After the secretive Twitter Coins project was initially revealed by tech bloggers Jane Manchun Wong and Nima Owji in early December, many in the community hoped that it would somehow integrate cryptocurrencies.
Now, no mention of cryptocurrency or blockchain technology can be found in new leaks of the alleged Twitter Coins, the platform's unreleased digital asset.
The Dogecoin (DOGE) community has been particularly optimistic as a result of Twitter CEO Elon Musk's involvement in the cryptocurrency. Musk stated his continued interest in integrating cryptocurrency with the social media platform during a Twitter Spaces event on Dec. 4.
However, new images of the project's development provided by Wong and Owji on January 10 make no mention of crypto or blockchain technology.
Owji in a tweet stated that no leaks have indicated that cryptocurrency will be used in Twitter Coins:
"It seems to be an in-app currency to support the creators. I didn't find anything that relates it to *crypto* currency."
Instead, the leaked images provide additional information on the intended use for the in-app digital currency.
One of the pictures is a screenshot of what appears to be the Twitter Coins purchase splash page, which describes how the in-app money lets users "support creators who Tweet great content."
This appears to be a reference to the "Twitter Awards" for the platform, which Manchun Wong also leaked a week earlier, on Jan. 5.
Wong said on Twitter that content providers on the network can earn praises such as "Bravo," "Super Like," and "Mind Blown" for a fee expressed in Twitter Coins.
The function is comparable to Reddit's tipping and rewards system, in which Redditors utilize "Reddit Coins" to award other users who make an enjoyable post, remark, or live video broadcast.
At this time, even purchasing Twitter Coins will not require crypto payments. According to Wong, Twitter's digital currency will be available for purchase using fiat via Stripe.
Stripe is a payment processing platform based on fiat currency that allows merchants to take credit and debit cards, bank transfers, and cash-based vouchers.
That isn't to say, though, that crypto won't eventually enter the picture.
In April, Stripe announced that it had started allowing payments in USD Coin USDC to a select group of Twitter content creators, with payments occurring over the Polygon network.
