On Tuesday, X, led by Elon Musk, unveiled its ambitious vision for 2024, focusing on the launch of peer-to-peer payments and the integration of advanced AI tools. However, amidst this grand reveal, the company quietly made a significant change for its paid subscribers. They are no longer able to set NFTs (non-fungible tokens) as their profile pictures.
Key Takeaway
X, under the leadership of Elon Musk, has removed the ability for paid subscribers to set NFTs as their profile pictures, aligning with a broader industry trend of social networks winding down their NFT experiments.
Background of the Feature
The feature allowing Twitter Blue subscribers to set NFTs minted on Ethereum as profile pictures was initially introduced under Twitter’s previous management in January 2022. These NFT profile pictures appeared as hexagons, providing users with the ability to click or tap on them to access details such as the NFT collection, contract address, TokenID, and minting app.
X has now removed all references to the NFT profile picture feature from its X Premium support page, signaling a definitive shift in its offerings for paid subscribers.
Details of the Removal
The previous description of the feature on the support page stated, “As a Premium subscriber, you can create and customize your profile to display the NFTs you own in a hex-shaped profile picture on your account. After a temporary connection to your crypto wallet, allowing you to set up an NFT as your profile picture, your digital asset displays in a special hexagon shape, identifying you as the owner of that NFT.
Although individuals who had set an NFT as their profile picture still retain the hexagonal avatars, it remains uncertain whether X will eventually remove these as well.
Industry Trends and Market Response
The removal of the NFT profile picture feature by X comes as part of a broader trend, as other social networks have also phased out their NFT experiments. In 2022, both Instagram and Facebook ventured into displaying and posting NFTs, but Meta discontinued NFT support in March 2023.
Despite the decline in value of certain high-priced tokens like the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), the NFT market has exhibited signs of recovery in recent months, with trade volumes surpassing $1.6 billion, as reported by NFT aggregator CryptoSlam.
