Twitter Plans to Introduce Crypto Wallet Service Amid Growing Regulations
Twitter is supposedly working on a crypto wallet service, but what about regulations?
This week, Twitter is stepping up its efforts to become a web3 frontrunner. A new web3–based crypto wallet service by the social media company is in the works, according to reports first surfaced by established software frontend dev Jane Manchun Wong. Let’s take a look at what we know in the early hours of these reports and what Twitter might do in the future.
What We Understand
Wong first mentioned the product on Twitter around midday. There have been no official confirmations or mentions of the matter from the social media company. As Wong points out, the wallet is expected to support deposits and withdrawals, but initial token support, as well as many other details, is unknown. As a result, there is no set timeline for when we might hear any confirmation or additional information. Twitter has made a concerted effort to be present in crypto, following in the footsteps of former co-founder and CEO Jack Dorsey, which has been carried on by current CEO Parag Agrawal (as Dorsey subsequently moved on to fintech firm Block).
The Big Picture of Twitter
The rumors come at a difficult time for the company, with a potential buyout led by Elon Musk on the horizon – and a lot of speculation surrounding it. Of course, Twitter has sought crypto engagement through methods such as hexagonal profile pictures for NFT holders. However, social media endeavors have rarely achieved significant success thus far, though recent projects such as Reddit’s avatar NFT integration have done well. Meanwhile, crypto wallets have been widely viewed as a potential growth area for blockchains, but rarely for social media platforms. After roughly a year of activity, legacy social platform Meta (formerly Facebook) axed its largely unsuccessful Novi project in recent months. That followed the demise of similar projects such as Diem (previously branded as Libra). Elsewhere, crypto veterans have largely relied on Metamask’s simplicity and efficiency for hot wallets, but there are still unmet consumer demands – in both utility and aesthetics. If confirmed, Twitter wallet development should come as no surprise but only time will tell if Twitter can demonstrate that it isn’t all about being first to market.
Despite the fact that the current market has shackled the spirit of many investors, cryptocurrencies are still used in global financial systems. Similarly, crypto ATMs are one of these key areas demonstrating how cryptos are increasingly becoming commonplace. The effect of market ups and downs slowed crypto development to a degree. Meanwhile, Spain has surpassed the United States and Canada to become the world’s third-largest country in terms of crypto ATMs. According to CoinATMRadar, Spain has 215 ATMs, compared to El Salvador’s 212 ATMs at the time of writing. The country now accounts for 0.6% of global crypto ATMs. The achievement allowed the country to leapfrog El Salvador to fourth place on the list.
Furthermore, research shows that Spain is the continent’s leader in the use of crypto ATMs. The country is home to 14.65% of Europe’s crypto ATMs. Switzerland most likely secured second place by installing 144 ATMs. Poland comes in third with 143 ATMs, and Romania comes in fourth with 135 machines. Last year, Spain, Germany, Austria, and Greece collaborated with crypto platforms and other successor companies in an effort to increase the installation of crypto ATMs. It enlists the help of German electronic firm MediaMarkt, Confinity, and crypto platform Bitnovo, among others, to spearhead the implementation of ATMs in the regime.
