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Discord, a widely used chat app, could soon have cryptocurrency wallet integration, the company’s Chief Executive Officer tweeted early Tuesday morning.
CEO and founder Jason Cintron posted a screengrab that shows Discord’s platform connecting to Ethereum via wallets such as Metamask. If integrated, the feature could allow users to send each other crypto and implement non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on its platform.
probably nothing pic.twitter.com/p4P6MoNGgd
— Jason Citron (@jasoncitron) November 8, 2021
Following Citron’s tweets, some Discord users responded with concerns, citing the environmental impact of cryptocurrency, security issues that could arise on the instant messaging platform and more.
Some have boycotted by canceling (or threatening to cancel) their subscription service, known as “Nitro”, according to Discord’s official website. Posts under “feedback” consist of titles such as “I’ll straight up leave and use Slack if you integrate NFTs” and “Shout from the rooftops [about] how much you don’t want crypto integration.”
Discord distributed a survey in August, asking users about “Discord-native wallets” which (in theory) would allow every user to have a digital wallet attached to their profile. However, Blockworks could not get access to the results of this questionnaire, as of press time.
One former volunteer Discord moderator who agreed to be interviewed under the condition of anonymity described the potential integration as another “[attempt] to capitalize on a Silicon Valley trend.”
“I’m personally against blockchain tech in its current state due to the energy consumption problem,” the ex-moderator of two years said, who was recently removed from the program after voicing concerns over leadership changes. “This is another example of Citron putting monetary gain and personal interest before user (or even employee) interest.”
Discord did not immediately respond to Blockworks’ request for comment, as of press time.
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