About

Twitter Hexagonal Profile Pictures, also known as Twitter NFT PFPs, refers to a feature offered by Twitter's premium subscription service, Twitter Blue, that allows NFT owners to make their profile pictures hexagonal crops of their NFTs rather than the traditional circle for other profiles on the platform. While lauded by NFT owners, the feature was widely mocked outside of the cryptocurrency community on the platform, with many claiming they would block a profile with a hexagonal profile picture on sight.

Origin

On January 20th, 2022, Twitter Blue announced that NFT owners subscribed to the premium service could choose to make their profile pictures hexagonal vs. circular.^[1] Users could do this by connecting their cryptocurrency wallet to their Twitter account and selecting which NFT they wanted to crop and use as their profile picture. The tweet (seen below) received over 30,000 likes, 18,200 quote tweets and 10,600 retweets in four days.

gm! You asked (a lot), so we made it. Now rolling out in Labs: NFT Profile Pictures on iOS pic.twitter.com/HFyspS4cQW

— Twitter Blue (@TwitterBlue) January 20, 2022

Spread

The feature was quickly mocked by Twitter users who were already against NFTs and the subculture around them on the site alongside NFT enthusiasts who were pleased with the feature. Many against NFTs remarked that a hexagonal profile picture was an invitation for an automatic block on the site. For example, Twitter user @TomWarren^[2] wrote, "if you ever see me with a hexagon-shaped profile picture please block me," gaining over 2,000 retweets and 35,000 likes in four days (shown below, left). User @suckdrunz^[3] posted that they would instantly block anyone they saw with a hexagonal profile picture, gaining over 460 retweets and 3,700 likes in a similar timeframe (shown below, right).

The distaste for hexagonal profile pictures also led to a series of image macros created with the intent to mock users with hexagonal profile pictures. User @but_vote^[4] posted an image of Lord Farquaad pointing and laughing mocking hexagonal profile pictures, gaining over 200 retweets and 1,000 likes (shown below, left). User @rare_fanatic^[5] posted a Drakeposting meme featuring a hexagonal collectible from Banjo-Kazooie, gaining over 970 retweets and 3,700 likes (shown below, right).

Noted crypto enthusiast Elon Musk called the feature "annoying," tweeting it didn't address crypto scammers on the platform.^[6] Additionally, a November 2021 tweet from @mcclure111^[7] advertising a free plug-in that would automatically block any user with an NFT profile pic resurfaced, and as of January 24th, 2022, has over 4,000 retweets and 9,900 likes (shown below).

Some Twitter users joked that octagons were the superior shape as hexagons began becoming a major talking point on Twitter. For example, user @thedukeofjuke^[8] posted Jack Black's Octagon, gaining over 80 retweets and 940 likes (shown below, left). User @tj99er^[9] posted their octagonal Yoshi as their profile picture, gaining over 390 retweets and 2,000 likes (shown below, right).

On January 10th, 2024, Twitter announced that it would be discontinuing support for Hexagonal NFT profile pictures.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References