- YouTube is introducing Jewels, a virtual currency to let viewers support creators during live streams.
- Similar to TikTok, viewers can buy gifts using Jewels, where the price of 1 Jewel is equal to 1 cent.
- This feature is rolling to U.S. creators in the coming weeks and will be limited to vertical live streams.
YouTube is one of the most popular live-streaming services among the likes of Twitch and TikTok. However, YouTube hasn’t caught up to its competitors when it comes to helping creators generate revenue from live streams. This is why the platform has introduced a new type of currency to allow viewers to support creators and express themselves. It is called Jewels, which powers the new Gifts feature that was first teased a few months ago.
Currently, viewers can either buy a monthly subscription fee or send a Superchat but these require you to pay real-world money every time you wish to support your favorite creators. However, this will change as viewers will soon be able to buy Jewels, YouTube’s new currency. Viewers can then redeem these Jewels to buy gifts and send them to the creator. Take a look at the screenshots shared by Google to understand how it will work.
The price of Jewels will vary based on the quantity you buy. But according to Google, 1 Jewel = 1 cent, so 100 Jewels will be $1. The creators will earn “Rubies” for every gift they receive which makes things more complicated. But I guess that’s the idea as most platforms like Twitch, TikTok, and even Reddit have a similar type of system to show support to creators.
One important aspect to note about the upcoming Jewels currency is that it will be limited to vertical live streams only. Creators part of the YouTube Partner Program, and accepted the Virtual Items Module will be eligible to receive Gifts and Jewels.
The new currency should go live for everyone in the coming weeks in the U.S. If this experiment proves successful then we could see it expand to regular live streams and more regions very soon. Followed by trials in other regions outside of America.
YouTube has been desperate to generate more revenue on the platform lately. Besides bombarding ads in the free version, this looks like another attempt by the platform to make more money out of its users. But what are your thoughts about this? Let us know in the comments below.
