Elon Musk’s X Abandons NFT Profile Pictures, Sidelining Ethereum Integration

X (formerly Twitter), under the ownership of Elon Musk, has discontinued a feature that allowed premium users to use non-fungible token (NFT) images as their profile pictures.

The feature, introduced in January two years ago, was aimed at Twitter Blue subscribers, offering them the ability to display a verifiable NFT as their profile picture. 

The initiative was seen as a pioneering step in the social media sphere, validating the use of NFTs at a time when other major platforms like Facebook and Instagram, owned by Meta, were yet to integrate such technology.

However, recent developments indicate that the option to activate this feature via the iPhone version of the Twitter app is no longer available. 

X has removed support for NFT pfps.

Just so you know:

Digital property rights are not a joke.

If any of you take screenshots of my CryptoPunk and pretend it’s yours, I will sue you. pic.twitter.com/SHnSNEjXqo

— Farokh (@farokh) January 10, 2024

The absence of this option in the app’s current iteration suggests a strategic pivot by Elon Musk, although X has not yet made any official statements regarding this decision.

What Was Twitter’s NFT Profile Picture Feature

The NFT profile picture feature allowed users to use Ethereum blockchain technology to verify the ownership of their NFT, which then appeared as a hexagonal image, differentiating it from the standard circular profile pictures. 

The future of this verification method and the hexagonal profile picture format is currently unclear, especially for users who still have an NFT-equipped profile picture.

The move comes amidst a backdrop of evolving attitudes towards NFTs and blockchain technology in the social media industry. 

Meta, for example, recently announced a decrease in its focus on NFTs on Instagram, choosing to concentrate more on AI development and its broader metaverse vision.

The decision to remove the NFT profile picture feature follows a series of crypto-related incidents on Twitter. 

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In a notable event, the official account of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on X was compromised, leading to a false announcement regarding the approval of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). 

This breach was attributed to the lack of two-factor authorization and unauthorized access to a linked phone number. 

The SEC has since involved the FBI in investigating this cybersecurity lapse.

Despite Elon Musk’s decision, NFT Trading Volume Continues to Increase

In October, NFT trading volume surged by $99 million, reaching $405 million, signifying levels of sales not seen since August.

Likewise, sales of NFTs on the Bitcoin (BTC) network reached a new milestone in December 2023, surpassing $881 million for the first time ever. 

NFT sales on the Bitcoin chain reached $881,223,753.92 last month, setting the highest single-month sales record to date.

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This included 111,713 buyer addresses and 98,744 seller addresses, both setting the highest single-month records to date. 

Ethereum, the second-largest blockchain, trailed behind with NFT sales totaling $364.79 million. 

BTC-focused NFT sales outperformed ETH’s by a significant margin, being 2.34 times greater in December. 

Solana secured the third spot with approximately $325.14 million in NFT sales, experiencing a remarkable 312% increase from the previous month.

Following the top three, Polygon and Arbitrum emerged as the subsequent leading blockchains in terms of NFT sales.