On Tuesday, Elon Musk’s X wrote about a big vision for the company in 2024, which includes launching peer-to-peer payments and more AI-powered tools. Amidst all this, the company quietly removed a feature for paid subscribers. They can no longer set an NFT as a profile picture.
The feature was originally released under Twitter’s previous management in January 2022. At the time, the company allowed Twitter Blue subscribers to set Ethereum-mined NFTs (ERC-721 or ERC-1155 tokens) as profile pictures, which they eventually appeared as hexagons. Users could click/tap on the profile picture to learn more about the NFTs, including details such as a collection of the NFT, contract address, TokenID, and the application it was made with.
Image Credits: X/Sriramk (opens in new window)
X has now removed all descriptions about the NFT profile picture feature from its own X Premium Support Page.
“As a Premium subscriber, you can create a customization [sic] your profile so you can showcase your NFTs in a hexagon-shaped profile picture on your account. After a temporary connection to your crypto wallet that allows you to set an NFT as a profile picture, your digital asset appears in a special hexagonal shape that identifies you as the owner of that NFT,” the description about the feature read in website. previously (Internet File Link).
People who had a set of NFTs as their profile picture still have hexagonal avatars. It’s unclear if X will eventually remove those as well.
The removal of the feature is not surprising given that other social networks have also ended their NFT experiments. In 2022, Instagram and Facebook began experimenting with displaying and publishing NFTs. However, Meta closed support for NFTs in March 2023.
While the value of some of the high-priced tokens like Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) has plummeted since its peak, the NFT market has shown signs of recovery in recent months with trading volumes exceeding $1.6 billion according to NFT accumulator CryptoSlam.
