinearson, on the other hand, was extremely cautious about the prospect of a "Twittercoin."

One possible explanation is that regulators tend to jump on Big Tech like white on rice when they speak about creating crypto. To see how they reacted to Mark Zuckerberg's Libra project in 2019!

"Twitter turning Web3" isn't the only reason this isn't going to happen."

As I've previously documented, both Dorsey and Musk, Twitter's former and current "celebrity in chief," are wary about Web3. Moreover, Dorsey created a Twitter that's hesitant to experiment with new features.

Earlier this week, a former Twitter software engineer described what it was like to work there during a comparable period.

When Evan Williams was fired as Twitter's second CEO, he flew to Hawaii.

Everything came crashing down after Jack's return and his cleaning of the home, leaving me with two or three managers at any one time. The product organization had no sense of purpose or conviction. 

As a result, it was regarded as a priceless commodity. Changes posed a threat. So I departed. "It's over," Nate Agrin writes.

It's important to remember that the two of them are friends, and they'll likely stay in contact during this transition. He doesn't have to do much more than rehire Dorsey as CEO!

Of course, all of this is just conjecture. It's particularly difficult to nail down Elon Musk. At least with these two, they'll jump right into the next job (versus overhauling their last one).