Twitter announced that iOS users can now set their profile images with NFT art that they own. All that’s needed is a subscription to Twitter Blue and a connection to a supported crypto wallet. Once the NFT profile image is set, the art is visible from across all platforms.

pic.twitter.com/dlredfNHvS

— Johnny Rodriguez (@tryjohnny) January 21, 2022

To start, Twitter supports only static images including JPEG and PNG files, and they must be minted on the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain. It appears that Twitter is leveraging OpenSea’s API to pull information about the NFT, as we saw both platforms simultaneously go down yesterday.

OpenSea is down

Twitter uses OpenSea’s API for loading NFTs

Therefore, Twitter’s NFT feature is down#decentralization pic.twitter.com/Etqjvwhi9Y

— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) January 20, 2022

The NFT community quickly pointed out that leveraging OpenSea (or any approved sources) could undermine the essence of decentralization. It also brings up the concern that Twitter is unable to authenticate whether the displayed NFT belongs to a verified collection. 

There's actually a MAJOR PROBLEM with the new Twitter PFP feature.

It appears to work for ANY NFT in your collection. Not just verified collections.

That means someone can just right-click-save any NFT, mint it, and then use it as their PFP 😢

You were so close Twitter. Why 😭

— Adam Hollander (@HollanderAdam) January 20, 2022

The game of avatar

A few controversies aside, why did Twitter choose to support NFT as an avatar type? While organizations like ReadyPlayerMe are putting effort into creating cross-game avatars for the Metaverse, they are primarily targeting the 3D virtual worlds.

As a Web 2.0, non-3D product, Twitter has to start closing its gap towards the Web3 if it wants to be relevant in the future. Just as Twitter launched Twitter Spaces following the success of the Clubhouse, we expect to see more updates from Twitter incorporating where the hype is headed.