Not exactly. They're evaluating adding micro payments to the app.

These micro payments will be handled by a third party which uses a crypto currency in the exchange.

The feature itself is good imo. Though I'm prolly never gonna use it because of the crypto intermediary.

First, the "also" is misplaced. Signal's telephone number requirement is a privacy feature; it's not that Signal wants your phone number, but that using phone numbers as identifiers allows them to build a social graph --- every mainstream messaging app involves a social graph --- without keeping plaintext contact lists serverside, which is what every other mainstream messenger does. That's not a small thing; the information in those contact lists is one of the highest priority targets for any state-level adversary.

I don't love the cryptocurrency stuff either. I'm not defending it. But "shot their credibility" is an overstatement.

Might be troublesome if you don't want the other person to know it's you, though.

But that's probably not a problem in day to day communication with family and friends.

There are better ways to verify someone is who you think they are, e.g. asking them about an inside joke that you only told them in person at some point in the past, or what art you have up on the wall in your dining room.

Also, you might in some cases want to share knowledge or evidence without disclosing your identity, and phone numbers miserably fail for that use case.