Twitter’s recent decision to introduce a $42,000 monthly fee for access to its Decahose data service is raising concerns in the crypto research community. Decahose provides researchers with access to about 10% of all tweets in real-time, serving as a valuable resource for studying topics such as election misinformation and social manipulation, among other things. The change occurs right after Elon Musk acquired Twitter, and its timing is particularly sensitive, as we approach the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
The fee is a massive departure from previous policies, which provided free access to Decahose. This change could hinder ongoing global research efforts and curb new ones from starting. Critics argue that this could lead to restricting crucial information needed to study topics like internet-related crimes, including human trafficking and financial scams.
Moreover, data from Twitter is widely used for cryptocurrency sentiment research, and limiting access to this data could significantly affect ongoing and future research efforts. Some speculate that the fee increase might be connected to Musk’s continuous attempts to prevent tech companies from using Twitter’s data to train AI systems.
In light of this fee introduction, academics and universities are faced with the choice to either pay the hefty price or delete the data they have acquired. This situation begs the question, can cryptocurrency sentiment research survive these new limitations? And if not, what does the future hold for the crucial information derived from the service?
To sum up, imposing the substantial fees for using Decahose data service could potentially harm cryptocurrency research and limit the flow of information needed to study pressing issues in the crypto ecosystem. The way researchers and the crypto community adapt to these changes will ultimately determine the impact of Twitter’s decision on the future of cryptocurrency sentiment research.
Source: Cointelegraph
