Jack Dorsey says bitcoin will be a big part of Twitter’s future – TechCrunch



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Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey confirmed to investors that bitcoin will be a “big part” of the company’s future as he sees opportunities to integrate cryptocurrency into existing Twitter products and services, including trade, subscriptions, and other new additions like Twitter Tip Jar and Super follows.

Dorsey has been a strong supporter of bitcoin for years, but how it would be implemented on the Twitter platform had yet to be fully explained. However, Dorsey has often publicly touted the cryptocurrency, saying it reminded her of the “early days of the internet” and that there was “nothing more important” in her life to work on.

Most recently, Dorsey launched a $ 23.6 million bitcoin fund with Jay Z and announced plans to lead his other Square company in the decentralized financial services market through bitcoin. Square also this year acquired a controlling stake in Jay-Z’s music service TIDAL with a view to how blockchain technologies and cryptocurrencies could change the music industry.

Today, Dorsey also called bitcoin one of the three key trends for the future of Twitter, along with AI and decentralization – the latter which Twitter is pursuing through its ‘Bluesky’ initiative.

He introduced bitcoin to investors during Twitter’s second quarter earnings call, saying it could help the company accelerate its product expansion, while also saying it was the “best fit” for become the “native currency” of the Internet. (Separately, Square’s $ 50 million bitcoin purchased in 2020 was worth $ 253 million in February 2021, and it bought another 170 million earlier this year.)

“If the internet has a native currency, a global currency, we can scale much faster with products like Super Follows, Commerce, Subscriptions, Tip Jar, and we can reach every person on the planet because of it. instead of taking a market-by-market-by-market approach, ”explained Dorsey. “I think that’s a big part of our future. I think there is a lot of innovation to be done beyond simple currency, especially as we think about decentralizing social media more and providing more economic incentives. So I think it’s extremely important for Twitter and for the shareholders of Twitter that we continue to look at the space and invest aggressively in it, ”he added.

A Twitter representative confirmed that this was the first time Dorsey has spoken publicly about how Twitter could integrate bitcoin into its product line.

Dorsey also pointed out that Twitter would not be the only one pursuing a crypto strategy, noting that Facebook supports the digital currency Diem.

“There is a clear need for it, and an appreciation for it. And I think an open standard native to the Internet is the right way to go, which is why my focus and our focus will ultimately be on bitcoin, ”he noted.

Overall, Twitter delivered strong profits amid a pandemic rebound, which saw the company post its fastest revenue growth since 2014, according to CNBC, which pushed up shares of Twitter 9% in extended exchanges. The company posted second-quarter revenue of $ 1.19 billion, compared to Wall Street’s $ 1.07 billion expected, with a majority ($ 1.05 billion) coming from its advertising business. It also posted earnings per share of 20 cents against the expected 7 cents.

However, Monetizable Daily Active Users (mDAU) – the metric coined by Twitter to increase the often-flat monthly user growth – was only 206 million, an 11% increase year-over-year. while analysts expected 206.2 million. The company blamed the drop on a slower news cycle and the end of shelter-in-place in many U.S. communities, which may have impacted Twitter usage in the quarter.



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