Twitter CEO Declares Blockchain and Bitcoin Are the Future for the Social Media Platform
Blockchain got a major endorsement last week when Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter and Square, announced that the technology is the future for Twitter. Dorsey, who made the comments at the virtual Oslo Freedom Forum 2020 event, said the social media platform will move toward a decentralized model that uses blockchain and Bitcoin.
The nonprofit company Blue Sky is working to create an open Twitter protocol that will enable users to contribute to and access data. Announced last year, Blue Sky will be a consortium of open source architects, designers and engineers. According to Dorsey, the company is hiring for five new roles that will be focused on creating a public blockchain platform. That would eventually replace Twitter's current centralized system through which content is hosted by the company.
“Blockchain and Bitcoin point to a future, point to a world, where content exists forever,” said Dorsey. “We’re not in the content hosting business anymore, we’re in the discovery business. You see this most fundamentally in Bitcoin and in blockchain. The keys will be more and more in the hands of the individual.”
"Right now we're in the phase of finding a leader for it, but this is a completely separate non-profit from the company," said Dorsey of Blue Sky. "This group will be tasked with building a protocol that we can use and everyone else can use."
The push toward decentralization and security comes after a massive Twitter security breach in July. Hackers were able to take over dozens of high profile accounts and used them to post fraudulent Bitcoin links. Those impacted include Elon Musk, Barack Obama, Joe Biden and Apple.
“Security is not anything that can ever be perfected, it’s a constant race,” said Dorsey. “The more we’re giving the individual the keys, the safer we’re going to be.”
To provide more information about how blockchain is being used by for security and decentralization in the public and private sector, TMC is hosting The BlockChain Event on February 19-21, 2021, at the Miami Beach Convention Center. The event will feature panel discussions, keynotes and case studies about the role of blockchain in a variety of industries, vertical markets and governments.
Edited by Maurice Nagle
