On November 1, following statements that a blue checkmark on Twitter for verified users could cost its owners $20 a month, Musk announced that it will be $8 after all. "Twitter’s current lords & peasants system for who has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark is bullshit," he tweeted
Buterin, however, commented on this announcement, specifically about the potential for scams. How well this new, Musk-developed system would work depends on "exactly how much due diligence is done" to ensure that those behind the blue checkmarks are indeed who they claim to be, he in a tweet.
That said, there is a 'but'. Buterin followed his statement up with:
""Pay $8/month and call yourself whatever" would damage the blue check's anti-scam role. But if there's more actual verification, the result is very different."
And while quite a few people suggested in the comments that paying $8 for the famed verified badge would be worth it for any scammer if that means gaining people's trust and being able to earn a lot more than the 'invested' $8 - others, similarly to Buterin, argued that this could be avoided with more verification.
This is a great point. If there is more actual verification done to make sure blue checks are who they say they are, then the result will be very different.
— Marc (@MarcTheBulll) November 1, 2022
Yet, it is somewhat ironic that crypto supporters and possibly decentralization supporters argue more know-your-customer (KYC)-type measures.
Economic hierarchy?
"Power to the people" Blue for $8/month," the new Twitter chief yesterday upon announcing the news.
But many people argued that it is not entirely clear how the power is given to the people who can't pay for it for whatever reason - or how it's supposed to empower users to protect their followers.
I got my blue checkmark to stop clone accounts from scamming children, so now I'd have to pay to protect my followers myself? I feel liberated already
— Tommaso Checchi (@_tomcc) November 1, 2022
Buterin, however, disagreed, saying that the current system is "*far* more exclusive than even the $20/month level from yesterday."
He does not see it as creating any sort of an "economic hierarchy." Buterin added, however, that,
"Ideally, though, verification would be charged at-cost and separate from other premium services."
