Twitter Launches NFT Profile Photos

Twitter announced in September that it would add a way for users to authenticate non-fungible tokens with their Twitter Blue subscription service. That feature is now live for those who are both subscribed and are using an iOS device.

Twitter is integrating NFTs in a manner that is unlike the traditional, easily reproduced image of cartoon apes that have been connected to blockchain tokens. They’re adding a special “soft hexagon” shape around the consumer’s profile picture. Currently, they support several crypto wallets that users can connect to their profiles and verify that their tokens are of the non-fungible variety.

One thing to note about the limitation of its interaction with the blockchain to a list of approved sources means that information on who owns what is not as decentralized as you may think. As researcher Jane Manchun Wong noted earlier Thursday, a database outage that knocked the OpenSea API offline for a few hours caused Twitter’s NFT collection pages to lose their information too.

What happens if you sell the NFT that’s in your picture then? As it turns out, Twitter will continue to display the image, regardless of what the blockchain has to say about who owns it, however, it will revert to a common circle frame instead of the special crypto wallet-only hexagon shape.

NFT profile pictures could be viewed as an incredible technology integration adding real utility for verified digital items. Alternatively, it’s an unmissable signal pointing out to people that you should block or mute before they try to sell you some of their blockchain receipts. Whether you like it or hate it, more and more NFTs are being integrated into the products we use as consumers.

For those who are curious about the subject, if you see someone flashing one of these images and need to know more about their items, you can click on the hexagon profile picture, select ViewNFT details and find out information about the “NFT owner, NFT Description, collection, properties and additional details.”