Ever since Elon took over Twitter, the company seems to be trying out a lot of new features. Now, the popular social media platform appears to be experimenting with a new in-app currency called “coins” to help creators earn money from Twitter.
A new way for creators to monetize their content
App researchers Jane Manchun Wong and Nima Owji recently spotted the feature and shared screenshots on social media. The coins appear to be an extension of Twitter’s existing tipping feature, allowing users to support their favourite creators.
A screenshot shared by Owji in December shows a new “Coins” tab in the same section where users can keep track of their tips. Wong also spotted an “Awards” feature, which allows people to use coins to buy in-app gifts for others. Users can use these gifts to show appreciation for a particular tweet, boost its visibility, or as a way to support the creator. Users can buy gifts for as little as one coin or as much as 5000. It is not clear how much coins will cost, but Twitter would presumably get a cut of revenue generated from coin purchases.
Here’s the list of Twitter Awards: https://t.co/PpgHebBWD6 pic.twitter.com/BePDVAkzhy
— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) January 5, 2023
Launch date and pricing
It remains a mystery what Twitter’s plans are for coins or when the feature could launch. The company has not commented or said anything, but the screenshots suggest Twitter is at least considering featuring coins prominently in its app. It’s also worth noting that despite the “coins” name, the feature doesn’t seem to have any cryptocurrency tie-ins, at least for now.
The addition of the coins feature offers a new way for creators to monetize their content and for users to support them directly. Twitter CEO, Elon Musk, has previously expressed his desire to find more ways to reward content creators, and this new feature could be a step towards fulfilling that vision.
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