Twitter’s New NFT Verification Tool Does Not Confirm Authenticity

Right-click-and-savers can still get their NFTs verified, even if the underlying artwork was stolen

article-image

A verified NFT on Twitter

share

key takeaways

  • A Twitter spokesperson told Blockworks that users can click on a profile picture to see whether the NFT collection has been verified with OpenSea
  • All ether-based NFTs that have a recorded transaction on the blockchain will be displayed on Twitter profiles

There’s a wrinkle in Twitter’s closely watched move to support verified NFTs for profile pictures: It’s impossible to tell whether the NFT is an original or a ripoff.

While the tool does verify who owns the NFT, it can’t affirm whether the image in the NFT is an original or an unauthorized copy.   

Opportunists looking to use a pirated NFT image as their profile picture can upload an identical-looking image of an NFT on third-party marketplaces such as OpenSea, mint it as an NFT and get it approved and verified by the social media giant to use as a profile picture. 

“If you can verify any NFT, doesn’t that defeat the whole purpose of verification?” Brett Richey, founder of a Web3 sports betting startup BlitzPick, said.I thought Twitter would [roll] out verified collections only, but I can just mint a copy of [an] ape [NFT] and verify it, right? [This] seems pointless.”

The company said users can link their ether-based wallets to their Twitter accounts and display their digital collectibles as their profile pictures. 

Profiles with hexagon-shaped pictures have had their NFTs verified with the social media giant, thus signaling ownership on the blockchain. Users have to pay $2.99 each month through the company’s Twitter Blue subscription service and use an IOS device to utilize the new feature.

A spokesperson for Twitter told Blockworks that users can click on a profile picture to see whether the person’s NFT has been verified with OpenSea. All ether-based NFTs that have a recorded transaction on the blockchain will be displayed on Twitter profiles. 

“We want to make it possible for anyone to use NFTs and don’t want to gate-keep NFT collections that might not be verified by certain marketplaces,” the spokesperson said. “We felt it was important to give customers an easier way to see NFT details directly from someone’s profile picture and easily explore the contract address; by clicking on an NFT profile picture, people will be able to see whether a collection has been verified by OpenSea or another [third] party marketplace.”

Twitter Inc. (TWTR) was trading 1.6% lower at $33.62 per share at time of publication.

[stock_market_widget type=”table-quotes” template=”basic” assets=”TWTR” fields=”logo_name_symbol,price,change_abs,change_pct” links=”{‘TWTR’:{}}” display_header=”true” display_chart=”true” display_currency_symbol=”true” pagination=”true” search=”false” rows_per_page=”5″ sort_field=”logo_name_symbol” sort_direction=”asc” alignment=”left” api=”yf”]


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Research Report Templates.png

Research

Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) represent low-hanging fruit in a massive market ripe for Web3-driven disruption. The global CDN market was valued at ~$28B in 2024, and is projected to surpass $140B by 2034, (18.75% CAGR) underscoring the immense demand for efficient content delivery.

article-image

A vote ending Monday could introduce a new layer of security for Ethereum’s largest liquid staking protocol

article-image

Framework’s Michael Anderson explains what tokens need in order to be successful

article-image

Conferences are pop-up innovation clusters—and filters for the riff-raff

article-image

Tariff front-running may have caused an artificial bounce in economic data earlier this year

article-image

Waka Flocka Flame-linked BaseDrop is raising some eyebrows

article-image

IPO’ing onchain, Ethereum scaling, and using AI for ZK