Twitter Users Can Now Send Crypto to Each Other With Torus

Torus, a Singaporean crypto key management platform, now allows users to send cryptocurrencies through social media platforms such as Twitter.

With Torus’ latest update, v1.7.2, users can now send tokens to any Twitter or GitHub account, even if that account has never used Torus’ crypto wallet, the firm said.

Torus publicly sends ETH to Buterin, Musk, and CZ on Twitter

Announcing the news on Monday, Torus showcased a couple of Twitter transactions, featuring 0.01 Ether (ETH) transfers to major crypto figures such as Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao as well as Elon Musk. As of press time, none of them appear to have confirmed the transaction from Torus.

Leonard Tan, co-founder and CTO at Torus, told Cointelegraph that Torus’ Twitter transactions are just “normal Ethereum transactions” that can be tracked through Ethereum block explorer Etherscan. The executive provided the three Etherscan transactions IDs involving Twitter handles of Buterin, Musk and CZ. In order to check whether there is any ETH on a certain account, users need to login with their Twitter handle on the Torus wallet, Tan explained.

Purported ETH transaction to Vitalik Buterin's Twitter via Torus. Source: Torus Twitter

New update allows one-step ETH wallet creation with Google, Facebook or LinkedIn

According to the announcement, the new update brings six new logins to the Torus Wallet and DirectAuth, a tool that allows users to manage app-specific private keys, while storing it in the distributed Torus Network. Thanks to this update, users can now create a new Ethereum blockchain wallet with any of their social identities including Google, Facebook, Reddit, Twitch, Discord, AppleID, Github, LinkedIn, Twitter, Line and Passwordless Accounts.

Torus elaborated that logging into Torus via accounts such as Twitter or passwordless logins is based on Auth0, a login service provider that integrates authentication and authorization for web, mobile and legacy applications. Auth0 works as a proxy that links Torus accounts to the verifier such as Twitter or Apple, the first explained.

Will Torus ever support Telegram?

While the new update significantly expands Torus’ crypto transaction capabilities, there are still some platforms that cannot support the feature to date. As such, Telegram, a major encrypted messenger that has over 400,000,000 monthly users, will apparently not feature Torus’ instant crypto transactions in the near future. “Logins to the Torus Wallet through Telegram messenger are not possible at this point in time,” Torus co-founder Tan said.

Founded in 2018, Torus rolled out ETH transaction tests on Reddit and Google email accounts in December 2019. In May 2018, Torus launched its noncustodial key management solution DirectAuth to improve log-in experiences for Web 3.0 applications.

Torus is apparently not the only company that is working on powering crypto transactions through identities linked to various apps and accounts. In late June, major cryptocurrency website Bitcoin.com introduced a new service that allows users to send any amount of Bitcoin Cash (BCH) via email.