Twitter announced on Thursday that it has added Bitcoin to the payment modes on its tipping service, extending business legitimacy to a cryptocurrency that many regulators across the world called risky.
“Starting today, we’re rolling out Tips to everyone on iOS globally and bringing it to people on Android in the coming weeks,” Esther Crawford, product head at Twitter said in a post on the microblogging site.
“We’re also adding new payment options and, for the first time, allowing people to send Bitcoin tips through the use of a Bitcoin address or Lightning-enabled wallet.”
In a separate statement, Twitter said users on its site can seamlessly tip using Bitcoin via Strike, the payments application built on the Bitcoin Lightning Network that allows people to send and receive the digital currency.
“Strike offers instant and free payments globally,” Twitter said, noting that with the exception of Hawaii and New York, the payment app was available to people throughout the United States, as well as in El Salvador.
The reference to El Salvador is particularly important because it is the first nation to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender and has touted it as a way to attract investments.
