Who on Crypto Twitter chose not to pay for a blue tick?
Despite their large number of followers – and being potential targets for scammers impersonating them – not all major Crypto Twitter personalities have signed up or received a blue tick since the platform removed legacy verification on April 20.
In a debate almost exclusively confined to die-hard enthusiasts of the social media platform, many individuals have selected not pay Twitter $8 every month to keep a blue badge that was previously given as a symbol of verification. While it is unclear whether certain high-profile figures in the crypto space have opted to pay for the ‘Twitter Blue’ subscription to retain their verification status, some of their profiles still display the chin.
Among those staying in the game Elon Musk apparently wants members of the platform to play to drive additional revenue to Twitter include the CEO himself, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, Gemini co-founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, Litecoin (LTC) creator Charlie Lee, Pixelmatic CEO Samson Mow, podcaster Anthony ‘Pomp’ Pompliano, Ripple CTO David Schwartz and managing director of MicroStrategy Michael Saylor. Musk so he personally footed the bill for certain users to keep their blue ticks, included Star Trek actor William Shatner with his 2.5 million followers.
However, at the time of publication, some of the biggest names in the crypto industry have chosen not to pay for the initiative of the social media platform. Blockstream CEO Adam Back, Bitcoin Cash (BCH) champion Roger Ver, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, Bitcoin (BTC) educator Andreas Antonopoulos, venture capital investor Tim Draper and crypto influencer WhalePanda were among those Twitter accounts that did not show a blue brand.
Musk, a Dogecoin (DOGE) advocate known for trolling Twitter users before and after his $44 billion takeover of the platform in October 2022, has implemented several changes related to user verification and efforts to generate additional revenue for the site. Although the CEO claimed that one of his goals was to reduce the number of scammer tweets and bots, the $8 monthly subscription model that launched in November 2022 resulted in more accounts with the blue mark next to the old checks.
The change in Twitter’s blue tick system left many users unaware of the paid option to confuse fake accounts with real ones, resulting in financial difficulties in the case of a pharmaceutical company posing as Eli Lilly. A user created an account with a similar name to the company, paid for the blue badge and claimed the company would offer free insulin, resulting in the stock dropping about 5%.
Musk’s decision to retire old blue checkmarks effectively removed the verification status that Twitter had become known for, although there are more badges and other types of checkmarks for organizations, businesses and government leaders. For example, gold badges that reportedly cost $1,000 per month are intended for verified business accounts, but the platform reportedly gave some away for free — as well as taking them back. Accounts held by Binance, Binance.US, Gemini, Kraken, KuCoin, OKX, Floki Inu and others currently display the gold token.
Many have avoided the changes to Twitter and the subscription model. Even some of those who got their blue chins for free have rejected them.
“I know some people are upset about losing the confirmation,” so comedian Mike Drucker. “But it’s getting a lot easier to know who to block.”
Ripple CTO David Schwartz, who proposed he had bought a blue tick, said he had done so to prevent himself from being “perfectly impersonated by anonymous accounts”. Content creator Wendy O, also known as Crypto Wendy, cited concerns about bots on the platform, but also said she had paid $8 for the blue badge.
Related: Elon Musk changes Twitter icon to Doge after asking for dismissal of lawsuit
It’s unclear how many people in the crypto space have actively signed up for the subscription service or received a check mark, but Twitter’s change in policy hasn’t completely stopped accounts promoting scams or compromising companies. Crypto exchange KuCoin reported that a bad actor took over its Twitter account on April 24 and posted “fake activity” that led to losses for users.
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