NFT Holders Poke Holes In Twitter’s NFT Verification Feature

Original author: Aliyu Pokima

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• Twitter’s new NFT feature has come under fire from cryptocurrency enthusiasts barely a week after launch.
• Individuals can mint fake NFTs and pass them off as the original, according to a report.
• NFTs have soared in popularity with individuals and brands jumping into the train.

Twitter caused a major buzz in the NFT community after it announced the feature of allowing users to use their NFTs as their display picture. So far, things may not have been exactly as planned according to a Mashable report.

Fake NFTs Still Run Riot

In a bid to stop fake NFTs from circulating and to protect the interest of earners, Twitter launched the feature that allowed users to verify the authenticity of the NFTs. However, a Mashable report released over the weekend shows that there is a loophole that is associated with it.

The process of circumventing the feature involves a user “right-clicking” to save a photo, uploading the image to an NFT marketplace, and then minting it into the Ethereum blockchain. Users can still design art that closely resembles popular NFTs and try to pass them off as the real thing as shown in the report. All users need to do is subscribe to Twitter Blue and get the blue hexagonal profile pics.

NFTs have become the new status symbols nowadays but there are fears that a planned integration with Ethereum and other blockchains would mean a lower valuation of these profile pictures. The reason for the prestigious status mainly lies with the high cost of mining on the Ethereum blockchain.

According to the Mashable report, there is a way for Twitter to prevent right-clicked NFTs from being displayed by leveraging on centralization. The downside is that this runs contrary to the mantra of blockchain technology that preaches centralization.

“There’s actually a MAJOR PROBLEM with the new Twitter PFP feature,” said Adam Hollander. “It appears to work for ANY NFT in your collection. Not just verified collections. That means someone can just right-click any NFT, mint it, and then use it as their PFP.  You were so close Twitter. Why?”

Twitter’s NFT Feature

Twitter announced the plans for the feature back in September of 2021 after the successful integration of the Bitcoin tipping service. The move was predicated on the massive success that NFTs had accrued over the last 6 months, with transaction volumes running into billions.

The new feature will be available to only Twitter Blue subscribers and IOS users but all other classes of users will be able to click and verify NFTs. The company states that there are plans in motion to expand to Android devices. The new feature supports Coinbase Wallet, Metamask, Trust Wallet, Argent, and Rainbow.

Twitter’s crypto team headed by Tess Rinearson has stated that it would “figure out what crypto can do for Twitter, as well as what Twitter can do for crypto.” The team will also be working in partnership with BlueSky to work out a blueprint for the basics of decentralized social media.