YouTube CEO says NFTs and crypto present a 'previously unimaginable opportunity'
A week after Twitter added support for NFT avatars, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki has said that cryptocurrency and NFTs present a «previously unimaginable opportunity to grow the connection between creators and their fans» on YouTube.
Wojcicki didn't announce any specific plans to add blockchain functionality to YouTube, but calling NFTs an «opportunity» sure makes it sound like YouTube is working on something. YouTube head of gaming Ryan Wyatt announced today that he's leaving YouTube for a blockchain company, as did YouTube senior director of creator partnerships Jamie Byrne (for adifferent blockchain company), so clearly others at YouTube are interested in cryptocurrency and NFTs. (Except in the extremely unlikely case that Wyatt and Byrne were the only ones aside from Wojcicki who were into it.)
«We're always focused on expanding the YouTube ecosystem to help creators capitalize on emerging technologies, including things like NFTs, while continuing to strengthen and enhance the experiences creators and fans have on YouTube,» Wojcicki wrote.
The comments appear in an open letter from Wojcicki about YouTube's 2022 plans, so it's likely that the site will elaborate on its blockchain intentions within the year.
Otherwise, a big focus of the letter is Shorts, YouTube's answer to TikTok videos. Wojcicki announced that YouTube has recorded 5 trillion views of Shorts, and said that its teams are «working to make it even easier for creators and users to create gaming-related Shorts.» Also regarding the gaming category, YouTube is «focusing on better live discoverability and more chat features,» said Wojcicki, and plans to add membership gifting functionality this year.
Along with Twitter and YouTube, voice and text chat network
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