On Tuesday, Elon Musk’s X detailed its lofty goals for 2024, outlining a vision that includes peer-to-peer payments and better AI-powered capabilities. But in the middle of all of this enthusiasm, X quietly announced a big change for its paying subscribers: the option to put NFTs as profile photographs is no longer available.

Under the previous Twitter management, the now-defunct functionality was first released in January 2022. The ability to set NFTs—that is, tokens created on the Ethereum blockchain (ERC-721 or ERC-1155)—as profile images was made available to Twitter Blue subscribers. These one-of-a-kind depictions showed up as hexagons and let users express their digital assets in a unique way.

Overview of Digital Ownership

Initially, users could obtain comprehensive information about the NFTs by clicking or tapping on these hexagonal profile photos. Details like the NFT collection, contract address, TokenID, and the application used to create the NFT were all included in this data.

The hexagonal avatars belong to those who had previously set an NFT as their profile picture, even after this feature was removed. It’s unclear what will happen to these current NFT-profile photos on the platform.

Eliminating NFT Profile Picture Traces

The most obvious modification indicating the deactivation of the NFT profile photo function is the lack of any explanations or references on X’s Premium support page. The prior explanation highlighted how premium users could only access this feature, which allowed them to display their ownership of NFT through the unique hexagonal profile image.

X’s choice to drop the NFT profile photo function is consistent with more general developments in the industry. Instagram and Facebook, two of the biggest social media platforms, also dabbled in NFT trials in 2022, but they quickly abandoned them after Meta stopped supporting NFT in March 2023. This collective retreat points to the need to reconsider NFTs’ place on mainstream social media platforms.

Variations in NFT Value and the Latest Comeback

Although some well-known NFTs, like those issued by the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), have seen a decrease in value from their peak, the NFT market as a whole has shown indications of recovery. According to NFT aggregator CryptoSlam, recent trade volumes in the NFT industry have exceeded $1.6 billion.

Users of the platform are left wondering what will happen to the NFT profile images that are already there and whether there will be any further adjustments made as X discontinues this feature. As the sector develops further, it will become evident whether X’s move is a reflection of a wider trend or a singular decision.

In conclusion, the dynamic nature of the NFT ecosystem on mainstream social platforms is reflected in X’s decision to remove the NFT profile image function. The company’s focus on its ambitious goals for 2024, which include innovations in AI tools and peer-to-peer payments, seems to have changed the role of NFTs on the platform, reflecting a general reevaluation of the social media landscape.