Elon Musk appears to be looking into various ways to generate new revenue streams for Twitter. According to reports, the microblogging platform is experimenting with “Coins,” an in-app currency that enables creators to profit from the platform.
Two app researchers, Nima Owji and Jane Manchin Wong, who posted screenshots of the upcoming money features on their Twitter accounts, disclosed this information.
Their post indicates that the currency feature appears to be an expansion of Twitter’s pre-existing “Tips” monetization tool. The “coins” menu item redirects visitors to the “coins” shopping page, where they can purchase them using Swipe, a payment processing platform. The Coins are meant to let users support creators who tweet “great” content, according to a description on the page.
Though the feature has not yet been released, it is still unknown what plans Twitter has for coins, which may be used for more than just tipping creators. Wong also shared a screenshot of a Twitter award page that appeared to indicate that users of the microblogging sites will be able to use the coin to purchase specific in-app gifts for others.
The price of these gifts ranges from one coin to five thousand. The cost of the coins, their ability to be converted into cash, and whether they can be used to purchase other goods are all unknown now. However, these coins can be preserved in the user’s balance if not used.
Although some users have linked this “coin” feature to cryptocurrency, especially as the image is similar to Dogecoin. Owji, claims that he has no evidence linking the coin to cryptocurrency.
Read Also: What Elon Musk’s Twitter monetization for creators could look like
Other social media platforms and their reward system
Twitter is not the first social media platform to introduce a reward system for content creators. The Twitter award page allows users to send Twitter coins called “Mind Blown”, “Bravo”, and “Super Like” to their favourite content creators.
This is very similar to Reddit’s reward system that allows users to use “Reddit Coins” to send rewards to content creators. TikTok also has its own “TikTok coin”, that users can buy and send to content creators who engage in live streaming.
YouTube has the highest number of monetization options for creators. Several YouTube products give creators some opportunity for monetization. YouTube has Advertising Revenue, which gives creators a cut from the advertising money their video generates.
Read Also: 5 likely changes to expect as Elon Musk takeover at Twitter
Why is Twitter doing this?
Since Elon Musk acquired the microblogging site for $44 billion, the billionaire has driven the company’s team to develop new revenue streams outside its advertising division. This is especially after its revenue dropped due to activists pressuring advertisers.
To revive the company’s revenue, Elon Musk laid off over 3,700 staff, including high-ranked managers, to reduce costs.
The CEO is also keen on building a revenue system to reward content creators. With this introduction of the $8 Twitter Blue subscription, the microblogging site hopes to earn more profits, providing room for monetization for creators on the app.
Twitter currently has some other monetization options with more creator-centric profit-sharing models. For instance, it gives 97 per cent of the revenue it gets from its Super Follow feature to the creator. The Super Follow feature is a product that users can pay for to give them extra access to someone they already follow.
Also, The New York Times reported that Elon Musk plans to sell usernames through online auctions to boost revenue after he tweeted that the platform would soon start freeing up 1.5 billion usernames.
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