Discord community splits as CEO unveils pre-released Ethereum integration

The new feature will allow Discord users to actively participate in upcoming crypto initiatives such as NFTs, Web 3.0 and token adoption.

Instant messaging platform Discord may soon launch support for MetaMask and WalletConnect integrations as evidenced by a pre-release screenshot shared by the platform’s CEO, Jason Citron. However, a portion of the Discord community raised concerns about the update while threatening to cancel its Nitro subscriptions.

Citron’s announcement of the upcoming Ethereum blockchain integration came as a reply to a tweet from Packy McCormick, founder of Not Boring, sharing an article that read:

“Imagine a human website. Imagine a place where dank memes flow like honey. Imagine a place where potatoes thrive. Imagine a place where humans and bots live in harmony. Imagine, in other words, a place like Discord.”

probably nothing pic.twitter.com/p4P6MoNGgd

— Jason Citron (@jasoncitron) November 8, 2021

While Citron’s screenshot of the pre-released Discord application aims to expedite crypto adoption, the gaming community resisted the move by highlighting the ecosystem’s ongoing issues with carbon emissions, money laundering and uncertainties within the nonfungible token (NFT) market.

Moreover, the backlash also resulted in numerous users ending subscriptions to Discord Nitro, the platform’s premium service offering that costs $4.99 per month and $49.99 for a year. In the words of Discord user Olivia:

Implementing NFTs in discord would result in bad PR, and a drop in Nitro subscriptions as a large amount of people cancel. NFTs cause environmental damage, and are mainly used for tax evasion&money laundering. The entire thing is a ponzi scheme. Do not connect discord to this.

— Olivia Wertheimer (Open to opportunities!) (@kingdomfantasy6) November 8, 2021

On the other side of the spectrum, many users from the gaming community also see this move as a step in the right direction. Responding to Olivia, another user named Bryce NFT argued:

“You really just called the NFT space a ponzi scheme without valid evidence. Don’t comment on anything when you have no idea about the space.”

Related: MetaMask integrates with Bitfinex Pay amid growing demand for crypto payments

MetaMask integrations have onboarded millions of users to the crypto space. On Friday, crypto payment gateway Bitfinex Pay launched a MetaMask integration to its platform.

As a result of the MetaMask integration, Bitfinex Pay opened doors to over 10 million new users for sending and receiving payments in cryptocurrencies. Speaking to Cointelegraph, Bitfinex Pay chief technology officer Paolo Ardoino said that the digital assets are going to disrupt the current payment industry and that it is “not a question of if but just when.”