Elon Musk, Twitter's CEO, has reportedly instructed his developers to create a payment system so that cryptocurrencies can be included in the future.
The Financial Times reported on 30 January that two people with knowledge of Twitter's plans said the payment system would only accept fiat currencies, but would be built so that it could include digital currencies if the opportunity arose. It is still unclear if these payments will be blockchain-based or not, despite Twitter's CEO's view that digital currency plays an important role at Twitter.
In early December, images leaked pointing to the existence of a "Twitter Coin", a secret digital asset to be used for payments and tips on the platform, and many expected that it might have some connection with cryptocurrency.
Recently leaked images of the project, which appeared in early January, contained no reference to cryptocurrency or blockchain technology, which greatly disappointed the community.
Moreover, last October there were reports that Twitter had developed a prototype wallet supporting both cryptocurrency input and output, but these rumours proved unconfirmed.
Thus, only fiat currency support is currently envisaged, but Twitter has already begun to put in place procedures that will allow it to implement payments on its platform by applying for the relevant regulatory approvals in the US. The company reportedly hopes to complete the approval process in the US within a year.
In November, "Twitter Payments LLC" registered with the US Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), which allowed it to make payments.
During the Twitter Space event at the same time, Musk expressed his vision of bank accounts being linked to Twitter profiles and debit cards being added, as well as the expectation that the platform will be able to process money transactions.
A Financial Times source said that after obtaining additional licences in the United States, Twitter will consider obtaining permits from regulatory authorities at the international level.
