Bitcoin is key to the future of Twitter, says Jack Dorsey

Published at: July 23, 2021

Bitcoin (BTC), the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, will be one of the key trends for the future of Twitter, CEO Jack Dorsey declared.

The Twitter CEO said that Bitcoin would be a “big part” of the company’s future at the second-quarter earnings call, outlining the digital currency’s potential to further transform Twitter products and services.

Referring to Bitcoin as a native currency of the internet, Dorsey described opportunities to integrate BTC into existing Twitter services including commerce, subscriptions and new features such as Twitter Tip Jar and Super Follows.

The CEO explained to investors that a lot of Bitcoin-enabled innovation is “above just currency to be had,” as Twitter is committed to decentralize social media and provide more economic incentives. He noted that Bitcoin is one of three key trends for Twitter’s future alongside artificial intelligence and decentralization. “I think it’s hugely important to Twitter and to Twitter shareholders that we continue to look at the space and invest aggressively in it,” he said.

Dorsey emphasized that Twitter is not alone in its commitment to crypto, citing aggressive digital currency development by social media giant Facebook, which expects to pilot its Diem cryptocurrency later this year. But unlike Facebook, Twitter will one day focus on BTC as a native internet open standard. Dorsey stated:

“There’s an obvious need for this and appreciation for it. And I think that an open standard that’s native to the internet is the right way to go, which is why my focus and our focus eventually will be on Bitcoin.”

Dorsey’s latest Bitcoin call is reportedly the first time when the CEO has spoken publicly about how Twitter could integrate BTC into its products. The new remarks came shortly after Dorsey had discussed Bitcoin at the virtual BTC event “The ₿ Word” alongside Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Ark Invest’s Cathie Wood. Dorsey said that many existing business models would be much different if Bitcoin existed before Twitter or Facebook. “We would certainly not have the dependency that we have on the advertising business model,” he noted.

Dorsey is known as a major early Bitcoin believer, repeatedly arguing that Bitcoin is poised to be the single currency of the internet since at least 2018. His crypto-friendly digital payments firm Square is a solid Bitcoin investor, purchasing $50 million in BTC in late 2020 and then buying an extra $170 million in BTC in February 2021.